Ahead of Munster’s stern test in Bordeaux this weekend, former Munster man Alan Quinlan joined Ger on Off the Ball AM this morning to give the lowdown on their chances against Racing, Simon Zebo, Keith Earls and much more.
The two-time Heineken Cup winner says while it will be a tough test for them, he can see the Pro14 side coming out victorious.
“They’ve a good chance, there’s no doubt about it.
“I think taking Racing out of Paris will give a little bit more hope, bringing them down to Bordeaux.
“Racing are a powerful side throughout, physically very, very strong, but I think Munster will back themselves and particularly with the two weeks they had in South Africa, like a mini pre-season if you like, they will have worked a lot.
“I do give Munster a good chance, a really good chance, and I think they can win it but they’ve got to not rely on good fortune and luck, they have to find a really big performance and that starts up front.”
Quinlan also pointed out that with Earls returning from injury, the team selection itself will provide plenty of food for thought, particularly across the back-line, with the possible omitting of Simon Zebo an idea that was mooted.
“The speculation for me is about where does Keith Earls go when he comes back. So, you look at the back three that played against Toulon, it was Conway, Zebo and Alex Wootton and they all played well.
“Keith Earls has to come back into the side if he’s available.
“For me, it would be a very brave decision not to play Simon Zebo and to go with Alex Wootton over Zebo and move Conway to fullback.
“I think it would be a very brave call from Munster, particularly in such a big game, but you never know, you don’t know what’s going on in training, guys showing form, hunger, training really well, all that kind of stuff.
“Munster don’t often have this scenario where they have a number of players vying for positions like that because of the injury profile [due to Taute and Farrell].
“For me, I would pick Earls, Conway and Zebo at full-back.
“It’s probably down to who the best players are on the day, and who the form players are, and Wootton, to be fair, has been very good for Munster.”
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