O’Driscoll Previews Interpro Campaign

Munster ‘A’ commence this season’s Interprovincial Series away to Leinster ‘A’ at Donnybrook tomorrow evening – KO 5pm. ‘A’ Head Coach Mick O’Driscoll discusses the benefits of Interprovincial games to both the senior and ‘A’ squads as Munster prepare for impending PRO12 and B&I Cup action.

O’Driscoll is set to name his first side of the season later this afternoon and will once again draw from a combined pool of senior, academy and club players.

“It’s a good opportunity to give some younger Academy guys some game time together with a number of the senior squad who might also need game time. From the point of view of the senior squad we have a big block of games on the horizon (16 weekends in a row between all competitions) that we need to prepare guys for, while for Munster ‘A’, we’ll use these Interprovincials to build strength in depth heading into the British & Irish Cup – a competition that seems to be getting tougher and tougher year on year.

“Hopefully we’ll also have some club guys involved this week and going forward. It’s a great opportunity for those who train hard week in week out with their club. It’s just reward for their dedication and talent and it shows the quality that we have in the club game. It’s also very good of the clubs to release these guys so they can play with us.

“These games give us a good view of certain players and give us an idea as to whether or not they are at the standard required for professional rugby.”

This season’s Interprovincial Series will represent a steep learning curve for a number of Munster’s younger representatives with O’Driscoll hoping his senior charges will lead from the front and lay down a marker at this level.

“We want to see our more experienced guys put their hands up for the senior side in these games. These games afford them the game time they need so when the senior opportunity arises, hopefully they’ll slot seamlessly into the side.

“A lot of these guys who feature for Munster ‘A’ will play some part in the PRO12 going forward this season. We don’t have the biggest squad in the world so with the seniors going into a 16 week block of games there will be injuries, player rotation and guys needing to be rested. There will be opportunities not just for senior players, but for younger guys too and we need to prepare them accordingly and Leinster and the other provinces will be looking to do the same.”

While achieving a result remains foremost in O’Driscoll’s thoughts, the Head Coach also sees the Series as an opportune platform to experiment ahead of the hectic schedule of rugby that lie in wait.

“In my view it’s always important to win every game that you go out to play and that doesn’t change in these Interprovincials. That said, getting good quality game time for guys will be important also. Both Leinster and ourselves will have a big squad for tomorrow evening’s game so we can expect some rolling on and rolling off. The second half at least won’t be as fluid as a normal game, but they are the opportunities that games like this present and we’ve agreed that with Leinster.

“A large part of these games will be about seeing different guys, trying out different positions and combinations.

Leinster ‘A’ v Munster ‘A’, Interprovincial Series, Wednesday October 7^th at Donnybrook – KO 5pm.