Northern Edition

Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

What coach Johann Van Graan said to his Munster team at halftime before massive comeback at Clermont

By PA
Munster coach Johann van Graan. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

Munster head coach Johann Van Graan never stopped believing his side could pull off one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the Heineken Champions Cup.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Irish province were 28-9 down against a rampant Clermont Auvergne side after first-half scores from Alivereti Raka, Damian Penaud, Etienne Fourcade and penalty try.

But 24 points from the boot of JJ Hanrahan and tries from Mike Haley, CJ Stander and Kevin O’Byrne completed a famous comeback to put Munster on course for the knock-out stages.

Video Spacer

Saracens players getting holidays to Clermont | The Offload

Video Spacer

Saracens players getting holidays to Clermont | The Offload

And Van Graan believes all their hard work throughout the extended preseason paid dividends.

“We definitely thought we could win, we came here to win, we didn’t come here to get a bonus point and the message at half-time was that ‘if we believe in our plan and stick to the process we will win this game’,” he said.

“I asked the 23 guys to stick to what we do, we spoke a lot in the week and credit to the players because they believed until the final second of this game.

“What we have done over the last six or seven months and all the work we’ve put in over lockdown, all the fitness we have done and small tweaks to our plan gave us belief.

“If you look at the tries they scored, we gave them some easy tries, the first one from kick-off and then the yellow card, which resulted in a penalty try.

ADVERTISEMENT

“We left a lot of opportunities out there in the first half but we knew if we kept running hard we would get line-breaks and that try from Mike Haley was a good example. It’s an excellent win from our side.”

A cornerstone of the Munster comeback was the set-piece power provided by Josh Wyncherley on his Heineken Champions Cup debut.

The 21-year-old prop faced the daunting challenge of going head-to-head with experienced France prop Rabah Slimani in the imposing Stade Marcel Michelin.

But Wyncherley shunted the seasoned international back time and time again to put Munster back on the front foot and Van Graan singled out his front-row prospect for praise.

ADVERTISEMENT

“That’s the stuff dreams are made of, to start your first European game in Clermont against Slimani, one of the best scrummagers in the world,” he added.

“To come up with that performance is exceptional and I’m so happy for him.

“It’s a whole team effort but when I phone Josh on Thursday evening and told him he was starting, I asked if he was ready and he said, ‘coach I’m ready to go’. It’s about backing our squad and we certainly did.”

ADVERTISEMENT

LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

S
SK 24 minutes ago
Why England's defence of the realm has crumbled without Felix Jones

The way they are defending is sometime pathetic to be honest. Itoje is usually on the inside of the rush and he is paired with a slower tight forward. Unable to keep up with the rush we have seen the line become disconnected on the inside where the big boys are. How many times have we seen Earl rush past the first receiver almost into no mans land covering no attacker. It looks like a system without any guidance. Tome Wright, Ikitau and a number of Wallabies went back to this soft centre as did Williams, Jordan and several others. Also when the line is broken the multiple lines of defence seems to be missing. The rush is predicated on a cover and recovery system with multiple lines of defence but with England you dont see it any more. Fitness and conditioning seems to be off as well as players are struggling to keep up with the intensity of the rush. Felix Jones has left a huge hole. The whole situation was and is a mess. Why they insist on not letting him go and having him work remotely is beyond me. Its leading to massive negative press and is a hot button issue thats distracting from the squad. Also the communication around Jones and his role has been absolute rubbish and is totally disjointed. While some say he is working remotely and playing a role others are saying theres been no contact. His role has not been defined and so people keep asking and keep getting different answers. England need a clean break from him and need to start over. Whatever reason for his leaving its time to cut the rope before the saga drags the whole Borthwick regime down. As for Joe El Abd well good luck to him. He is being made to look like an amateur by the whole saga and he is being asked to coach a system thats not his and which has been perfected and honed since 2017 by Nienaber, Jones, Erasmus and Co and which was first started by White in 2004. He is literally trying to figure out a system pioneered by double world cup winning coaches at the highest level and coach it at the same time. Talk about being on a hiding to nothing.

24 Go to comments
TRENDING
TRENDING Tyrone Green decision has huge bearing on his international future Tyrone Green decision has huge bearing on his international future
Search