AS LEADERSHIP RESOURCES go, Paul O’Connell is not a bad person to lean on.
CJ Stander has accepted the role of captain at Munster this season in Peter O’Mahony’s injury-enforced absence and has led by example.
Stander and O'Connell celebrate the 2014 Heineken Cup quarter-final win over Toulouse. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
This week he faces his biggest test yet as Munster captain, with the province facing into Friday night’s vital Guinness Pro12 meeting with Edinburgh at Musgrave Park [KO 7.35pm, TG4].
With two regular season games remaining, Munster are outside the Champions Cup qualification spots. Edinburgh are sitting in sixth, the final slot for entry into the top-tier European competition.
Stander doesn’t feel that the weight of the task ahead lies solely on his shoulders.
“The leadership group I have around me is good,” says Stander. “I can always talk to them about things.
“Even someone like Paul O’Connell, who has left, is a help. Players like Conor Murray, Keith Earls and Billy Holland are all there for me. If I have a problem, my wife and family are there for me.
Advertisement
“It might sound weird to talk about rugby with them, but that can be a good thing too. There are good structures here too where you can go to a coach and ask them how they would deal with something or someone. That is a great support.”
Stander jokes that he takes O’Connell’s points and makes them his own, but then addresses the retired Munster legend’s influence on him more seriously.
36-year-old O’Connell is busy with his post-rugby life, but Stander says he has spoken to the Limerick man recently.
“He is very busy with his retirement, but he is always around,” says the Munster back row. “He is someone you can just call and ask a question of. He is good to bounce ideas off. He is there to talk to you.
“It is great to sit down with someone like that. You don’t always get that opportunity. That is the type of man he is. He wants to sit down with you, he wants to know what is going on and that is massive for me.
“When I arrived here, he was an icon – he still is - so it is good to get learnings from a guy like that who has been at the top for his entire career. It is good to have someone like that.”
O'Connell watches Stander wrestling Donncha O'Callaghan in 2013. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
O’Connell didn’t find himself in the position Munster currently find themselves too often during his own playing days.
Fighting desperately for Champions Cup qualification is a new experience for many of those involved, with one theme this season having been Munster’s apparent inability to respond to mistakes or setbacks well during games.
The defeat to Connacht two weekends ago served as an example, with Munster beginning brightly to earn a 14-6 lead, before yellow cards for James Cronin and Billy Holland saw them fold.
“I think that is an area where we have to step up for sure,” says Stander when asked about how Munster are dealing with such setbacks. “After we get a penalty or yellow card against us, we need to settle down, get some points on the board.
“It is also tough to play with 14 or 13 men. It is not the type of game anyone wants to play. When you are trying to defend a wide team with lower numbers, it is very hard to defend. Maybe if we look back at the mistakes and see them as work ons, we can do just that. The yellow cards are not anything you can really do much about.”
Stander states that there is not a confidence issue in the squad at Munster, but does accept that a young group of players must learn to move on from errors more swiftly if they are to secure Champions Cup qualification in these final two games.
“Someone like Francis Saili will make a mistake and immediately he can get back into the game, with a smack against the head or something,” says Stander. “Other lads will take something in for longer and that is up to me to make sure that younger lads are OK and that they are ready to move on during a game.
“Everyone is different, everyone knows that making a mistake needs to be put behind you, otherwise you are going to make another mistake and you are going to be under the posts again after conceding three or five points.
“Everyone is grown up enough to move on, but we need to move on quickly.”
The42 is on Snapchat! Tap the button below on your phone to add!
Stander calls on POC for leadership chats before Munster's Edinburgh clash
AS LEADERSHIP RESOURCES go, Paul O’Connell is not a bad person to lean on.
CJ Stander has accepted the role of captain at Munster this season in Peter O’Mahony’s injury-enforced absence and has led by example.
This week he faces his biggest test yet as Munster captain, with the province facing into Friday night’s vital Guinness Pro12 meeting with Edinburgh at Musgrave Park [KO 7.35pm, TG4].
With two regular season games remaining, Munster are outside the Champions Cup qualification spots. Edinburgh are sitting in sixth, the final slot for entry into the top-tier European competition.
Stander doesn’t feel that the weight of the task ahead lies solely on his shoulders.
“The leadership group I have around me is good,” says Stander. “I can always talk to them about things.
“Even someone like Paul O’Connell, who has left, is a help. Players like Conor Murray, Keith Earls and Billy Holland are all there for me. If I have a problem, my wife and family are there for me.
“It might sound weird to talk about rugby with them, but that can be a good thing too. There are good structures here too where you can go to a coach and ask them how they would deal with something or someone. That is a great support.”
Stander jokes that he takes O’Connell’s points and makes them his own, but then addresses the retired Munster legend’s influence on him more seriously.
36-year-old O’Connell is busy with his post-rugby life, but Stander says he has spoken to the Limerick man recently.
“He is very busy with his retirement, but he is always around,” says the Munster back row. “He is someone you can just call and ask a question of. He is good to bounce ideas off. He is there to talk to you.
“It is great to sit down with someone like that. You don’t always get that opportunity. That is the type of man he is. He wants to sit down with you, he wants to know what is going on and that is massive for me.
“When I arrived here, he was an icon – he still is - so it is good to get learnings from a guy like that who has been at the top for his entire career. It is good to have someone like that.”
O’Connell didn’t find himself in the position Munster currently find themselves too often during his own playing days.
Fighting desperately for Champions Cup qualification is a new experience for many of those involved, with one theme this season having been Munster’s apparent inability to respond to mistakes or setbacks well during games.
The defeat to Connacht two weekends ago served as an example, with Munster beginning brightly to earn a 14-6 lead, before yellow cards for James Cronin and Billy Holland saw them fold.
“I think that is an area where we have to step up for sure,” says Stander when asked about how Munster are dealing with such setbacks. “After we get a penalty or yellow card against us, we need to settle down, get some points on the board.
“It is also tough to play with 14 or 13 men. It is not the type of game anyone wants to play. When you are trying to defend a wide team with lower numbers, it is very hard to defend. Maybe if we look back at the mistakes and see them as work ons, we can do just that. The yellow cards are not anything you can really do much about.”
Stander states that there is not a confidence issue in the squad at Munster, but does accept that a young group of players must learn to move on from errors more swiftly if they are to secure Champions Cup qualification in these final two games.
“Someone like Francis Saili will make a mistake and immediately he can get back into the game, with a smack against the head or something,” says Stander. “Other lads will take something in for longer and that is up to me to make sure that younger lads are OK and that they are ready to move on during a game.
“Everyone is different, everyone knows that making a mistake needs to be put behind you, otherwise you are going to make another mistake and you are going to be under the posts again after conceding three or five points.
“Everyone is grown up enough to move on, but we need to move on quickly.”
The42 is on Snapchat! Tap the button below on your phone to add!
Munster will miss financial targets as CEO Fitzgerald looks to future
Munster have secured a world-class operator with the signing of Erasmus
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Anthony Foley back row Captain Captaincy CJ Stander Guinness PRO12 Munster Edinburgh