Stuart Lancaster says Munster is stronger than last season

Leinster coach Stuart Lancaster believes that Munster are stronger now that they were last season despite winning three of their opening five games of the season.

“Munster are a team the players know pretty well. We played them a few times last year and from what I’ve seen they’ve expanded the game a bit, not just from the weekend, but you can see the way they’re looking to move the ball.

“This is a team that has lost twice in European semi-finals, so they’re top of the European game. Joey (Carbery) has gone and so has Tadhg Beirne. Those additions show that they’ve strengthened from last season.”

“It’s a big challenge for us on Saturday and then for both teams, they’ve got Exeter, and we’ve got Wasps coming around the corner. So the challenges come on after that, but I don’t think anyone will look beyond Saturday.”

Leinster have lost just one game so far this season, against Scarlets at Parc Y Scarlets. But Lancaster believes the statistics and conference tables don’t tell the full story of the two sides.

“If you looked at some of our performances, certainly our first game against Cardiff away, we were very lucky to win. And then we lost against Scarlets away. The first couple of games of the season can paint a slightly false picture. 

“You can only judge where you are when you get to this stage. We faced a full strength Connacht team (last weekend), which Munster probably didn’t with Ulster, and I thought we came through well. We will see where Munster are at this weekend. 

“But they have a better squad than last year and, wherever I look in most positions, there’s an Irish international in one slot or another. They’ll be confident on the back of beating Ulster given the way and the style in which they did it.

“It’s a big challenge for us defensively. They defend differently to Connacht so we need to make sure we understand how that’s going to play out and, with 40 odd-thousand people already signed up to watch, it’s going to be an amazing game.”

Quotes via: The Irish Examiner