Munster v Glasgow: Reds can't just bank on home comforts to reach URC final

MUNSTER may have home advantage for their URC semi-final against the Glasgow Warriors on Saturday, but they know that familiar surroundings alone will not book a place in next weekend’s final.

Munster are on an amazing 10-game winning streak in this competition but the performances in the past two games against Ulster and the Ospreys were a level or two down from what they were producing when beating the Bulls and the Lions in South Africa in April, and they will need to get back to those heights if they are going to retain their title with two huge wins on home soil over the next two weekends.

A big worry from a Munster perspective is the damage that the Glasgow maul inflicted in the league encounter at Thomond Park back on 1 December, as the Scots scored a remarkable five tries from rolling mauls in that game. 

Munster had enough about them in attack that evening to get the job done, scoring six tries of their own in a 40-29 victory. 

That fixture may have been over six months ago, with a lot of different personnel involved, but Glasgow head coach Franco Smith will certainly be targeting the Munster maul on Saturday.

With that in mind, you would imagine that Munster would have spent considerable time working on their own maul defence this week, in preparing for this last four encounter. 

Of course, discipline plays a huge part in foiling such an approach too, as obviously if Munster do not concede a lot of penalties then the Scottish side will be denied this attacking platform.

Munster, Leinster and the Bulls all did what they had to do last weekend in their respective quarter-finals, as they were expected to do, with the other last-eight clash being touted as the one 50/50 game, as the Glasgow Warriors hosted 2022 champions the Stormers.

Glasgow used their home advantage, scoring late tries through replacements Henco Venter and Ross Thompson to win comfortably in the end, but South African out-half Manie Libbok had one of those days that he tends to have with the kicking tee, missing all of his four kicks at goal, when the game was very much alive, to ensure that his team could never get on terms. You would hope that Jack Crowley would not be so charitable this weekend.

BOOST

Munster have received good news on the injury front, as New Zealand centre Alex Nankivell has returned to training this week. 

His partnership with Antoine Frisch will be crucial on Saturday given that one of Glasgow’s strengths is the cut and thrust that their centre pairing Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones bring to proceedings.

Munster and Glasgow have fostered a real stinging rivalry in recent years, and Saturday’s semi should not be for the feint hearted, but ultimately if you had told Munster head coach Graham Rowntree at Christmas that Munster would have a home game against Glasgow to qualify for a home URC final then he would have grabbed your hand off.