Calvin Nash reckons Munster need to earn their stripes when they face Castres
Munster take on Castres this weekend in the Champions Cup.
Calvin Nash says Munster need to earn their rite of passage when they face French hardmen Castres tomorrow.
The mavericks from France have been a consistent force in domestic rugby over the last decade but in Europe they have been a flop.
Questions over whether they take this tournament hugely seriously have been raised before - particularly on the back of hammerings, like the 30-point drubbing Northampton dished out to them last weekend.
Over the years Castres have won just 32 times and lost 61 matches in Champions Cup rugby. Worryingly from a Munster perspective, 28 of those 32 have come at their Stade Pierre Fabre arena.
Nash said: “It is amazing the number of matches we have had against them over the years. I think it is 18 times (Munster winning 13 of those, drawing one and losing the other four).
“It’s like a rite of passage to go away and get a result. That’s when you show what you are about because they are a formidable team, a really physical side and their ability to produce big performances on home soil is legendary.”
But so too is Munster’s capacity to eke out big wins when least expected.
They have won 82 out of 94 matches at home in the Heineken Cup, 50 out of 101 away.
But over the last five years they have flopped in Europe, failing to win a knockout game in Europe since Johann van Graan was head coach.
Nash admitted: “Our form has been inconsistent. You think back and we’re probably not losing games by massive margins, it will be, say 15 minutes in the second half where we completely lose the run of ourselves and stop playing our game plan or go off script, and leave other teams back in the game or else we don’t have a good start and are chasing the game.
“They are the times that I see us starting to lose games. If we can have a consistent 80-minute performance we’ll have better results in Europe.”
Consistency has been a hallmark of Nash’s career since he broke into the Munster side under Van Graan in 2017.
Six Ireland caps have followed but last month he made it into Andy Farrell’s squad but failed to get the nod for the big matches.
Nash said: “I still learned a lot and worked hard but the excitement of being back on the pitch, being at Thomond Park, especially, was encouraging.
“The last two results have been good for us and hopefully we can keep building momentum ‘cos the next few games are massively important.”
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