WITH THE NEW URC season kicking-off next weekend, we go around the provinces to look at the different pressures and challenges facing the men in charge at Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster.
Connacht:
Pete Wilkins was always going to face a tough task in replacing the hugely popular Andy Friend at The Sportsground, and that proved to be the case last season. With an all-new coaching team around him, Wilkins saw Connacht struggle for consistency, losing nine of their 18 URC games on their way to a 11th-place finish, five points off the play-offs.
Injuries hit them hard, with statement signing Santiago Cordero only returning for their final two fixtures and Mack Hansen sitting out the second half of the campaign. Connacht can’t afford to have their top men sitting in the stands and Wilkins needs better luck with injuries this time around.
In some ways this season will feel like a fresh start. A major redevelopment project is well underway at The Sportsground and long-serving squad members like Tiernan O’Halloran, Jarrad Butler, Tom Daly, Tom Farrell and Gavin Thornbury have all moved on.
New Zealand out-half Josh Ioane is an intriguing arrival who can add more spark to their backline, yet Connacht’s attack is never an overly pressing concern. This season Wilkins will be more interested in getting an improved return from Connacht’s pack and tightening up a defence which looked far too soft at times last season.
With no Champions Cup on their schedule, games against Zebre, Perpignan, Lyon and Cardiff in the Challenge Cup should allow Connacht to be competitive across two competitions, while a spot in the URC play-offs has to be the minimum aim. Anything less, and Wilkins could find his position under threat.
Leinster:
Expectations are always high at Leinster, but the pressure has perhaps never been more keenly felt during Leo Cullen’s tenure.
Now entering his ninth season in charge, Cullen has helped transform a club that were in need of a lift, but, as those within the province will themselves admit, three trophyless seasons on the bounce is not good enough given the talent on their books. The margins were fine in last season’s Champions Cup final defeat to Toulouse but the bottom line is that Leinster came out on the wrong side of the result again.
This season the Champions Cup will remain their primary target, but URC success would not be sniffed at given the wait for silverware. Jordie Barrett, RG Snyman and Rabah Slimani are all on board to bolster what is already a star-studded squad, and it will be interesting to see how Cullen juggles his resources when it comes to those pressure European games. This season they face old foes La Rochelle, Bristol, Bath and Clermont.
Perhaps his biggest selection headache lies at out-half. Ross Byrne has been Cullen’s man but Ciarán Frawley’s exploits against the Springboks provided further evidence that he’s up to the task, with the skillful Sam Prendergast also banging on the door. Cullen’s faith in Byrne has previously frustrated Leinster supporters and now looks a good time to shake things up at 10. Another notable call has already been made, with Cullen moving away from the failed co-captain experiment by naming Caelan Doris as the province’s skipper for the season.
Cullen should benefit from having Jacques Nienaber around for a full pre-season, with the South African arriving midway through the 2023/24 campaign following his World Cup commitments with South Africa, while Tyler Bleyendaal has been handed the keys to Leinster’s attack on the back of Andrew Goodman’s promotion to the Ireland set-up.
Leinster moved away from their all-action attacking brand last season as Nienaber implemented his aggressive defensive system, so it will be fascinating to watch how the Leinster coaching team look to strike that balance this season.
Cullen remains a popular figure at Leinster but has spoken of his desire to test himself in a different environment, be it Test rugby or perhaps a different sport altogether.
The former Leinster and Ireland lock has tended to sign short-term contracts with his employers and his latest two-year deal expires at the end of the season. He may well want to continue in his role beyond this season but should the province fall short again with those high-profile arrivals on board, major questions will be asked.
Munster:
Graham Rowntree quickly became a popular figure at Munster after he joined Johann van Graan’s coaching team in 2019, and while the process to hand him the top job dragged out longer than he would have liked three years later, his first season as top man exceeded all expectations.
After a rocky start under the former Leicester player, Munster stormed to a URC success which ended the province’s 12-year trophy drought. It was a superb achievement, but last season was a tougher watch for Munster fans.
Admittedly, Rowntree had to deal with a massive injury list, but his depleted squad coped with those pressures and topped the URC table. Yet the playoffs saw Munster fall flat, making hard work of beating the Ospreys in the quarter-finals before a home defeat to eventual champions Glasgow, games in which their attacking game looked oddly laboured. With a potential Thomond Park final on the line, it felt like a major missed opportunity.
There was also a familiar sense of disappointment to their Champions Cup journey, exiting at the hands on Northampton in the round of 16. Munster’s injury-hit squad looked a little light on the day and this season, there is a feeling Rowntree will need to keep his key men fit if they are to crack Europe, with the province to face Stade Francais, Castres, Saracens and Northampton Saints in the pool stages.
Rowntree does have a promising group of young players pushing through but the loss of skilful centre Antoine Frisch is a blow, as is the retirement of Simon Zebo. Again, Rowntree will look to promote from within and has already spoken excitedly about the potential of young players like Sean Edogbo, whose brother Edwin was making waves before an Achilles injury last December.
With a settled coaching team around him, Rowntree will hope for less disruption among the playing ranks as they look to improve on what was ultimately an underwhelming 2023/24 campaign. If the 2023 URC win was an unexpectedly early title success, there is now expectation that Munster should be fighting on both fronts.
Ulster:
It’s a massive year for Richie Murphy, who stepped into the Ulster hot seat following Dan McFarland’s exit last February. There was a stale feeling at Ulster towards the end of McFarland’s reign and Murphy injected some much-needed positivity across the season’s end, but the challenge this year will be to really put his own stamp on things.
There’s likely to be some bumps along the way, with budget cuts resulting in a notable player exodus and only a handful of new faces coming on board, including South African winger Werner Kok and former Hurricane’s 10 Aidan Morgan. More than ever, youth will be key for Ulster.
Murphy enjoyed huge success as Ireland U20s head coach so has a clear track record of getting the most from young players, something he’ll be aiming to repeat in Belfast. The province have a promising crop of young talent on their books and the Wicklow native will need to push some of them through this season.
In this regard, the appointment of Jimmy Duffy as forwards coach looks promising. Duffy worked alongside Murphy during the Ireland U20s successful 2022 Grand Slam win, before spending the last two seasons with Perth’s Western Force.
One of the most pressing issues facing Murphy is their tricky start to the new campaign. With his young squad likely to be heavily impacted by the upcoming Emerging Ireland tour, Murphy has admitted he is anticipating a ‘disruptive’ start to his first full season at the helm. Ulster don’t want to be chasing the pack heading into the second half of the season, so negotiating those early fixtures, which includes a trip to South Africa for rounds two and three, could prove crucial.
A decent Champions Cup run might be a step too far, with Ulster set to play Toulouse, Bordeaux, Leicester and Exeter, but they will be desperately determined to improve on last season’s return of three defeats from four.
Murphy will be afforded time given the challenges the province face and any steady signs of progress should be enough to satisfy his employers and supporters alike.
