Billy Holland excited to work with Munster’s budding talent during Internationals

Munster travel to Italy take on Zebre this Saturday as the Guinness Pro 14 returns following a three-week break.

Many of the province’s more experienced and established professionals are away on Irish duty, meaning it is another great chance for some of the younger talent to clock up some much-needed game time.

There is also extra responsibility placed on some of the more senior members of the squad to guide the budding Munster stars in the right direction, and there are few more experienced than the long serving Billy Holland.

“When I got my first caps years ago it was when the Internationals were away, when Paulie and Donncha and Micko were away at Irish camp, that’s when I got opportunities. The older guys in the team that were left behind helped you out so much so there’s a massive onus on guys like myself and whoever else is in the older age bracket, to help these guys.”

The 32-year-old, who made his provincial debut ten years ago, enjoys this time of the season within the Munster Camp.

“It’s a very exciting block (of games) because you have guys coming in who are short on experience and match time but full of energy and vigour. It’s a great opportunity for lads and all you want them to do is go out and have a go, you don’t want them to get too bogged down in calls.”

Holland likes to urge players such as scrum half James Hart, who joined up with Munster this season from Racing 92 to play their own game in the early stages of their career in Limerick, and worry about the technical side of the game later down the road.

“If the likes of James Hart come in he cannot possibly be as sharp with the calls as Conor (Murray) or Duncan (Williams) it’s impossible, he has only a handful of caps to his name. So, what you want him to do is go out, be relaxed and play his game, do what he did in other teams, that’s why he was poached to come here, so I think it’s really exciting for them and the need the backing of the senior players, which they certainly do.”

Munster, have claimed victory in their 10 previous meetings with Zebre but will be expecting a sterner test this season, the Italian side have shown improvement under former Connacht coach Michael Bradley. Most notably claiming wins over Ulster and Southern Kings in the Pro 14.

“I think Zebre are a completely different team this year to what they have been in previous years. We’ve always found Italy a hard place to go to, so it’s going to be a real test of character this weekend.”