‘We’ve worked hard’: Clayton McMillan hopes Munster reap rewards of off-season preparation

At times, Clayton McMillan cut a dispirited figure amid the fallout from Munster’s troubled campaign and anticlimactic exits in Europe and the United Rugby Championship (URC) last season, but there’s little doubting his enthusiasm has been renewed over summer. Buoyed by shaping a changed coaching ticket, it’s also clear McMillan wants to put a different stamp on Munster this season.In advance of hosting Leicester Tigers in their final preseason game in Virgin Media Park, Cork, on Friday (7.15pm), McMillan said: “There are definitely some things that we will do differently this year and that’s what we’ve been putting a lot of our energy into.“Last year was good for me because the coaches had a lot of autonomy around continuing to do what we had been doing. I never had the intention of wanting to come in with a broom and change a whole lot. “There were a few things that I would have had a strong opinion on, but by and large we followed what had been done in the past. And it was great learning for me, great to understand how we were playing, where I think we could make some changes.”READ MOREAlso taking into account varying opposition and conditions, McMillan said: “My feeling is that we need to be a more multidimensional team. We have to have the ability to play the game in multiple ways that suits our profile and the different conditions, the different style of teams that we play.[ Clayton McMillan faces formidable task with Munster, with young guns key to any revival ]“We won’t be the finished product in round one, but I think we have a really clear identity and we’ve worked really hard in the off-season around making sure that our players understand what that actually looks like.”Jimmy Duffy has come in as the new forwards coach and Jared Payne as the attack coach, specialising in strike plays and the first three phases, to work alongside Mossy Lawler, who oversees the multiphased attack and kicking strategy.New forwards coach Jimmy Duffy is 'well familiar with Irish rugby and the URC', Clayton McMillan says. Photograph: James Crombie/INPHO “We probably don’t have the size, certainly in comparison to some of the South African teams. So Jared’s come in and he’s got a real ‘strike to score’ mentality,” McMillan said.“We want to be dynamic in those first three phases and then we’re not always going to get our way with that. So when we get into phase [play] it’s probably having a good two-sided attack and a lot of variation that really challenges the ‘D’ [opposition defence].”The fundamentals of set-piece and winning the gainline remain, he said, while there has been a heightened focus on transition, to both attack and defence.“If you turn it over, you’ve got to defend well. If the opposition turns it over, there’s an unstructured ‘D’ there that you can then try and break down. So transition, set-piece, ‘strike to score’, multilayered phase.”The scars of last season also remain sore points. Munster exited both competitions pretty tamely away to Exeter and the Bulls.McMillan certainly had those games in mind, as well as heavy beatings away to Bath, Ulster, Sharks and Connacht, when he said: “Not one to go back and pull up old skeletons, but there were probably three or four games where we got an absolute towelling, and those are the ones that we remember most because we’re a much better team than those occasions. That’s what we’ll need to show, a lot better fight in us this year at certain times to be genuine contenders.”Duffy was Connacht’s forwards coach in their 2016 Pro 12 triumph. “Jimmy, it’s not his first rodeo. He’s well familiar with Irish rugby and the URC. He spent time in Super Rugby and even with Tonga, so he’s well-travelled,” McMillan said.“He’s his own man. He’s comfortable in his skin. He knows what he wants to get out of a forward pack. I really like him. He’s got a nurturing way about him. He can put an arm around somebody, but he can also jab them in the ribs in a way that makes it come from a place of care.”Young outhalf Charlie O'Shea 'has shown some really nice touches out on the field'. Photograph: Dan Clohessy/INPHO Tom Farrell, Edwin Edogbo and Jack Crowley remain longer-term absentees, and the latter’s indefinite absence until at least Christmas has been compounded by JJ Hanrahan being rested this week due to a head knock in training. New signing Will Harrison and academy outhalf Tom Wood are also sidelined.Although Tony Butler has rejoined training after being released, Hanrahan will return for the opening URC grudge game against Glasgow in Thomond Park on Saturday week, and McMillan expects to have Wood and Harrison back in due course.About Wood, McMillan said: “He’s one of those guys who, if you didn’t see his eyes awake, you’d probably think he’s asleep. He’s that sort of relaxed character, which is good for him out on the rugby field because he doesn’t get flustered by too much. But it’s certainly our intention to have him play a lot of games.”Munster’s other Ireland under-20 outhalf, Charlie O’Shea, will start on Friday. “He’s one of those young guys who doesn’t lack for confidence. He does his homework, and he’s shown some really, really nice touches out on the field,” McMillan said. “If they end up playing a significant amount of games, I’m not going to lose any sleep over it.”McMillan was inclined to be “mindful” on what would constitute a good season. “But there’s no shame in saying that we enter every year with an expectation that we want to win the title and if we play anywhere near our potential consistently we’ll put ourselves in the picture to at least contest finals,” he said.“I think it’s fair to say we want to target a home quarter-final and then from there it’ll be a case of being good on the day.”