Familiar Opposition For Keatley

We chat with Ian Keatley as he prepares to face his former team-mates in this weekend’s Guinness PRO12 Round 8 encounter with Connacht at Thomond Park – KO 5.15pm.

Prior to joining Munster in 2011, the playmaker spent three seasons with Connacht – where he made 57 appearances – and knows first-hand the ambition, drive and growing belief within the western province.

“I had three great seasons there. I achieved a lot while I was there – got a lot of game time, got a lot of experience and thoroughly enjoyed it. When I was there we always had a plan to build a legacy and become a squad with strength and depth and to compete at the top level. It’s taken them a few years to get there – but it’s great to see that they are building and becoming a great side. They changed their team around for the Challenge Cup, and that shows the strength in depth, and they won all their matches.

“I’m looking forward to playing them again. We played them in the pre-season and in fairness to them they did a job on us at home in Thomond Park in the pre-season friendly, but the league is completely different. They’re first, we’re second and we want to go top of the league. We can’t think about what Connacht are doing, how well they are playing at the moment. We need to nullify that and bring our own game plan and impose that in Thomond Park.”

With the postponement of Munster’s Champions Cup fixture against Stade Francais in Paris, Keatley and his teammates were afforded some extra preparation time for Saturday’s table-topping interprovincial.

“The games were called off last weekend for a reason. I was very sad to hear about what happened in Paris and we totally respect the reasons for calling off the games. It did give us a break because we were scheduled for 16 weeks in a row – game after game. We will obviously have to make up for the game later on in the season but we had a chance to regroup, recover from the Treviso game and we had our focus on Connacht from last week on.”

Saturday at 5.15pm makes for the ideal kick-off time with Keatley hopeful for strong home support when Munster take to the field at Thomond Park this weekend.

“Obviously the World Cup was on and that was a bit of a hindrance, and then the first interpro game was on a Friday night at 6pm, and you can’t expect fans especially from Cork and elsewhere to make those games. I think as the league continues on, the fans will come out, and if the weather stays dry, that has a huge impact. The timing of the games has a huge impact as well. I know the fans are there, and they want to get to our games. Hopefully the timing of the games will suit the fans and they will come out in force.”

Munster v Connacht, Guinness PRO12 Round 8, Saturday November 28^th at Thomond Park – KO 5.15pm.

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

• Adults from €;20
• Families from €;40 (2 adults & 2 kids)
• Juniors from €;7

Three Match Pack
Why not incorporate this game with a Champions Cup fixture and another PRO12 game of your choice (not including Leinster)? Match Packs start from just €;45 and also save you 10% across the cost of all three tickets. Click here to start building yours.