Munster have to employ a varied game plan against Racing 92 if they hope to claim a big win in Paris, according to Ronan O’Gara.
The former Munster fly-half was on Off The Ball and gave his thoughts on how his old side can keep their European campaign alive.
“I think you have to mix it. I genuinely do. What you’ve got to do with Racing is take them through the phases.
“From an Irish point of view, the one area they will have an advantage in is their fitness. But to be able to do that you have to be really accurate in your clean-outs and they have to be really accurate at holding the ball.
“If you kick it aimlessly to Teddy Thomas, Juan Imhoff and Brice Dulin you’re going to be under your posts,” O’Gara said.
The Parisien side play in the Paris La Défense Arena, an indoor state-of-the-art stadium which often results in fast-paced high-scoring games.
While that kind of match is more likely to suit Racing, the La Rochelle head coach believes Munster could turn it to their advantage by outlasting the home side.
“If you concede more than three tries the likelihood is you won’t win this game. Even though it is a fast disco arena and the frequency of scores is higher than an outdoor pitch in the middle of winter.
“But I think where you can potentially go after Racing would be trying to build phases because of the culture in Irish environments and sporting environments, especially in the provinces.
“How disciplined the Irish teams are and how miserable they are with giving away penalties - that has to be a huge advantage,” O’Gara commented.
Johann van Graan’s side have struggled with being inventive in attack in recent weeks and the former Ireland international believes that will have to change quickly for Munster to have a chance.
“I think what you’ll find with Racing is that they can be caught narrow at times. So Munster will have to go to width at times. Route one will not work and one-off runners will not work.
“Hitting [Chris] Farrell up will not work because they’ll be ready for that. There will have to be wrinkles of that… with the capacity to change the terms of attack otherwise it’ll be a long afternoon.
“Because Racing have a good history in the European Cup and it's unfinished business from their point of view and it’s a great opportunity because they qualify if they win this weekend,” O’Gara said.
Munster take on Racing in Paris this Sunday at 3.15pm Irish time, in a game that will decide their fate in this season's Heineken Champions Cup.
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