Van Graan on familiar territory as Munster go on tour
RUGBY
Daire Walsh
FOLLOWING a perfect start for his charges at Thomond Park last weekend, van Graan will find himself on familiar terrain over the next fortnight.
As part of their now-annual Tour of South Africa, Munster will face Southern Kings in Port Elizabeth this Saturday – before moving onto Bloemfontein for a clash against the Toyota Cheetahs on Friday, October 11.
Including amongst the travelling contingent to his native is Jed Holloway, who recently joined Munster on a short-term deal.
In the absence of several front-line international stars, van Graan believes Holloway’s presence could prove invaluable in the formative weeks of the new season.
“Very excited to have him in. You need depth in your squad.
“We’re very lucky to have JK [Jean Kleyn], Tadhg [Beirne], Pete [O’Mahony] and CJ [Stander] at the World Cup.
“Specifically for lock cover, you need a bit of experience. I thought he had a really good Super Rugby competition.
“He’s a player that caught my eye and obviously Steve [Larkham] knows him pretty well.”
It’s a case of cutting the cloth to suit the measure, given the matches on the horizon for the Reds.
“If you look at our European pool, it’s big teams that we’re coming up against.
“He’s got size and most importantly, he must fit into the squad.
“We’re going to use the squad system. Currently, we only have four senior locks.
“If one gets injured, you’re already in a tight spot. That’s the main thing for the first part of the season, is depth.
“He’ll definitely provide that for us.”
With a total of 12 players currently ensconced in East Asia, van Graan will be aiming to maximise the experience within his squad.
Nevertheless, he is also keen to continue the integration of the province’s Academy players into the senior environment.
“I think experience is always good, specifically when you’ve got so many Academy lads.
“You can’t just play a young team and you can’t just play your starters, week in and week out.
“That balance is very important,” van Graan added.
“Make sure the mix of our team is good.
“It’s important to have experience, but most important to get our Academy players on the field.”