Larkham is sure his tweaks can help Munster

make given how forward-oriented Munster have been over the years, yet they are definitely moving towards a more rounded game plan under Stephen Larkham.

Having options at both sides of the ruck, as well as players who are comfortable enough to step in as first receiver, has been one of the biggest aspects that Larkham has focused on in his first few months with the club.

That draw against Racing at home does, however, lessen the margin for error from here on in, and with Thomond Park set for another pulsating Champions Cup contest on Saturday, it is fitting that familiar foes Saracens will provide the opposition.

Munster have come unstuck against the defending champions at the semi-final stage in two of the last three years.

That they failed to fire a realistic shot in either of them still rankles with some supporters.

As much as these are still very early days in this new-look Munster set-up, this weekend’s clash is another test of how far along they are in their development.

When Larkham first arrived in Limerick, last season’s one-sided 32-16 defeat to Saracens was one of the first important reference points he looked to focus on. “I guess what we are really trying to work on here is not changing the whole system, because the system actually worked pretty well last year,” the attack coach maintained.

“It’s making sure thatweareabitrefined in certain areas. We know when we come up against the big teams, our systems need to be a little bit better.

“If I look at our Saracens semi-final last year, we got outkicked, our escorts weren’t good enough. They came through, put a lot of pressure on our catches.

“Likewise when we kicked, they caught the balls quite easily because they did a pretty good job. Things like that, we need to make sure they are in place.”

After losing three consecutive European semi-finals, Munster knew they needed to add more strings to their bow because their game plan simply wasn’t good enough to take that next step and get back to a Champions Cup final. Larkham has come in and done that.

Munster are now looking to hold onto the ball for more phases, which in turn is pushing play