John Hayes insists Munster will add more 'energy and dynamism' when key injuries clear

FORMER Munster, Ireland and Lions prop John Hayes says if they the province can get some key injured players back to fitness, they have the ability to challenge the very best sides.

Hayes believes the 'energy and dynamism' that the likes of Joey Carbery, RG Snyman and Dave Kilcoyne can bring to the side when fit would make a major difference.

Cappamore man Hayes believes Munster do have players with genuine 'X-factor' in their squad right now.

“They have been missing a few big players at big moments in game; big carries, big tackles, any team who has ever won anything, they’ve had players with an x factor," Hayes said.

"You could see with (RG) Snyman, Joey Carbery and (Damian) De Allende coming in what they were aiming for. If all those players were fit that Munster team would take on anybody.

“It is just that injuries have robbed us of Carbery for such a long time; we are looking now at good young players like (Ben) Healy and that coming through so hopefully it will all come together that way and we can be very competitive again.

"Snyman is a huge loss; you could see what he managed to do for South Africa and you could just imagine what Johann van Graan was thinking when he saw him go off after five or six minutes.

“He must have been thinking, ‘I just can’t get a break’.

“You know if you had him in the pack, they could take on anybody. That was the thing they needed, a couple of players with an x factor. They’ve got them; they now just need to get them fit and on the field at the same time.

"I genuinely believe that when Joey Carbery gets back, Snyman, Dave Kilcoyne got injured as well, there is energy and dynamism there that can actually challenge teams."

Hayes said he hoped his former Munster and Ireland team mate Ronan O'Gara would return to the province as a coach in the future.

O'Gara is currently coaching at French Top 14 side La Rochelle.

"I hope he (Ronan O'Gara) comes back to Munster at some stage anyway," John Hayes said.

"I don't know what I said to him last time I met him, I don't remember when was the last time I met him. 

"He turned up here one time alright years ago.

"I'm not surprised he's going well as a coach anyway, it was always something he was going to do.

"When he was playing in teams he'd have had a big input because so much play goes through a player like him at out-half.

"He understood how to run a game from when he was a player all the way through, he was that sort of player.

"It's not a surprise that he's taken it on to be a coach.

"He's gone around the world. France, New Zealand. He's working his way up, serving his time. It's not a surprise that he is doing it when you know what he's like as a player."

Asked what kind of approach he believes O'Gara brings to coaching from his time he spent with the former out-half at Munster, Hayes said: "ROG would growl at you on the field when he was playing, but he doesn't bring it off the field. He doesn't hold on to it. That's in the moment.

"So, I could imagine him as a coach if someone does something wrong it's over and on to the next thing. He's not going to get bogged down in it and still be complaining about it a week later. 

"It's just 'this is the way it was, it was a mistake, it's over'. If you work on it and don't continually make the same mistake he'll move on about it then.

"If it's something that needs to be said, just get on with it."

* John Hayes is an ambassador for Sport Ireland’s ‘Your Personal Best Month’, aimed at encouraging men over 45 to engage in at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity five days a week. Visit www.sportireland.ie for more