It’s a scenario that was always likely in the immediate wake of Peter O’Mahony and Conor Murray retiring. Even so, this week’s Irish squad announcement starkly illustrated the scale of the task facing Munster against Leinster at Croke Park on Saturday (kick-off 5.15pm) and their straight-talking new head coach Clayton McMillan.
Whereas Leo Cullen has included 17 of the 21 Leinster players summoned by Andy Farrell for the upcoming autumnal internationals, McMillan has been restricted to using just two of Munster’s modest quartet of current Irish squad members. Nor is McMillan playing down the challenge facing both himself and Munster in the short and longer term.
Craig Casey (hamstring) and Tom Ahern (HIA) have been sidelined from this marquee fixture, although both will travel with the rest of the Irish squad to Chicago next week ahead of the All Blacks clash in just over a fortnight.
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At least Munster can welcome back their captain and Lions’ Player of the Series Tadhg Beirne for his seasonal reappearance as well as Jack Crowley for what will be a first head-to-head with Sam Prendergast.
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Both provinces unveiled their selections ahead of custom at 2.30pm on Thursday, suggesting they have been working in harmony off the pitch anyway.
Having cast his eye over 35 players in his first three matches, this looks like McMillan’s most form-related and revealing selection so far, and there are some eye-catching choices.
New signing Dan Kelly joins Tom Farrell in midfield with Edwin Edogbo making his first start since December 2023 after an impactful return off the bench against Edinburgh last Friday while Jack O’Donoghue and Brian Gleeson are brought into the backrow.
Hence, Jean Kleyn, Gavin Coombes and Alex Nankivell are on the bench, while in Casey’s absence, Ethan Coughlan has been preferred to Paddy Patterson.
McMillan described Gleeson as “a slightly different type of athlete to Gav [Coombes]”, adding: “He certainly hasn’t got the experience, but he’s a little bit bigger and he’s got some dynamic features to his game that we think will be important this week.”
McMillan said Edogbo gave Munster “a little bit of go-forward in the collision space” against Edinburgh, adding: “He was good off the ground, he had a good work rate for the short time that he was on, so I feel like it’s a good opportunity to get him out there and just see what he can do from the start.
“He probably hasn’t got the runs on the board to be able to go deep into the game, but to know that we can bring somebody of Jean Kleyn’s experience off the bench at some stage is probably a good mix for us, I think, this week.”
Edogbo and Gleeson will also travel with the Ireland squad as cover to Chicago next week, which is perhaps another reason for giving them an extended run-out as they’ll miss next week’s derby against Connacht. The young tyros are also the kind of players who can increase Munster’s contribution to Irish squads in the longer term.
For their part, Leinster make seven changes, with six of their 14-strong Lions contingent make their seasonal bows, namely James Ryan, captain Jack Conan, Jamison Gibson-Park and Garry Ringrose in the starting XV, as well as some bloke called RG Snyman, along with Andrew Porter and Dan Sheehan among a 6-2 bench missing Harry Byrne.
“I’ve come into this job eyes wide open,” said McMillan. “I was aware of the international talent that was leaving, the likes of Peter O’Mahony and those guys, and the relatively young squad that was left here.
“So, I’m under no illusions as to what I was walking into, but what I’ve encountered is a highly motivated group of young men who I think have a huge ceiling that we’re nowhere near and what really excites me is where we can get to.
“So, part of my motivation for being here is around getting more players in the national side because there’s a lot of positives that come from that. But it won’t happen overnight. It only comes through hard work, grit and determination and the selection on the weekend brings into stark reality the gulf that exists between Leinster and the other teams.
“But you won’t hear me complaining about it and you won’t hear me making excuses for anything. We’ve just got to roll up our sleeves and be better in a number of different areas to help bring that change to fruition.”
“In some respects we’ve been lucky to pick up the wins,” McMillan admitted in relation to their last two games. One of his main concerns has been their slow starts. “And if we do that against a team of Leinster’s quality, it’ll be game over by half-time.”
Hence, while Kleyn, Coombes and Nankivell will give the Munster bench oomph and experience, starting Edogbo and Gleeson is clearly designed to give fresh energy from the outset.
“We can’t come out of there and sit on our heels and wait to see what a quality Leinster side looks and feels like. If we do that then we’ll get run over. We’ve got to come out of the blocks. We’ve got to be physical, we’ve got to be accurate, we’ve got to be disciplined.
“Before I even landed in Ireland, I think Leinster would be a team that is admired around the globe for the style of rugby that they play, the quality of player they have.
“So, you know what you’re getting yourself in for and you certainly can’t afford to gift them any opportunities. You’ve got to make them work for everything and if you can do that for long enough you can give yourself a chance.”
Leinster: Jamie Osborne; Tommy O’Brien, Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, James Lowe; Sam Prendergast, Jamison Gibson-Park; Paddy McCarthy, Rónan Kelleher, Tadhg Furlong, RG Snyman, James Ryan, Alex Soroka, Josh van der Flier, Jack Conan (capt).
Replacements: Dan Sheehan, Andrew Porter, Thomas Clarkson, Brian Deeny, Max Deegan, Scott Penny, Fintan Gunne, Ciarán Frawley.
Munster: Shane Daly; Andrew Smith, Tom Farrell, Dan Kelly, Thaakir Abrahams; Jack Crowley, Ethan Coughlan; Michael Milne, Diarmuid Barron, John Ryan; Edwin Edogbo, Fineen Wycherley; Tadhg Beirne (capt), Jack O’Donoghue, Brian Gleeson.
Replacements: Lee Barron, Jeremy Loughman, Ronan Foxe, Jean Kleyn, Gavin Coombes, Paddy Patterson, JJ Hanrahan, Alex Nankivell.
Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR).
