Share
5th January 2022
11:02am GMT
Damian de Allende of Munster reacts during his side's United Rugby Championship loss to Connacht. (Photo by Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile)[/caption]
"It was one of the worst games of rugby I've ever seen in my life," said Hennessy of Connacht's 10-8 win over Munster. "It was almost like watching a different sport. It was certainly the worst game I've seen all season, and I was at Munster vs. Castres!"
As highlighted by former Ireland hooker Bernard Jackman, after the game, Munster had 28 kicks, 45 passes and 59 carries in the entire game. Munster outhalf Ben Healy made only one carry and five passes as he put boot to leather and kicked away a lot of possession. In fairness to Healy, only hoick resulted in a try off a Mack Hansen error, but that was as good as it got.
"If you ask any Munster fan [about Van Graan], they'd say the same. He's a lovely guy and he's done a lot of good for the province in the last few years, but it's good that he's leaving at the end of the season, because they're going nowhere at the moment. They don't seem to have a game-plan. "They played some lovely rugby against Wasps. I don't know whether that was because of [stand-in coach] Ian Costello or whether it was the young guys playing. Then, against Castres, it was absolute rubbish. Against Connacht, rubbish. I don't know what's going on. You can't blame the players because that game-plan that was set out against Connacht, like... what are you doing? That's not rugby."[caption id="attachment_244172" align="aligncenter" width="640"]
Johann van Graan, head coach of Munster, is off to Bath next season. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)[/caption]
"On paper, if you put down Munster's full-strength team, they are right up there. I don't think they are better than Leinster, but they are capable of beating them. On paper, Munster are better than Ulster... If you go through their best team, it's unbelievable. Such a team. Conway, Zebo, Earls, and don't get me started on the young guys coming through."For Hennessy, though, Munster could be heading for another rebuilding period, especially if Damian De Allende and RG Snyman follow Van Graan through the 'Exit' door, in the summer. Greg O'Shea, who was part of the Munster senior squad for a couple of seasons before he switched to Sevens, believes there could be a disconnect between the head coach and his players. In terms of a replacement for van Graan, Hennessy mentioned that Crusaders coach Scott Robinson and former All Blacks coach Steve Hansen had been mentioned as leading candidates, while there is talk of former boss Declan Kidney returning to take up a director of rugby role. Kidney could oversee operations with the likes of Costello and Mike Prendergast taking on coaching roles. Former fullback Felix Jones is the Springboks' point-man in Europe but could be tempted with a backs coach, or attack, brief.
"Munster do have global appeal," says Cave, "and no name would be off the table for them... "They'll have the money and they've got options. If I was a Munster fan, I'd be optimistic about next season... they have lots of good players and have the foundations there."Ronan O'Gara has already stated he is committed to La Rochelle, having recently penned a three-year contract, and Paul O'Connell is in with the Ireland senior squad, but there are plenty of decent options out there. WATCH HOUSE OF RUGBY URC HERE:
Explore more on these topics:
