Pre-Season Training Numbers Increase For Munster
Munster’s returning internationals including players from Ireland’s USA and Canada tour and the Emerging Ireland squad joined their colleagues in Cork today for the first day of their pre-season training regime.
Also in attendance was Munster’s newest signing, Andrew Conway, who took to the opening day with ease and looked comfortable in his new surroundings.
The forwards and backs split for the opening session – the back hit the running track with strength and conditioning coach Aled Walters, while the forwards were busy in the gym with strength and conditioning coach Aidan O’Connell.
The province’s squad then came together for their field session which included skills and conditioning drills.
Behind the scenes, Munster team manager Niall O’Donovan is busy managing player movement over the summer months, organising the lead up to the pre-season games and planning for the season ahead.
“The players are dripping back. The first lot coming back two weeks ago, the internationals returned this morning and it will be a few weeks before the Lions return then,” explained O’Donovan.
“So it’s just a matter of co-ordinating everything for them, and there’s a lot of activity outside of training with summer camps, the Munster Rugby Talent Camp in Rockwell and sponsorship obligations.
“It’s probably a busier time than when we are actually playing matches as there is a lot of preparation to be done and a lot of organisation to be done at this time. The departments all work closely together in getting ready for the new season.
“We did La Rochelle the last two seasons and that was great and worked well, but we are staying here this year and putting plans in place for the next few weeks.
“We hope to spend a bit more time around the community with our support base over the next month and hopefully the people around the province will get to see the players a bit more than they would normally.”
Related Links –
Munster Pencil In Pre-Season Dates