SARRI seems to be the hardest word

REDS EXPECTING HUGE TEST

THE summer of 2017 taught Peter O’mahony a lot about himself but there were other lessons learned in New Zealand he hopes can give Munster an edge as they chase their European holy grail. O’mahony skippered the Lions in their opening Test loss to the All Blacks and he was dropped for the last two Tests – a massive high followed by a big disappointment. He emerged stronger for the experience but, while away, he gained a new appreciation of his English colleagues.

And, in particular, a real appreciation of the contingent from Saracens, who stand in the way of Munster and first Champions Cup final appearance in 11 years. “I was very impressed with the English players across the board,” said O’mahony. “The Saracens players were very impressive with regard to their thinking of the game, forwardthinking, game plan thinking. I was very impressed.

“Does it give you an insight? Yeah, it gives you an insight into how good they can be mentally and their thought process on the game, which is useful in some ways.

“In other ways, you know how good these guys really are behind their performances.

“You see it at the weekend, but also how they think about the game and their philosophy. I think they have a good club.

“They have some very good structures, some good guys on the pitch leading it and a great coaching staff.

“You certainly get a good insight into it and I was very impressed with it. You learn a huge amount from the way they approach the game and how they implement it. You see that at the weekends and it’s very impressive.”