Munster have all they need to be champions… but not this season

"I'm getting tired of learning lessons myself, personally, to be honest." Peter O'Mahony struggled to take many positives out of Munster's Champions Cup semi-final exit at the hands of Racing 92, last month. For Munster, in Europe, they have done remarkably well in reaching the knock-out stages but have suffered the knock-outs far too frequently for their liking. On Saturday, at Thomond Park, Munster reached another semi-final after they did for Edinburgh in front of a sparse crowd. Leinster are up next and they will be heavy favourites unless they ship serious damage, and casualties, in this weekend's Champions Cup final. Former Leinster and Ireland star Kevin McLaughlin joined The Hard Yards to look ahead to that final but [from 32:00 below] he had some positive things to say about Munster's prospects. Although the will lose Simon Zebo, Robin Copeland and Gerbrandt Grobler at season's end, they are promoting three academy players to senior squad contracts and bringing in Tadhg Beirne from Scarlets and Sale Sharks flyer Mike Haley. Asked what Munster need to truly place themselves at Europe's 'top table', McLaughlin responded:

"I think they are at the top table. They got to the semi-final of Europe. They're in the semi-final of the league. "I think they have the squad and they would have had the squad to beat Racing [until injuries intervened]. Imagine guys like Chris Farrell and Jaco Taute playing in that game. It's completely different. "Sammy Arnold and some of those guys have stepped up and they were okay against Toulon at home, but it's a different beast away in France. You need your big players. Having a full roster to pick from or even three or four of their marquee players for that game would have made a big difference. "The couple of signings they are bringing in are huge. They're in a good place. I wouldn't change a huge amount. "The 10 thing, I'm glad to see they are backing a horse [in JJ Hanrahan] and sticking with him... JJ will need a test, like Leinster in the semi, but it will be good for him. Keatley has done well for them but, the fact is, he's getting older now and they need to bring someone else in. They can't keep waiting for Tyler Bleyendaal to get fit."

Looking at Munster with a critical eye, they are short at second row for next season while waiting for Hanrahan to prove he can hold onto that No.10 jersey has been a long-running saga. They have an extremely good team when everyone is fit but, as we witnessed this season, a few bad injuries and the squad is stretched too far. Those injuries are mostly long-term so Munster will have to draw on the same players that got close but not close enough for the May 19 clash with Leinster. Defeating that fearsome, deep squad on enemy territory looks beyond them but Munster are certainly capable of pulling off a shock. One wonders if Johann Van Graan will be able to strengthen any further, from outside the province, before the start of next season.