McGahan was speaking on the eve of Munster’s mammoth Heineken Cup opener away to London Irish at the Madejski Stadium, Reading, on Saturday (5.45pm).
Munster, hoping to reach the quarter-finals of Europe’s premier club rugby competition for a 13th successive season, will host big-spending French side Toulon at Thomond Park in their second pool game on Saturday, October 18.
Munster were dealt a blow ahead of this weekend’s clash against ‘the Exiles’ with confirmation that centre Lifeimi Mafi has been suspended for seven weeks for a dangerous tackle on Leinster’s Gordon D’Arcy in the provinces Magners League tie last weekend.
Munster coach McGahan may opt to slot fit-again Keith Earls back into the midfield for the Heineken Cup clash with the Aviva Premiership leaders. Earls has been sidelined for the early part of the season due to a combination of groin and ankle injuries. The exciting 22-year-old took a full part in a Munster training session in UL on Tuesday and reported no ill effects afterwards.
Munster squad advisor Mick Galwey said: “Keith has obviously come through the training session today which is very encouraging. Hopefully over the next 24 hours, there will be no reaction to it.
“This is his first full hard session. It’s great to have him back. The only concern is match time. He hasn’t had any match-time for a long time now.”
Scrum-half Tomas O’Leary, who took a blow to his hand in the defeat to Leinster, is expected to be fit for saturday’s game.
With Magners League champions, the Ospreys, also included in Pool 3 of the Heineken Cup, Munster will have to be at their best to advance to the knock-out stages of the competition.
Coach Tony McGahan said the pool draw appeared to get more difficult with each passing season.
“It’s always tough, but it seems the pools we’re getting get tougher and tougher,” McGahan said this week.
“The quality of the sides, the quality of the programmes being undertaken now from every side and every country, it’s just very difficult to win a game. It’s nearly like a 6 Nations game, a Test match, each weekend. It’s not like you get two games and you can be a little bit off to get through.
“And then you break and come back to it, so you look at the quality players that are running around, and some of the rugby that gets played, there’s going to be aspects of the weekend game on Saturday for example where a missed opportunity or a tackle or a kick, it’s going to have a major bearing on whether we get out of the pool at the end of January.”
Former Munster skipper Galwey said Saturday night’s defeat to Leinster in their high-profile Magners League tie before 50,000 spectators at the Aviva Stadium had served to focus minds ahead of the clash with in-form London Irish.
Galwey said: “Maybe getting beaten away to Leinster might be the ideal preparation, but it certainly has focused lads.
“They are very focused this week, and hopefully we can bring it on.”
The Munster team to face London Irish is due to be named at noon on Friday. The squad will depart from Shannon Airport at 12.30pm that day.
Munster Squad: Wian Du Preez, Marcus Horan, Mike Sherry, Damien Varley, John Hayes, Darragh Hurley, Tony Buckley, Billy Holland, Donnacha Ryan, Donncha O’Callaghan, Mick O’Driscoll, Alan Quinlan, David Wallace, Niall Ronan, Denis Leamy, Peter O’Mahony, James Coughlan, Tomás O’Leary, Duncan Williams, Peter Stringer, Ronan O’Gara, Scott Deasy, Paul Warwick, Danny Barnes, Keith Earls, Lifemi Mafi, Johne Murphy, Sam Tuitupou, Doug Howlett, Denis Hurley.
Colm Kinsella
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