Munster flanker Jack O’Donoghue has re-asserted the need for a fast start to the new season as the southern province begin life under new head coach Clayton McMillan.
O’Donoghue, who has won 219 caps for his native province, has been encouraged by their pre-season, but understands the value of getting out of the starting blocks in more impressive fashion than their last three seasons.
"I would say probably starting the season strong (is key)", the Waterford man told the media earlier in the week.
"You saw us last year we went on a not so great start and then we found ourselves scrambling at the end of the season to get into that knockout stage.
"I think that block that we'll look at before Christmas, we're really going to put a big emphasis on that.
"I think it's the opening five games up until the November series and going hard at those five games. I think we will reassess after the Argentina game, so that's our main focus at the moment.
"We haven't looked at Europe or anything like that but those first opening five games I think you can really set yourself up for the back end of the season", he added.
Munster won just two of their first six league fixtures last season, three of their first seven games before that and two of their first seven back in 2022/23. Although convincing final thirds of the season helped them secure Champions Cup rugby on each occasion, and win the URC in 2023, it’s an added pressure that the squad will hope to avoid.
If Munster are to shake off this quirk, they will need to do so without some club stalwarts. Between them, the departed Conor Murray, Peter O’Mahony, Rory Scannell, Stephen Archer and Dave Kilcoyne earned over 1,100 provincial caps alone; leaving behind a void of experience and leadership.
However, O’Donoghue is convinced that the next generation of stars will rise to the mark in their absence.
"You don't try and scramble to replace a Peter O’Mahony. You won't get another Peter O’Mahony. You let someone new that's maybe been working with Pete, working him behind the scenes", O’Donoghue told RTÉ Sport.
"I think Pete did an unbelievable job when he stepped down as captain to really help mould and to mentor other lads in terms of leadership and people have been learning from him for years.
"(For) me personally, I've been learning from him for years and it's great. You'll see some new faces popping up in terms of leadership role and it mightn't be all on field but certainly off field around the building", the Waterford man said.
The new crop of cultural icons like Craig Casey and Jack Crowley are seen as big voices in camp, which O’Donoghue admits somewhat cushions the loss of a club legend like Conor Murray.
"You look at Craig (Casey), and the experience he got leading Ireland. That's someone who hasn't captained Munster yet and he's captained his country before that so definitely I think you'll see a shift there.
"That's great for us because while we're not replacing a Conor Murray but there's someone naturally coming into that role with Craig, Jack (Crowley) too getting more experience with the national team.
"It's only going to benefit us and these lads you'll see stepping up in terms of leadership and being key men in the game", O’Donoghue said of the Ireland half-back duo.
McMillan’s arrival is somewhat of a chapter turner for the southern province, with the Kiwi becoming the club’s fifth head coach in the past decade. With a shake-up like so, the need for continuity becomes even more vital.
"Long term, looking big picture at that, that's something I presume that the board and the IRFU are certainly looking at it. It's certainly above the players' pay grade but that's something that as players you want to see", O’Donoghue said.
"Being able to have Denis (Leamy), Prendy (Mike Prendergast) and Mossy (Lawlor) still here is a big part of that.
"We're not changing the way we're playing; we're just layering on little aspects of our game that we started working when Mike and Dennis came in."
Munster start their 2025/26 campaign away to the Scarlets on 27 September, and with fresh faces both on the field and off of it, there’s an added focus to their opening block of fixtures.
Starting strong will help them come the business end of the campaign, and help get the famed 'Red Army’ support behind them, which McMillan is also conscious of.
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