MUNSTER, LIKE EVERY other club in the world, have had their fair share of goodbyes in recent seasons.
Players move on, retire, get released. It’s all part of the game.
But there are some popular figures whose exits are a little more difficult to deal with; those players who have painted themselves into the club’s history with years of loyal and impressive service.
Ryan is set for his final Munster appearance. Morgan Treacy / INPHO
Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO
Donnacha Ryan is one of those players. The Tipp man closes the door on 13 years with his native province today after the Guinness Pro12 final against Scarlets [KO 6.15pm, TG4/Sky Sports].
Ryan has been a key man for Rassie Erasmus’ side this season and a stalwart in recent years, and the hope amongst the Munster squad is that they can send the 33-year-old off to Racing 92 in winning fashion.
“Obviously, disappointed we are losing a good man on and off the pitch,” says Munster captain Peter O’Mahony. “From the club’s point of view, on the pitch he is an incredible player and the amount of work he has got through this year and for the last 12 or 13 years or however long he has been here, the amount of caps he has.
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“We are quite a young team with a squad that doesn’t have a huge amount of caps and Donners obviously has one of the highest.
“Look, it is a pity to lose him but it is nice that the last game I will play with him will be a final. It’ll hopefully be finishing off on a good note.”
Ryan will be keen to make a major impact on his final Munster appearance, while outside centre Francis Saili is also set to bid farewell to the province today, but O’Mahony insists that there has been little focus on those departures this week.
“I don’t think so. The task ahead is very big and a difficult one with the quality that Scarlets have. I think we got our emotion way off the last time we played Glasgow [in the Pro12 final] a few years ago.
“For us, to win we have to be tactically immaculate and our rugby has to be very good. The emotion will come but the most important thing is that we have our detail right and that we are accurate against Scarlets.
“Look, you’ve seen the performances they have put in. A lot of people have been talking about the Leinster game but they have been playing well for three or four months and even since their third game in the Pro12.
Ryan has had one of his best seasons. Tommy Dickson / INPHO
Tommy Dickson / INPHO / INPHO
“They’ve hit a huge amount of form lately and we have to be very good.”
O’Mahony’s insistence that Munster got their emotional approach wrong in their most recent Pro12 final against Glasgow in 2015 is a fascinating one.
Paul O’Connell was checking out on his time with the province at that point, also set for a move to France with Toulon before being denied that opportunity due to a career-ending hamstring injury, and O’Mahony feels that exit became too much of a focus
“Obviously, the fact that Paulie was leaving was a huge factor, it was a big part of… he’d been there so long. You kind of run a similarity with Donners and, not that we made it all about it being Paulie’s last game, but the emotion was flowing because it was.
And I’m not saying that was the reason we didn’t perform well but I don’t think it helped us and all the talk about it during the week.
“This time around, Donners knows how important he is and how much he means to the club, but this week him more than anyone drove the rugby side of things, drove our lineout and drove our detail, as he always does.
“He didn’t carry on any differently. We just kept our heads down. If we’re going to win, we’re going to win because we play well and that’s the most important thing.”
As with everything else, this Munster side have been learning valuable lessons over the last few seasons. Though they will look to honour Ryan, his impending exit will not cloud their focus on delivering an excellent performance today.
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Ryan bids farewell to Munster but lessons learned from POC's exit
MUNSTER, LIKE EVERY other club in the world, have had their fair share of goodbyes in recent seasons.
Players move on, retire, get released. It’s all part of the game.
But there are some popular figures whose exits are a little more difficult to deal with; those players who have painted themselves into the club’s history with years of loyal and impressive service.
Donnacha Ryan is one of those players. The Tipp man closes the door on 13 years with his native province today after the Guinness Pro12 final against Scarlets [KO 6.15pm, TG4/Sky Sports].
Ryan has been a key man for Rassie Erasmus’ side this season and a stalwart in recent years, and the hope amongst the Munster squad is that they can send the 33-year-old off to Racing 92 in winning fashion.
“Obviously, disappointed we are losing a good man on and off the pitch,” says Munster captain Peter O’Mahony. “From the club’s point of view, on the pitch he is an incredible player and the amount of work he has got through this year and for the last 12 or 13 years or however long he has been here, the amount of caps he has.
“We are quite a young team with a squad that doesn’t have a huge amount of caps and Donners obviously has one of the highest.
“Look, it is a pity to lose him but it is nice that the last game I will play with him will be a final. It’ll hopefully be finishing off on a good note.”
Ryan will be keen to make a major impact on his final Munster appearance, while outside centre Francis Saili is also set to bid farewell to the province today, but O’Mahony insists that there has been little focus on those departures this week.
“I don’t think so. The task ahead is very big and a difficult one with the quality that Scarlets have. I think we got our emotion way off the last time we played Glasgow [in the Pro12 final] a few years ago.
“For us, to win we have to be tactically immaculate and our rugby has to be very good. The emotion will come but the most important thing is that we have our detail right and that we are accurate against Scarlets.
“Look, you’ve seen the performances they have put in. A lot of people have been talking about the Leinster game but they have been playing well for three or four months and even since their third game in the Pro12.
“They’ve hit a huge amount of form lately and we have to be very good.”
O’Mahony’s insistence that Munster got their emotional approach wrong in their most recent Pro12 final against Glasgow in 2015 is a fascinating one.
Paul O’Connell was checking out on his time with the province at that point, also set for a move to France with Toulon before being denied that opportunity due to a career-ending hamstring injury, and O’Mahony feels that exit became too much of a focus
“Obviously, the fact that Paulie was leaving was a huge factor, it was a big part of… he’d been there so long. You kind of run a similarity with Donners and, not that we made it all about it being Paulie’s last game, but the emotion was flowing because it was.
“This time around, Donners knows how important he is and how much he means to the club, but this week him more than anyone drove the rugby side of things, drove our lineout and drove our detail, as he always does.
“He didn’t carry on any differently. We just kept our heads down. If we’re going to win, we’re going to win because we play well and that’s the most important thing.”
As with everything else, this Munster side have been learning valuable lessons over the last few seasons. Though they will look to honour Ryan, his impending exit will not cloud their focus on delivering an excellent performance today.
The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
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Donnacha Ryan donners Munster pom Scarlets