‘We knew these results were coming’

“WE always believed. Just because we were playing badly didn’t make us a bad team. On the otherhand, I think a lot of people out there, people in the media, thought that we were.
“We were getting the usual, ‘they’re past it, they’re too old’, as happens pretty much every year now. But it never bothered us, never effected us. We knew that we believed in ourselves and we knew these results were coming.”


Munster lock Mick O’Driscoll is in philosophical mood on Christmas week. Sunday’s stunning Heineken Cup victory over USAP Perpignan in France has provided Tony McGahan’s side with a massive boost ahead of their St. Stephen’s night Magners League meeting with Connacht at Thomond Park (7.30pm).
The vastly experienced Mick O’Driscoll is hopeful the team can build on the bonus point win at the Stade Aime Giral with the inter-provincial ties against Connacht and a second fixture, away to Ulster on January 2, to come over the festive and New Year’s period.
Thirty one-year-old O’Driscoll insists that while Munster’s form had been patchy at the start of the season, there were real signs in recent weeks that the team was starting to get things right prior to last weekend’s trip to the Stade Aime Giral.
“I suppose people will think it’s an easy thing to say after the game, but we went down to Perpignan really believing that we were going to win the game,” Mick O’Driscoll said.
“I can’t say there were too many others outside of the squad who thought that could happen. To get the bonus point was massive.
“To be honest, if we had gotten four points we would have been over the moon. To get five was just fantastic.
“We started the season poorly, but we have been building. We have been getting better, slowly, but it has been coming. It has just taken time.
“We still have a long way to go, but we know that we can take confidence from the win in Perpignan. Hopefully, we can build on that and get better and better as the season goes on.
“Coming into this weekend’s game with Connacht we have a number of the international guys on active rest.
“It is a massive opportunity for everyone. As I was saying, we need to build on last weekend. Our Magners League form hasn’t been superb. The idea is to push on and get a win.”
Sixth-placed Munster will be anxious to claim a victory against Connacht - seeking their first away win over the Magners League holders in 23 years - in order to move up the Magners League table and boost their prospects of claiming a semi-final play-off spot.
Mick O’Driscoll believes centre Jean de Villiers, a try-scorer in Sunday’s bonus point win over Perpignan, will make a hugely significant contribution to the side over the coming months.
“You hear the silly rumours that are out there about Jean (de Villiers), that he is not settling in and all this sort of stuff,” Mick O’Driscoll said.
“But he has worked as hard as anyone this season. He will be the first to admit that it hasn’t gelled 100 per cent straight away. But look these things take time.
“You saw when he scored the try on Sunday that, to a man, all the team were around him. That is a great sign.
“Over the next couple of weeks hopefully, he will get good game time and his confidence will build.
“He will get into the Munster way a lot easier and hopefully he will turn out the way some of our other foreign signings have.”
Connacht, who have impressed in the Amlin Challenge Cup in recent weeks, are set to include Limerick-born hooker Sean Cronin in their squad. Cronin, an AIL medal winner with Shannon, made his full international debut for Ireland when coming on as a replacement in the autumn international with Fiji at the RDS.
Meanwhile, the Magners League Grand Final will take place on Saturday, May, 29, 2010, with a provisional kick-off of 6.30pm.

Colm Kinsella