Botha hopes to extend stay at Munster

PROP BJ Botha is hoping Munster will extend his stay with the province by offering the 35-year-old a contract extension.

Now in his fourth season with Munster, World Cup winning South African international Botha won his 90th cap for the province against Cardiff Blues last month.

Botha said: “I am here (at Munster) I think going on my fourth year now, so I’m very happy here. We are settled as a family which is the most important thing and then obviously the rugby part is great. They’re a great bunch of guys to play with. Obviously the performances are coming together slowly.

“I think we just want to concentrate on what’s on the field at this stage and then we’ll see (about next season). I’m at a stage in my career now where I still want to kinda play a few years but I’m not in the younger years any more. It’s still on the backburner at the moment. We’ve just got to perform on the field at the moment and see what happens. Would I like to stay? The answer is obviously a big yes, but we’ll see if that happens.”

Botha and his table-topping Munster colleagues are busily preparing for Saturday’s crucial Guinness PRO12 clash with the Ospreys at the Liberty Stadium, 2.40pm. Botha is expecting the fifth-placed Ospreys to prove difficult opponents this weekend.

Botha said: “They (Ospreys) always up their game for us I think. There’s a lot of physicality goes with it. It doesn’t matter what Ospreys side they bring out, so you can’t be thinking about which player they bring out. They always bring a physicality to their game and you have to match it and beat it. They’re so skilful as well, so it’s always a tough place to go. You’d always enjoy going there.”