Conway On Making Last Weekend Count

5th May 2016 By Munster Rugby

Leading the charge with a Man of the Match performance in Munster’s bonus point win over Edinburgh, Andrew Conway maintains that last weekend’s team effort ‘counts for nothing’ if not backed up by another strong performance in Thomond Park this weekend.

Putting himself around the field with great purpose in Cork, the winger’s try – Munster’s third on the night – was his just deserves after he beautifully offloaded in the tackle to Rory Scannell for the opening score before showcasing strength, speed and kicking skill in handing-off Tom Brown and engineering the kick-chase off of which Simon Zebo crossed for Munster’s second.

“I got the ball away to Rory for the first one and then got one myself so it’s good to be involved in those moments. Over the last while I probably haven’t been as busy out on the pitch as I’d have like to have been because I would have been carrying a few niggles. I was just really conscious of being active and busy and adding value and sharing the workload.”

The 27-19 win at Irish Independent Park saw Munster re-join the league’s top six and put them in the driving seat for Champions Cup qualification, so now, according to Conway, it’s about making Friday’s return to form count.

“We got there in the end. It was a tight game and we had to show a bit of courage. There was a lot on the line, especially in front of a big, vocal crowd in Cork. We came good but it kinda counts for nothing now. We’ve given ourselves the opportunity to go again on Saturday against Scarlets who are one of the best teams in the league, they’re unbelievably dangerous from anywhere on the pitch. They’ve got some of Wales’ best players in that backline so it’s going to be a big challenge.”

Munster require a minimum of two points for Champions Cup qualification so Conway and his teammates will realistically target a win to make safe their participation in top flight European rugby next season. Easier said than done, especially against a Scarlets side who travel to Limerick with the sole objective of securing as many points as possible in chasing down Ulster for the final play-off position.

For the second consecutive game, Munster enter a battle in which the outcome is pivotal to both sides’ respective ambitions and, as with the Edinburgh encounter, Conway is hoping supporters can help Munster fully exploit home advantage.

“It was brilliant (last weekend in Cork). I hadn’t played in front of a packed out crowd for a while and you forget how special it is sometimes and Cork is obviously a smaller stadium so it’s easier to fill but the support was unreal, how vocal it was. We know that we’re trying to provide a performance for people to come and enjoy themselves and it was quite an entertaining game. There was a lot on the line last week so it would be unreal if we can get a big crowd this week because you can see it helps you. As much as you want to create your own atmosphere, when an atmosphere is created for you it makes things a hell of a lot easier.”

Munster v Scarlets, Guinness PRO12 Round 22, Saturday May 7^th at Thomond Park Stadium – KO 3pm.

Get behind the team at Thomond Park this weekend. Tickets can be purchased online here, from the Munster Rugby Ticket Offices in Irish Independent Park and Thomond Park or by calling 061 421103 or 0818 719 300.

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