Irish giants hint at 'smart' plan to derail Bulls
SPOTLIGHT: Munster are still picking up the pieces after their defeat to Glasgow at home in the opening round of the United Rugby Championship, and it won’t get any easier in their second fixture.
The Irish giants will welcome the Bulls to Thomond Park on Saturday, and they are bracing themselves for a physical onslaught.
The team from Pretoria started their 2026/2027 campaign with a 47-13 victory over Zebre Parma in Italy, while Munster went down 20-26 to Glasgow.
It was only four months ago when the Bulls hammered the Irish side 45-14 in last season’s quarterfinals.
“Any team that the Bulls put out, they’re going to be big and physical; they pride themselves on that,” said Munster assistant coach Jared Payne.
“They have good set-piece play; they’re going to get off the line on defence and try and pressure you.
“We’re expecting all of this; we have to be smart with how we counter it.
“We have to try and force them to make a few decisions and hopefully create a bit of space and make the most of those opportunities.”
In a tough competition like the URC, teams cannot afford to drop valuable points at home, especially against fellow title contenders. However, Payne insists there is no added pressure.
“You always want to win. You always want to win your home games and you want to win games of rugby,” Payne added.
“Pressure is there but we just focus on how we prepare during the week and when we come to the game, hope that that gives us the best possible chance of winning but there’s no extra pressure.
“We just have to make sure that we front up and try and win, which you try and do every game,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, Ireland internationals Craig Casey and Jeremy Loughman are available for selection this weekend.
On the injury front, Tom Ahern, Jack Aungier, Shane Daly and Ruadhán Quinn have returned to training this week ahead of the Bulls clash.
However, Mike Haley sustained a knee injury at the weekend and is unavailable for selection.
Diarmuid Barron, Jack O’Donoghue and Alex Nankivell are also unavailable this weekend as they follow return-to-play protocols.
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