RaboDirectPro 12 preview

DANIEL SCHOFIELD discovers how the PRO12 teams are adapting to the new season's demands.
As Leinster's fortunes have risen in recent years so Munster's have declined and new coach Rob Penney admits that the once unstoppable Red Machine has lost virtually all of its component parts.
If Leinster's successful Heineken Cup defence stuck in the craw of the Limerick masses then witnessing their own team's brutal annihilation, 45-10 in their RaboDirect PRO12 semi-final to Ospreys, was a humiliation too far.
One Celtic League title – albeit against a Leinster team that had left pretty much everything on the pitch in their Heineken Cup final the week before – in three years is hardly the sign of a team in crisis but then few teams experience the burden of expectation that Munster do.
The golden generation that defined the province for so long is virtually no more; Jerry Flannery, John Hayes, Denis Leamy, Mick O'Driscoll, David Wallace, Barry Murphy, Tomas O'Leary and Lifeimi Mafi have all either retired or moved on.
It is not just players that have found pastures new with coach Tony McGahan taking up a role in the Wallabies set-up leaving New Zealander Penney, previously coach of the Baby Blacks and ITM Cup side Canterbury, to pick up the pieces.
And it is clear that Penney has drawn a line in the sand at the province's glory days maintaining it is up to the new breed of players – supported by veterans Paul O'Connell and Ronan O'Gara – to make their own history.
He said: “Mahatma Gandhi once said culture lives in the heart and souls of the people so once you lose a group of people out of an organisation no matter what you try to do the culture changes because the people are different.
“They will be creating their own culture now because it will be different; it won't be any better or worse I don't think, but it will be slightly different. Those players are in charge of creating their own legacy.
“Obviously the team is in transition. Everyone knows that they have lost some world-class players and players who were really important to Munster's success over the last ten years.
“Any team that loses that much talent does not bounce back overnight.”
Unfortunately for Penney even a team in transition will not be granted much leeway by a support accustomed to success, as their inspirational leader Paul O'Connell will attest.
O'Connell said: “In terms of rugby New Zealand are the only country in the world that have that expectation on them. I would certainly say the New Zealand-style expectation is something we have on us.
“It's frustrating at times and means we live in a pressure-filled environment – but that does help us get the best out of ourselves so I don't think that's a bad thing as such.”
Those to look out for from the new crop include blindside flanker Dave O'Callaghan and fly-half JJ Hanrahan, the potential long-term successor to Ronan O'Gara, while centre pairing James Downey and Casey Laulala are the most eye-catching new arrivals.
Ulster have also pushed out the boat to bring back Tommy Bowe and Roger Wilson to the club while their most significant change comes behind the scenes with another New Zealand U20 coach Mark Anscombe's appointment, meaning the leading three Irish provinces are all coached by Kiwis.
Heineken Cup champions Leinster, meanwhile, have added some Southern Hemisphere steel in the form of centre Andrew Goodman, prop Michael Bent and South African second row Quinn Roux to a squad that fell just short of a first Heineken-Celtic League double after their heartbreaking 31-30 defeat in the PRO12 final to the Ospreys.
Despite their title triumph, the Ospreys have had to contend with the departures of 11 players – including Bowe, legendary winger Shane Williams and prop Paul James – with just two new arrivals. Many of the places departed by established internationals will be filled by academy products but coach Steve Tandy says they will not be using that as an excuse should they fail to defend their crown.
He said: “I think losing players is a reflection of the current climate financially. We are fortunate to have a lot of young kids coming through our age-grade system.
“We will go through some indifferent performances when we blood these youngsters but it is something we need to do to learn.
“There's a couple to look out for – there's Tom Habberfield, a young scrum-half, who can possibly play in a couple of other positions. Then there's Tom Grabham who scored against Bath at the weekend, there's also the likes of Nathan Edwards and Ben John so there's a lot of young talent coming through the system.
“We are proud to be the champions and it is not something we will give up lightly and we are looking forward to the start of the season.”
The reduced salary cap has affected all the regions in Wales with the likes of Luke Charteris, Aled Brew, Gethin Jenkins, Ben Morgan, Stephen Jones and Laulala leaving the Principality.
In Scotland, former captain Mike Blair has departed Edinburgh while second row Richie Gray has left Glasgow, although both teams have significantly bulked up squads that struggled to fight on two fronts last season.
Zebre replace Aironi in the PRO12 and do not expect a leopard to change its spots – or stripes – as the competition's whipping boys. However Treviso picked up some notable scalps on the road last year and could be this season's dark horses.