Penney Prepares For ‘Massive Contest’

Munster face Leinster at a sold-out Aviva Stadium on Saturday night as they look to reclaim top spot in the RaboDirect PRO12 with Head Coach Rob Penney well aware of the importance of the clash.

He said: “We’re treating this game with the respect it deserves. It’s a local derby, it’s a massive contest for both sides and there’s an immense amount of tradition within the game. The passion and parochialism around Irish rugby for these two provinces is without peer around the world, I would suggest,” he added.

Munster beat Leinster 19-15 when the sides met at Thomond Park at the start of October but Matt O’Connor’s side go into the game on a massive high having won each of their last nine games with a large Leinster contingent helping Ireland to the Six Nations trophy.

New Zealander Penney hailed the quality of Saturday night’s opponents but insisted that his players won’t be distracted by the notion of ‘getting one over’ on their opposite number.

“Leinster are a great side, they’re full of internationals and that’s the reality of it,” said Penney.

“Fixtures like this come around with a massive amount of emotional attachment and the last thing you want is to be overcooked. The sideshow of the players who want to play their way into Joe [Schmidt’s] frame is a dangerous one because it takes guys onto an individual pathway that’s not conducive to having a positive outcome for the team.

“There are challenges within the individual battles that guys need to step up for. The key thing is that they are focused on what’s in the best interest of Munster and the best interest of their team-mates. At the end of that, hopefully they can look back with a lot of pride on a really good evening’s performance and hopefully good enough to get the points. If it’s not, at least they’ve done the right thing by the group and by the jersey.”

Munster have a vital Heineken Cup quarter-final against Toulouse in Thomond Park following the trip to Dublin, but Penney is looking no further than Saturday night.

“The Heineken Cup is important but so are local derbies. And this local derby has been added another dimension because of the position in the table of the two sides and because of the success of Leinster in recent years and I’d like to think that Munster have clawed back a little bit.

"We’ve got a long way to go and we still want to be as respected as Leinster are and as good as they are and to do that we have to put in the performance on the field. “