Paul O’Connell wants Munster to rediscover a more consistent level of intensity after a season in which they only showed flashes of their best form.
The men in red reached the semi-final of the Magners League and the Heineken Cup last year, but patchy performances in both competitions – along with one or two spectacular victories – were a feature.
In particular, a stunning Heineken Cup Pool win in Perpignan showed what Munster were capable of. But losses to old rivals Leinster in the Magners League semi-final and Biarritz in the Heineken Cup meant Munster ended the season without a trophy. Munster also conceded a League home-away double to Leinster.
Squad captain O'Connell said: ‘We didn’t play with the intensity that we normally play with and that was a big disappointment for us.
'We showed it in flashes last season and it I suppose (it’s about) getting back to the level of consistency that we had before. That’s what we want to achieve this year.’
O’Connell is managing a persistent groin injury on a week-to-week basis. The second row played for his province after developing an issue at the end of the RBS 6 Nations, but he has missed Munster's big games at the end of the season and is in the midst of a lenghty break.
A December return has been mooted but a lack of knowledge about the relatively rare groin infection problem has proved problematic.
He said: ‘I’m still a long way off but I’m back running. Back doing a lot of thing in the gym as well. It’s improving all the time. It’s a very slow but steady improvement and heading in the right direction.
‘It’s an injury that is undocumented. Other people have not had anything similar before and if they have there is not a lot of documentation or material on it that our physios and doctors have been able to go on.
‘So it’s been a week by week thing where as I’ve improved I’ve gone back doing basic things at one level and building it up from there. That’s the way we will be continuing over the next few weeks.’
