Williams Relishing Return To PRO12 Action

Following an extensive ten weeks of pre-season, Munster’s Duncan Williams is looking forward to a return to competitive action against Benetton Treviso this weekend in Round 1 of the 2015/16 Guinness PRO12.

Williams and his Munster teammates welcome the Italian outfit to Irish Independent Park in Cork off the back of mixed results in three pre-season friendlies, suffering defeats to Grenoble and Connacht at Thomond Park before a much improved performance and win against London Irish in Cork.

“The first couple of games we showed a good bit of rustiness but we had a much better run out last weekend against London Irish. Things began to click a bit better, the final pass stuck that bit more and the work we did on our defence that week also paid off.

“Treviso are always a tough team to play against and caught us out in defence the last time they were here, scoring three tries against us. They always raise their game when they come to Munster and we in turn find it tricky to play against them. It will be a case of back to basics, doing the simple things right and seeing where we go from there.”

Inconsistent performances saw Munster playing catch-up at the beginning of last season with Williams and company keen not to make the same mistake again.

“A winning start is everything. We lost to Edinburgh at the start of last season and that had us on the back foot straight away. A first game win would give us some momentum to carry into the Ospreys game the week after. Every competition we play in we want to win and all eyes are on Treviso this weekend.”

The opening rounds of this year’s league sees all PRO12 sides without the services of their World Cup internationals. Munster have 5 players Joe Schmidt's World Cup squad while Treviso have 8 representatives in the Italian side along with Filo Paulo of Samoa.

“Every team will be in the same boat and it’s no different from other seasons when we’d be without internationals after their summer tours. Treviso will still have a big strong pack with a lot of guys getting their chance and wanting to impress. We need to be wary of that and get on the front foot from the off.”

Munster are still unbeaten at Irish Independent Park since its redevelopment last year and Williams looks forwards to his second outing at the Cork venue in as many weeks.

“Being a Cork-man born and bred I love playing in Irish Independent Park. Even when I was in school (CBC) we used play our Cup matches there. We only play four PRO12 games in Cork each season and that makes them all the more special when they come around. On the other hand you can't beat a big European night in Thomond Park – anyone who has ever played in one of those occasions acknowledges how special it is.”

Munster v Benetton Treviso, Guinness PRO12 Round 1, Saturday September 5^th – KO 7:45pm.

Show your support for Duncan and the lads as they embark on a brand new season. Tickets from just €;15 for Adults and €;30 for Families (2 Adults & 2 Kids) are now on sale.

Tickets can be purchased online here, from the Munster Rugby Ticket Offices at Irish Independent Park and Thomond Park, or by calling 0818 719 300.

Meanwhile, tickets for Munster and Treviso's Champions Cup clash are now on sale as part of 3 Match Packs. Click here for more.