Hanrahan gets to state his case as Carbery stands by

IT’S not all about Joey Carbery.

One of the by-products of the gifted international’s move south was the potential effect it might have on Munster’s incumbents.

JJ Hanrahan will state his case when he starts in the out-half position supposedly created for the new arrival. It will be intriguing to see how the equally talented Kerryman responds to Ireland’s Call.

Carbery isn’t the only fresh face on view. Arno Botha, Mike Haley and Neil Cronin make debuts alongside much-touted winger Shane Daly, an Academy graduate whose blistering speed is renowned on the Sevens’ circuit.

Johann van Graan was denied a pre-season when replacing Rassie Erasmus last year but he is urging caution, even if demanding a performance from his men.

“I don’t think there is more pressure. We want to win every single game. Obviously we are very proud of our record at Thomond Park. We only lost to Leinster on December 26 last season. It is the first time we are playing at Thomond Park since the Edinburgh game which is a few months back now.

“It’s still in my first year but that being said we’ve really planned well and set some new goals. We want to improve our game and grow our game and that doesn’t happen in a week or two weeks. It’s a constant process and like I said over the last three weeks, we know we need to improve and hopefully come the end of the season we’ll get there.”