MUNSTER WILL START regrouping around the middle of July to start preparing for the new season when they will try to defend their URC crown and have a crack at winning the Heineken Champions Cup for the first time since 2008.
They will return with a spring in their steps after their title-winning exploits in South Africa but one person attack coach Mike Prendergast does not expect to see rocking up to pre-season training at their High Performance Centre in Limerick in mid-July is out-half Jack Crowley.
Indeed, Prendergast, whose return to his native province after a decade in France was one of the cornerstones of Munster ending their 12-year title famine, does not expect to see Crowley until the end of the year because he expects the Cork man to be involved in the World Cup.
Crowley, who won the first of his three Irish caps against Fiji last November, has been included in Andy Farrell’s extended World Cup training squad and having spearheaded Munster’s URC success with a drop goal winner against Leinster in the semi-final and a top class display in last weekend’s final against the Stormers, Prendergast is tipping him to have an impact in France this autumn.
“Jack is an outstanding player, just has a brilliant temperament. The good thing is that there’s a high ceiling and still room for improvement.
“He’s got the character, has the mental attributes, and he’s a tough boy as well. He’s a good leader, a good footballer, and has a big future.
“Something that’s been quite positive is he’s played in a couple of positions, playing 12 gives you an appreciation of what’s needed as a 10. He’s been excellent everywhere we’ve asked him to play,” said Prendergast.
The attack coach said that having come together as a new management last summer and fire-fighting from early on when they lost five of their opening seven games, they are looking forward to an extended pre-season this time round.
“We’ll come in around the middle of July, the boys will have five or six weeks off. There’ll be a bit of management around that, because our league doesn’t start until 21 October.
“The long pre-season, it gives you more time with the players. Hopefully we’ll have some lads in the World Cup squad that will open opportunities for young guys, and it gives us an opportunity to work with them and see how they are.
“Fortunately, we train as 50, in terms of our senior team and academy, so they touch the ball a lot through training, and we get a good visual on how they’re doing and progressing.
“It’s something that’s been quite positive for us, having a very mixed group in terms of age and experience.”
The former Munster scrum-half, who had coaching roles with Grenoble, Oyonnax, Stade Francais and Racing 92 in addition to playing stints at Gloucester and Bourgoin, said the success at the weekend and the superb homecoming in Thomond Park on Monday night were the sort of things he came home for.
“Yeah, it was for days like this,” said the Limerick native, whose brother Gearoid will take charge of the Munster academy from this summer.
“I tasted a small bit as a player in 2006 and through those years, great years when it was all starting off. If I’m honest, I didn’t see it happening as quickly as this, but we’ll take it.
“One thing I know is how hard it is to win a trophy. It’s incredibly hard. I remember three seasons ago getting to a final of the Champions Cup against Exeter and losing. It’s a tough one getting to a final and losing it, so we’re just delighted.
“Delighted for the supporters, a lot of the lads have been around, the likes of George Murray (performance analyst) has been here 20 years and has seen a lot, I’m just delighted for things like that,” added Prendergast.
The League of Ireland is in a sorry state. This carry on is is not going away. As a Drogheda United we know more than most what its like when ones club chases the rainbow. How any player in the lower echelons of League of Ireland think its a good idea to be a footballer in Ireland is beyond me. All of these players will be out of contract at the end of the season, claim the dole and then go back to earning peanuts again. Its hardly a long term career plan. The FAI should use the their competition as a measure of how they as an association are performing….well its failing miserably. I’d love to see it get better, even to see it get to a Scottish standard with stadiums, facilities and televison deals would be enough but we are light years away from that.
@Patrick McHugh: so long as we keep ploughing our money into the EPL and the plastic paddy’s up north then we will never have a decent domestic league. Always love coming on here and seeing guys who proclaim to be Irish fans but will then on an EPL thread announce themselves as fans of UTD or Liverpool. The FAI don’t help though that much is true. If ever proof we’re needed then just look at the photos of Delaney or Mo’N in Inchicore poring over plans for the Richmond Bowl and on TV saying how good it will be for the game here. Oh, wait you can’t, Because they don’t exist!
@David Lawlor: Hi David, what do you mean by ‘ploughing money into the EPL and the plastic paddy up north’?
@Sean McFadden: Spending millions on trips to England and Glasgow Celtic. Non Irish teams.
@David Lawlor: Ok I get the EPL connect. The other part a reference to Hoops supporters from the North in particular?
@Sean McFadden: where does it say anything about people from the North? Very clearly talking about Celtic being north of England
fai imposes stoopid faux “licencing” bs scheeme on clubs wastes money on junkets 4 blazers & psuedo corporate fluff stuff (eg. Consultants) organization needs complete restructure & repurpose. Ireland’s soccer set up is unsustainable for long term ignoring grass roots development & proper investment in & development of local LofI &subsidiary league clubs & structures.
All our senior clubs have faced financial crises in recent times. The dundalks corks rovers etc included all hv faced financial catastrophe. FAI top brass response 2 ongoing recurring situations is 2 further distance itself from domestic scene.
Soccer is no.1 sport in ireland in terms of active players and reach, yet unlike other orgs like gaa irfu fai is appalingly run wthout proper strategic leadership or direction
When will the FAI realise that you can’t sustain a two division league system in this country and how many more teams have to go out of business for them to realize this and how do many of them get a licence year on year .Have one league with 14/ 16 teams but we all know its about money from UEFA ????????
@James Kelly: I think there’s some stipulation that you have to have at least 2 leagues to allow teams qualify for European competitions. I think
@Zossima: Nah, Gibraltar (the obvious one I could think of!) only have one division.
Love to see what that chancer Fran Gavin has to say about this.
It’s sad when this happens a club . Players have to be paid at the end of the day ! Some junior players are getting paid and they hold down jobs also , this is a stumbling block also to the clubs , why would a guy bother playing and travelling all around the country to train and play ! FAI have a lot of work to do when they get their heads out of the sand