New Munster head coach Johann van Graan will take charge of his first game this Saturday when a struggling Ospreys side visit Irish Independent Park.

The former Springboks forwards coach was watching on as his side, led by Jerry Flannery and Felix Jones, enjoyed a bonus point victory in the Pro 14 last weekend, despite taking a back-seat van Graan says he has learned a lot since arriving in Limerick.

“I did a lot of individual research on the players and on the way that Munster play. A lot on the Champions cup and the Pro 14, obviously I haven’t coached in the northern hemisphere before, I’ve been here for test match rugby, but this is a whole new ball game. I enjoyed the experience. I quickly got to know individual players a lot better after working with them for a week. I’m very happy to get away with a win and a bonus point, we started today with the whole squad, the Irish guys as well.”

The new boss was quick to open up dialogue with his Irish contingent following the November Internationals, they’ll take a week off this week before returning ahead of a massive European encounter with Leicester.

“I’ve already spoken to them. I’ve been in contact with them the whole time, I spoke with each one last night over the phone, each guy knows where he stands and the one thing about Irish rugby and the provinces the communication seems to be brilliant it’s something I’d like to congratulate everybody involved on at this stage.”

Van Graan barely had a chance to acclimatize himself to his new surroundings when rumours began to filter in about the potential departure of club captain Peter O’Mahony who’s contract is up at the end of the season, that was followed by reports that negotiations between the IRFU and CJ Stander had also hit a bump in the road.

The most likely destination, should either man leave the province, would be to one of the mega-rich clubs in France or England.

“Obviously for all the clubs in the world it’s a concern, losing players to England and to France. Special players win big games and win trophies. Like I said he’s our club captain and if I can in any way help to keep him at Munster and within Ireland until the world cup and hopefully after that I’ll do everything in my power to do that.”

The transition from the South African national setup to head coach at Munster will no doubt be a challenging task for the former Bulls coach, he admits that having experienced Munster men Jerry Flannery and Felix Jones on his coaching ticket will be crucial to his success.

“(They’re) Very important. They’ve been brilliant. The first time I met them was in July coming here for a meet and greet. I think the first thing that stands out is the quality of the individual. What Jerry achieved as a player, Felix retired early, he’s a brilliant coach. I told them I’m not here to change anything right now, I’m here to enhance the Munster way. The way that they’ve conducted themselves in a possible difficult situation has been excellent.”

Other than introducing more variety in Munster’s play van Graan is happy with the style of rugby that Munster are currently playing, he simply wants to continue to churn out winning performances.

“Winning rugby. At this stage we are just going to keep everything the same. We’ve got a brilliant kicking game, set piece is functioning very well. We’re very impressed by the scrummaging over the weekend. We had a good lineout performance. Possibly a variety of play a bit more. We’ve got some special backs, especially outside backs coming through. I believe this is a game of decision making, there’s no one way of playing this game. It’s about finding balance, adapting to conditions and the referee, to what your opponent’s give you. Sometimes people forget that there’s actually an opposition team. In games, especially away from home you’ll need to grind out and probably speed up one or two things but at this stage, keep with what is in place. They’ve been relatively successful over the last two seasons and the players are very comfortable within the structure”