Marshall glad to renew a healthy family rivalry as hooker finds his voice in Munster
AS Rhys Marshall caught the ball and barrelled his way through a couple of Glasgow defenders on his way over the try line, his first thought was one of joy as he believed he had gotten one over on his cousin.
To his disappointment however, Callum Gibbins was not one of the Glasgow players that Marshall burst beyond, and instead it was his close relation who had the last laugh.
“I thought I ran him over to score my try and I looked up and it wasn’t him – I was devastated, that would have peaked me up,” Marshall laughed.
Glasgow is a long way from New Plymouth, but the pair’s rugby journey has taken them far from their home town in New Zealand to the Northern Hemisphere.
Marshall and Gibbins scored tries last Friday, but it was Glasgow who ran out winners on the night to give the latter the bragging rights.
They may be good mates off the pitch but when it comes to the heat of battle there is no love lost.
It wasn’t the first time that they came up against each other either as during their time with the Chiefs and Hurricanes respectively, the family rivalry was in full bloom.
“Oh man, it was good craic, it always is,” Marshall (right) said.
“I got out there and first scrum he was already into me. I was like ‘Ah, here we go!’
“But no, it’s good, man. It’s no different playing any family member or anything. I went in and had a beer with him afterwards and we were both pretty shattered, to be honest.
“He is the kind of guy who, it is just a game (to him). We are very serious in the moment and don’t mind giving it to each other but after the game, like anyone else, he is a good man.”
Now in his third season with Munster, Marshall (25) has become a key squad member after another consistent season.
He has certainly come a long way since signing an initial short-term contract.
Like all of the replacements who came off the bench in Scotland, the hooker made a big impact and he was happy with his personal contribution
to the second-half improvement.
“Yes, but it was helpful that we had sorted our s**t out,” Marshall insisted.
“No, it was good, We got in at halftime and the good thing was that there wasn’t panic.
“I have been in changing-rooms where there has been panic, but the good thing was we know we had to sort a few things out and in the second half as we saw I think they had one entry into our 22.
“We had so many phases and so many things can go wrong and when you have a team like Glasgow who pick up on everything and any little spot they can find, they take it.”
Marshall started 18 games last season and made another eight appearances off the bench, so it is little wonder he has found his voice.
“I have always felt part of the team, but like you say when you are a bit more part of the furniture you can express yourself a little bit more,” he maintained.
“I’ll be honest, the first six months here I didn’t really say much. I was just here to learn and take it in.
“Now I got the opportunity to have a little bit of input here and there which is cool for me and a bit of growth and stuff, so I’m really enjoying it.”
A home game against the Ospreys at Irish Independent Park tomorrow evening gives Munster a good chance to bounce back from the defeat to Glasgow and Marshall added that the players had parked the disappointment
“The thing about this team is that we just have to get on with the next job.
“We know no one intends to do those things (mistakes) and then you just got to front up, do the next job, because for me whenever I missed a lineout I used to go haring after every ball and make an absolute idiot of myself for the next four or five phases.
“But the good thing here is that you just have to reset, just have to get rid of it and as hard as it is to say, it is hard to do, but that is what I enjoy about this team.
“We don’t sit around dwelling on those things, we improve where we can improve and we move on.”