Hart hoping for his big break at Munster

WHEN James Hart arrived in Munster last summer, he did so with great expectations of himself, but he is the first to admit that it hasn’t happened for him with the province as quickly as he had anticipated.

After six seasons in France, the Dublin native has had to adjust to the reality of playing less often.

With Conor Murray comfortably the first choice scrum-half, Hart has been battling with Duncan Williams for game-time, and now Neil Cronin has entered the picture to add even more competition.

Arriving from Racing 92 following a five- year stint with Grenoble, Hart’s first pre-season with Munster was a messy affair given that the man who signed him, Rassie Erasmus, was already nearing the exit door.

It culminated in a frustrating season, but he is eager to put that behind him and prove to Munster supporters that the best is yet to come from him.

“Obviously it was a tough start, and then coming around towards the back end of the season it kinda got better and a lot more enjoyable,” Hart reflected.

“It was tough coming from a new club, and obviously you want to hit the ground running.

“Sometimes that’s not the case and you have to accept that.

“Sometimes when you try and force things and do too much that can contribute to it.

“Sometimes things might not go quite as well as you want them to at the start but, listen, if you just keep the head down and work hard, you usually come out the other side.

“It ’s different because l ast pre-season, quite early on when I arrived, I knew Rassie was going. Whereas now, Johann (van Graan) has been with us for most of the year.

“I have played most of my games under him so, coming into pre-season, you know exactly what is expected of you, which makes things a little bit easier.”

One of the things that made Hart so attractive to Top 14 clubs was his ability to goal-kick, but since coming to Munster, it’s a weapon that has been parked.

While he still regularly practises kicking, he knows that it is part of playing the waiting game.

“No-one wants to be patient, you want to play because you feel you can play. It’s the same when I started here,” Hart added.

“I wouldn’t say it’s demoralising but I live with Chris Farrell, who I have played with before in France, and when I was seeing him do so well, sometimes that can be tough.

“There are things I did in France that I don’t do here.

“I kicked at goal in my whole career in France and I don’t do that here.

“That’s always been a huge part of my game but I would like to think there is a lot more in me.

“I don’t think we have seen the best of me here yet. I’m looking forward to trying to really show that over the next few months,” he added.

Waiting game: Munster’s James Hart has had to bide his time