Munster director of rugby Rassie Erasmus has played down the Ospreys’ loss to Scarlets ahead of their PRO12 semi-final clash on Saturday.
With second-row Alun Wyn Jones set to return and play alongside British and Irish Lions call-ups, flanker Justin Tipuric, scrum-half Rhys Webb and fly-half Dan Biggar, the Ospreys will have plenty of talent in their line-up at Thomond Park as they look to upset the Irish team.
Erasmus is well aware of their quality and is taking little notice of their result against the Scarlets in the final regular-season round.
“I think that sometimes in local derbies, it can happen easily that one team can run away with it,” he told Munster’s official website.
“We lost heavily in our first game against Leinster and we could have lost by much more. Derbies can bring that spice and surprise so we wouldn’t look at that game and think it’s the Ospreys side we’ll be facing.
“We have never faced them this year with the likes Alun, Rhys, Dan and Sam Davies all on board. Also, they had nothing to lose against Scarlets as they had already qualified for the knock outs so they may have rested a few guys because of that.”
Erasmus is also looking forward to the prospect of Lions duo Conor Murray and Webb going toe-to-toe in Limerick in a personal battle.
“In the back of their heads they will be thinking, ‘I’m competing with this guy for the starting spot so let’s have a proper go at one another’. But if you make it too personal it can take your focus off what you are doing and you’ll be the one to lose out because your team will be losing,” he added.
“Conor and Rhys are both experienced professionals and at the end of the day they have to be close teammates when they go New Zealand. Even if Conor plays in the Lions squad and doesn’t make the team, he’d support Rhys. That’s the kind of guy he is.”
With home advantage in their corner, Munster are favourites to come out on top on Saturday and Erasmus admits their fans could play their part in who prevails.
“I know we will have excellent support again on Saturday and everything I have experienced here has been unbelievable in comparison to what I have experienced before in my life. The fans have been excellent to support us not just in the highs, but in the lows as well this season,” he said.
“Our biggest incentive for performing well on Saturday is the fans. We couldn’t do it for them when they supported us against Saracens, so that will be a massive motivation for us.
“If we don’t achieve a trophy, was it an unsuccessful year? I wouldn’t say that, but it would be disappointing if we don’t at least get into a final and have a proper crack at it. That would be a great story to tell, especially after all the squad has been through this season.”
The post Erasmus expects Ospreys onslaught appeared first on Planet Rugby.