SOME OF THE Munster squad who returned to Ireland from South Africa last Wednesday have since tested positive for Covid-19, the province has confirmed.
A group of 34 players and staff landed back into the country last week after being given the green light by Irish and South African authorities to depart Cape Town.
Munster left 14 players and staff behind in a quarantine hotel in Cape Town after they had tested positive for Covid during the provinceโs visit to South Africa.
However, Munster have now confirmed that some of the travelling party who returned to Ireland last week have also tested positive for the virus since landing back into the county and entering mandatory self-isolation.
Some of the group have been self-isolating at a hotel in Limerick, with others returning to their homes.
Those positive cases have added another layer of complication to the provinceโs preparations for Sundayโs Champions Cup clash with Wasps, given that there is some hope that Munster could welcome a handful of players back into their matchday squad after they complete isolation this Saturday.
A separate group of Ireland internationals and promising young players โ none of whom travelled to South Africa โ have been preparing for the Wasps game under the guidance of academy boss Ian Costello in Limerick over the past two fortnight.
Munster head coach Johann van Graan confirmed that the bulk of this weekendโs matchday 23 will come from that group.
But van Graan, who is among the group still in isolation at present, confirmed that some of the players and coaches who returned from South Africa could still be involved in the trip to Coventry this weekend.
โThereโs so many dynamics at play here,โ said van Graan this afternoon. โAll I will say is that Public Health has been excellent in assisting us. Thereโs a full PCR testing programme going on.
โThere will potentially be certain players available. Weโve got to announce a team on Friday afternoon, weโve still got to go and get through training after that, so anything is possible at this stage.
โBut the main message from myself and all the coaches this week is that the whole focus is on the players in the HPC [high performance centre]. If we need any assistance in terms of selection, we will give that but you have to also look at the bigger picture here.
โGuys have been sitting in their hotel rooms for almost two weeks, at home. Some players are sick, others arenโt. It hasnโt been ideal but we are putting all our effort into the players at the HPC. If we can and need to, we will assist from the outside.โ
The Munster boss added that โnobody is very sickโ as he outlined his pride in how his players have handled this challenge.
Van Graan confirmed that he will pick the team for this weekend but reiterated that Costello is โthe man on the groundโ at training in Limerick this week.
Costello returned to Munster from Wasps just last summer, having served as the Premiership clubโs defence coach for three seasons.
Wasps are on a five-game losing streak and missing several key players for this weekend, but Costello is expecting a stern challenge.
โTheyโll fancy themselves at home,โ said Costello. โTheyโre a really good side on their day despite their form. Theyโve got some really good individuals, a really exciting brand of rugby.
โOur focus has to be completely on us because weโre just pulling together as a team at the moment.
โWeโre dropping in little bits of information and weโre doing work in the background, but we have a lot to get right ourselves in the next couple days. Later in the week, weโll take a close look at Wasps.โ
Meanwhile, van Graan confirmed that the players and staff who had to remain in South Africa after positive Covid tests are all being well taken care of.
โTheyโre all in good spirits and weโre all connected,โ said van Graan.
โItโs important to know that this isnโt finished, meaning Covid is not going away. Guys are still in hotel rooms at home so this will be an ongoing thing.โ
Great save by Kelleher near the end. Comfortable afternoon for him
Top player.
Super performance and result albeit against a woeful Watford. Unlikely to be a worse performance by any PL team this season. Salah is unbelievable and his goal was magical, give him the contract his performances and goals deserve. Great to see Firmino scoring. Though Kelleher had nothing to do he kept his concentration to make a very good save at the end. Gonna be a tight title race. Surprised Salah and Mane played the 90 minutes, Minamino could have done with game time especially against that Watford team.
Mo Salah is WOW!!! a pleasure to watch himโฆ..Firmino not bad either : )
Time to sack Ranieriโฆโฆ.
@John S: dilly ding dilly dong
@Heckler davies: dilly ding, dilly gone
Class win and 3 more handy points. We will be hard to stop This season as we put last seasons blip behind us
Danny Rose will sleep tonight. Great performance against an albeit poor side!!
Give Mo all the money. Almost 0% chance of being able to replace him
Lewandowski and Salah are the best players in the world on current form.
I donโt think Iโve ever seen a PL side as bad as that Watford side todayโฆ.if they lost 10-0 it wouldnโt have been a surprise! Woefulโฆ
@Ottomaaan: you forgot to mention that they were up against a solid side with a rampant front three, there, I fixed it for youโฆ. :)
@Gordon Larney: no need to fix anything. That was the worst performance Iโve ever seen from a PL side, dreadful stuff and Liverpool could have put 10 past them.
@Ottomaaan: have to agree. I was at the game and never seen such a bad performance from a PL team.
Salah in great form. But how long canhe hold that form? He has 20-25 goals in him a season, but heโs up and down. If he held this form, heโd be close to 40 goals?
Bigger tests against Athletico and United on the way.
@Finn Faulkner: did you like your own commentโฆ
@Finn Faulkner: how long can he do that. ? He has been doing it for the last 4 seasons. 104 goals in 166 games in the Premier league but you think he should score more. Okay so
@Finn Faulkner: youโre gonna need bigger bait on that hook โฆ.
@WESHALLNOTBEMOVED: But by that metric 4 seasons at 40 goals would be 160 goals. He hasn t done that. But my point is that if he can keep that killer hat on his head for a prolonged period, and with our squad almost injury free, he could break records for us. Iโm HOPING he keeps this lethal form indefinitely. He still canโt be put in the Messi/Ronaldo category until he starts being seriously clinical. Iโd love to see him win the Balloon dโOr this year (or the next)
@len len: No, but seeing as you need likes, here, have mine. Have a lovely day.
@WESHALLNOTBEMOVED: you included his Chelsea stats there, itโs 102 in 153 for Liverpool
@Shane Roche: Itโs still an amazing number of goals per season, but I think he can go even further, he needs to keep this current form. Biggest tests are against Athletico and then United.
That salah. Goal was pure roy of the rovers.. Pure art.. He must be a great dancer..
As good as Liverpool are, and they are really good. This in my opinion is all about Klopp.