Munster’s triumph over South Africa ‘A’ was the turning point that propelled the Irish giants to claim the Vodacom URC crown, says defence coach Denis Leamy.
According to Leamy, the 28-14 victory over the touring South African XV in November proved to be the catalyst for change.
Played at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, just two days prior to Ireland beating defending World Cup champions, the Springboks, the match injected new life into Munster’s campaign.
Munster dethroned the DHL Stormers in the URC final in Cape Town on 27 May and ended a 12-year trophy drought for the Irish outfit.
Leamy, speaking on the latest edition of the Off the Ball podcast emphasised the significance of the win against the SA ‘A’ for Munster, having previously won just three wins from eight games in the 2022-23 URC, and faced failing to qualify for the Champions Cup.
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“It was very important in our season,” he said. “It was a different pressure. There wasn’t huge pressure on us, it wasn’t league, it wasn’t Europe. It was a one-off game against a touring side.
“The boys could go out and enjoy the atmosphere, a huge amount of people in Páirc Uí Chaoimh. There was no pressure, no matter what happened that night. Whether we won or lost, it wasn’t going to impact us hugely.
“I think what it showed the boys was how special it was to win big games for Munster. Once you get a feeling for that and a hunger for that, you want more and more, and it drives you.
“That opened some of our younger players’ eyes in terms of what you can do in a Munster jersey. You can do some really special things in a Munster jersey.
“Punch above your weight and beat teams like South Africa. It was so important from that point of view. It gave us belief, gave everyone a little bit of a pep in their step, and we kicked on. There were tough games, and tough times after that, but we started getting more positive moments than negative.”
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