Munster legend in two minds over scrumhalf question

A thunderous clash is set to play out at the Aviva Satdium this weekend as defending champions Toulouse challenge the might of Munster. 

Both sides tasted victory in the recent second leg of the Round of 16. Munster put Premiership giants Exeter Chiefs to the sword, 26-10: 

“We started better this week and took it to Exeter in the first half,” said Munster prop Josh Wycherley. 

“The crowd were out there [on Saturday] were exceptional. The energy they gave us in big moments was unbelievable. We really fed off that and used it to drive us on. 

“It was really important for us to bounce back from last week, and luckily we got the result. 

“It is a big moment for us in our season. Hopefully, we can build off this and push on ahead of the next block.” 

Toulouse rolled up their sleeves and managed to come away with a valuable away victory over Ulster: 

Munster are facing a particularly challenging selection at scrumhalf where Craig Casey and Conor Murray are in hot competition for the starting role. 

In a recent podcast, Munster legend Alan Quinlan gave his opinion on the conundrum: 

“Obviously a lot of people are debating the merits of Craig Casey starting ahead of Conor Murray,” he said. “I think he [Casey] has improved his game a lot, we’ve spoken about that, it’s pretty evident for everyone to see.  

“It would be a really brave call, I think Conor Murray’s been pretty good for Munster... I think he’s been very important in both those Exeter games and I was thinking about the merits of it; you go out and you go, “Right, we’re going to attack Toulouse from the word ‘go’, we’re going to try play with high tempo, we’re going to keep loads of pace to the game.” Or, you start Conor Murray and you have that extra defender, [he’s] excellent at the breakdown, his kicking game is really good, and you hope that you get into a lead or you’re not chasing the game because I think the thought process is that Craig Casey comes on and Munster pick up the pace of the game. Will they need to do that? I’m not sure.  

“I’m really trying to think about what kind of game they need to play against Toulouse – we saw what Ulster did over in Toulouse, attacking them and trying to put width in the game and being really positive in the way they were trying to play, but Toulouse like that open game as well. It’s how you manage the game. So, there’s for and against.  

“I’m divided on it, I don’t know who should start at scrumhalf,” he concluded.