Players Take Well-Earned Break

After Saturday night’s bruising win over Ospreys in Thomond Park, the Munster players not on international duty can take a deserved week off.

Donncha O’Callaghan and James Coughlan return to the Ireland squad after playing their part on Saturday night, with the former having signed a contract extension that will keep him at Munster until 2016.

The injured players will remain in rehab with the strength and conditioning coaches and the medical staff.

With two difficult away matches in Wales looming after the break, Head Coach Rob Penney conceded that he won’t be putting his feet up.

“There’s a lot of preparation going in over the next fortnight but the players need a break.

“Most of the lads are going away to have a breath of fresh air and the chance to go and relax and get away from the game for a week.

“We’ll be back in next Tuesday and then Gerhard Van Den Heever arrives and hopefully we can assimilate him into our environment nice and seamlessly.

“We’ll be preparing for an away match in Cardiff and then Newport Gwent Dragons a week later which are two big efforts for us away from home.”

Damien Varley captained the side against Ospreys and led by example with a man of the match performance and the hooker is looking forward to the break.

“It will be nice to have a few days off to reflect and relax a little bit and it gives us time to regroup and focus on the next couple of weeks.

“The lead up to Christmas will be pivotal for the rest of the season so it's a good time to prepare for the next phase.”

Munster A are in action during the international break, they face Leinster A in an important interprovincial match at Clonmel RFC on Thursday, November 14 (ko 6:30pm).

In the first game of the Interprovincial series, Munster A defeated Connacht Eagles 20-12 at Musgrave Park.