IN PICS: Racing Preparations

Take an exclusive peek at preparations on the training field ahead of Saturday’s return to Champions Cup action against Racing 92 in Paris. Plus get the pre-match thoughts of hooker Niall Scannell who highlights the scrum as an area needing improvement following Munster’s hard fought win in Connacht.

Click here to view the latest Munster training shots in UL.

Of late Munster have enjoyed a good return off set piece, notably through the maul with the scrum also providing a good platform for those behind it, albeit that it came undone on occasion against Connacht last weekend.

Niall Scannell has been a vital cog in the Munster tight eight all season – featuring in 15 of 16 games competitive games – and earmarks the scrum as a crucial battle in Paris this weekend.

“We have to improve, that wasn't the standard against Connacht that we've set for the season. We need to be better.

“And fair play to Connacht, they challenged us. There's a need to improve but we also want to be cautious that we don't throw the baby out of the bath water.

“It's been going well. There's a lot of work and solid foundations gone into it. It's about not letting those mistakes creep in in a consistent way and they haven't really been. We've just got to put it behind us and make sure we're better this week over in Paris.

“Racing have a lot of big men and a lot of experienced scrummagers. It's always a massive challenge going over to France from a scrum point of view. It'd be great to lay down a marker over there but we need to eradicate some of the errors we made last week first.”

Racing 92 v Munster, European Champions Cup Pool 1, Saturday January 7th at the Stade Yves-du-Manoir – ko 3.45pm (Irish time).

This game will be broadcast on Sky Sports.

Next Home Game
Over 20,000 tickets have now been sold for the return encounter with Racing on Saturday January 21^st at 5.30pm.

Tickets can be purchased online here, from the Munster Rugby Ticket Offices at Thomond Park and Irish Independent Park or by calling 061 421103.

Ticket offers
Adult and Junior: Purchase any adult ticket and purchase an accompanying ticket (for Junior) at half price.

Student: Tickets start from €;10 with valid Student ID required at the gate on matchday.

Match Packs: Simply select a minimum of three games and save 10% across the cost of all games. Match Packs can be bought online here.