Sports

European defeats happen when ‘we completely lose the run of ourselves’ – Munster’s Calvin Nash

Munster, once European royalty, haven’t made a dent in the Champions Cup since 2021.

By the time they won their second Heineken Cup in 2008, only Toulouse had more titles, but since then, they have never been past a semi-final and have been left in the slipstream of dear rivals Leinster.

After Paul O’Connell lifted the trophy in the Millennium Stadium following victory over Toulouse 16 years ago, Munster have lost seven semi-finals, two quarters, three last-16 games and failed to qualify for the knockouts on four occasions.

It’s been a relatively steady decline with three semi-final defeats in a row between 2017 and 2019, followed by a pool-stage exit, three last-16 losses and a quarter-final defeat on penalties to Toulouse in 2022.

The last two years in Europe have been meek, with Munster winning just three of 10 games, including two heavy knockout defeats to Northampton and Sharks.

Ireland wing Calvin Nash scored two tries in five of those matches and feels that Munster’s downfall has been games where they “completely lose the run of ourselves”.

Calvin Nash scores for Munster in their 32-24 loss to Exeter last December

Last season’s draw against Bayonne, and defeats to Saints and Exeter, all from winning positions, spring to mind.

“I think it’s been inconsistent 80-minute performances,” said Nash, who helped Munster to a 33-7 opening-round win over Stade Francais last weekend.

“You think back and we’re probably not losing games by massive margins.

“It will be, say 15 minutes in the second half where we completely lose the run of ourselves and stop playing our game plan or go off script, and leave other teams back in the game, or else we don’t have a good start and are chasing the game.

“They are the times that I see us starting to lose games.

“If we can have a consistent 80-minute performance we’ll have better results in Europe.”

Munster are currently without a permanent head coach with Ian Costello (above), head of rugby operations, in charge as the province search for a replacement for Graham Rowntree, who departed in October.

The win over Stade came following victory over the Lions in the URC.

“Lads are buzzing,” said the eight-times capped Nash, whose side take on Castres at Stade Pierre-Fabre on Friday night.

“With rugby you can’t stay still, you have to move onto the next job.

“The last two results have been good for us and hopefully we can keep building momentum ‘cos the next few games are massively important.

“When you start well [in the pool] you can feel a bit more confident and not be chasing scores in games or [thinking], ‘we need a bonus point’.”

Munster beat Stade 33-7 in their opening Pool 3 fixture

Meanwhile, Costello says he doesn’t believe his side will be gaining any particular advantage by playing a Top14 side in consecutive weeks.

“No, they’re quite different,” he said ahead of the clash against former Ireland international Jeremy Davidson’s side, currently seventh in the French league.

“I think the Lions and Stade lined up nicely and just by coincidence or good fortune, it lined up [with] the things we’ve been working on the last few weeks.

“We’ve really looked to develop the unstructured part of our game, or dial it back up, and that’s really coming out and the Lions and Stade are lethal around transition so that sharpened our focus.

“Castres is a different battle, very, very strong up front, very physical, brutal.

“We’re expecting a toe-to-toe battle in a very tough place to play.”

Related Posts

When the power-hitting behemoth overcomes the Pirates, Shohei Ohtani fights the bat’s stillness.

Compelling Beginnings In the realm of baseball’s legends, where every swing writes history, the journey of a once unstoppable force captures attention anew. Shohei Ohtani, famed as a…

In an incredible pitcher-hitter match at Dodger Stadium, Paul Skenes freezes Shohei Ohtani with a stunning curveball

An electrifying moment at Dodger Stadium set the stage for what might become one of baseball’s most compelling rivalries, as a seasoned phenom and an established superstar clashed…

มีคนสะดุ้ง “ตัวแทนสยามสปอร์ต” เคลื่อนไหว หลัง “มาดามแป้ง” บริจาคเงินส่วนตัว 25 ล้าน ใช้หนี้

ผู้รับมอบอำนาจสยามสปอร์ต ชื่นชม “มาดามแป้ง” หลังช่วยชำระหนี้ก้อนแรกให้ วันที่ 23 เมษายน 2568 หลังจากที่ นรินท์พงศ์ จินาภักดิ์ ทนายความ สยามสปอร์ต เป็นตัวแทนรับมอบเงินส่วนตัว 25 ล้านบาท จาก “มาดามแป้ง” นวลพรรณ ล่ำซำ นายกสมาคมกีฬาฟุตบอล ที่ประกาศบริจาคให้สมาคมฯ ในการไปชำระหนี้ บ.สยามสปอร์ต งวดแรก เพื่อกันถูกการยึดทรัพย์ คดีความดังกล่าว เกิดขึ้นในยุค…

Shohei Ohtani will face Paul Skenes in a match that every baseball fan has been waiting to see

Fresh off a 4-3 loss against the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday, ace starter Paul Skenes will pitch for the Pittsburgh Pirates against the Dodgers on Friday night….

สมาคมฯ วางโปรแกรมอุ่นเครื่อง ไทย ปะทะ อินเดีย 4 มิ.ย.นี้

“ทีมชาติไทย” (อันดับ 99 ของโลก) วางโปรแกรมอุ่นเครื่องดวล “ทีมชาติอินเดีย” (อันดับ 127 ของโลก) ในวันที่ 4 มิถุนายนนี้ เพื่อเป็นการเตรียมความพร้อมก่อนเยือน “ทีมชาติเติร์กเมนิสถาน” (อันดับ 142 ของโลก) ในศึกเอเชียน คัพ 2027 รอบคัดเลือก วันที่ 10 มิถุนายนนี้  ทัพ “ช้างศึก ชุดใหญ่” เจอ…

Carlos Alcaraz deja a todos sin aliento con un gesto emotivo hacia una Mujer de 80 Años tras su triunfo en el Monte-Carlo Masters.

Carlos Alcaraz, tras su victoria en el Monte-Carlo Masters, dejó a todos sin aliento al dedicar un gesto conmovedor a una mujer de 80 años que trabaja en…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *