Costello Sets Sights On Treviso

Munster Assistant Coach Ian Costello met with media during the week, looking ahead to tomorrow night’s Guinness PRO12 clash away to Benetton Treviso.

Despite losing at home to Edinburgh Rugby in the league opener, Costello saw some positives in Munster’s performance last time out and knows that a lot can be learnt from defeat.

“From a positive point of view, when we had momentum we were very good – there was a nice balance to our attacking game in the second half and we were direct and quick. From a defensive point of view we were often effective in stopping Edinburgh’s momentum, and when we got that right it looked like we could absorb pressure all evening.

“Our problem was the lack of physicality which filtered through the whole performance. We need to up our game this weekend, make sure we get more possession and look after it better. And when we don’t have possession, everything is about getting it back as fast as possible.

“We’ve gone to Treviso and struggled for the last couple of years, but now we have the chance to right both that and the Edinburgh performance. We’ve worked well through the week, knowing that Treviso is a tough place to go, and given the way we trained this week, I feel we’re in a position to challenge them.”

With the game fixed for a Friday night, as opposed to later in the weekend, Costello feels the game can’t come soon enough for a hurting Munster side.

“To be honest I think we’d play today if we could. When lads are disappointed with their performance they want to purge straight away. The Friday kick-off has meant the lion’s share of the work is done at the start of the week with a lot of travel on Wednesday and Thursday. Our preparation is complete before we travel so it doesn’t take anything out of us, meaning we are both physically and mentally prepared come Friday night.”

The Assistant Coach believes a little of last week’s hurt will stand to the Munstermen as they hope to return to winning ways.

“Our competitive opener did not reflect the quality of our pre-season. It really was excellent, where players and coaches alike worked incredibly hard. It’s disappointing when you underachieve but now we need to focus on a big performance this weekend and start to show the public what we’re really capable of in this new season.”

The Munster squad and management flew to Bologna this morning and then travelled to their team hotel in Treviso.

Benetton Treviso v Munster, Stadio Monigo – Guinness PRO12 Round 2, Friday September 12th. KO 7pm (Irish time).