'All we needed was a bit of patience'

OSPREYS v MUNSTER POST MATCH QUOTES:AS MUNSTER look at it, the only positive thing to come out of Liberty Stadium was the losing bonus point.

In the short time Denis Leamy and Tony McGahan had to look back on the match, all they could see was a scrum going backwards and the team turning over the ball on the verge of Ospreys cracking on their own line. In all they were a froth of disappointment and frustration after a torrid 80 minutes in freezing Swansea.

Leamy’s head was clear although a full 20 minutes after the match he was smarting from the lapses that cost them the match. Taking nothing when Ospreys were reeling backwards and when there was plenty to take was one of his doleful themes aside from the scrum, of course.

“Absolutely, you have to point at that,” said Leamy. “We created some great phases. We made yardage right up against their line. All we needed was a little bit of patience. To give them credit, there was some very good defence from them. But when we get into those areas we need to convert. It’s very disappointing not to do that. It had a big effect on the rest of the game I feel.”

The team has some repairs to make and coach McGahan was asked to comment if it was the most disappointing scrum performance on his watch.

“We had a couple of bad days last year too and I’m not going to hide away from that,” he said. “We certainly made progress in the scrum since then. We don’t have the best one around obviously, but we don’t have the worst one either. We’re still working really, really hard on it because it’s such a big part of the game. It’s the platform you play off physically, but also mentally. If you’re going backwards in scrums or you’re not getting any ball to come out, it certainly has an affect on your game.”

Munster are still alive, which tempers their anxieties. Going into a two-match shootout for survival with 13-point Toulon two points ahead at the top of the pool is difficult but not beyond them.

“Three sides still have a chance to win it, and I’m sure that all three sides think it’s still in their control if they can win their last two matches,” added McGahan. “That’s what the teams will be aiming for – to win their last two matches. It’s very clear. There’s no real sideshows.”

Munster are too wily not to understand when a morsel or losing bonus point falls their way. And today they will look forward. Their experience in the competition over a decade will kick in. At least that’s what McGahan believes, especially after last year’s joust with Perpignan. Will that experience, the ability to know what to do stand to the team in January?

“Absolutely,” adds McGahan. We’ve a group of players who’ve been around for a long time and will draw on all their experiences. They’ll need to because we have to go away from home in a very tough environment against a side at the peak of their powers.

“They’ve already shown their intent to be strong in Europe and make their way through. So we’ll have to draw on all those experiences and memories and make sure we harness them in a positive way. We’ve only got 80 minutes, so we have to make sure they come out in those 80 minutes. There can’t be any ifs or buts or nearlys.”

Given the way the match unfolded, the issue of Ireland and Munster secondrow Paul O’Connell was once again relevant. While the Munster lineout did trouble Ospreys, the direction, control and leadership of O’Connell could have been pivotal in their failed conquest of Liberty. It is vital for O’Connell to get a match before the win-or-bust phase begins.

“We’d like to keep him playing rugby,” said McGahan. “But we’ll have to wait and see how that goes. He’s had limited rugby so hopefully we can get some under his belt and get him in the mix because he’s an important part of the group both for his leadership and his rugby.”

Ospreys coach Scott Johnson could afford to be whimsical. Basking in what they will see as taking a scalp, Ospreys are thrilled to have put themselves in a position where they can decide their destiny. That seems a good return from this belt of games.

“Give me a coin and I’ll throw it in the air. It’s a bit like that,” said Johnson of how the pool will pan out. “I think we’ll still be talking about this pool right up until the very last game.

“It’ll be interesting when Toulon come here because that will be a good chance for us to control the pool. We need to go to Irish and take points there too. It’s going down to the wire.”

Inevitably the discussion returned to set-pieces and the physical aspect of the contest. Ospreys captain Alun-Wyn Jones was in the thick of most of it. The secondrow felt Ospreys were given more latitude this week by French referee Romain Poite.

“The ref was the change . . . not to attach any blame to the man in the middle last week,” explained Jones. “The early scrum dominance we had last week was reflected this week and to be honest nothing changed. The dominant scrum was rewarded and the ref’s perspective on the set-piece, especially the scrum, was very good.

“During the week, I did mention that if we lost here, it would be curtains for our run. So I’m happy the mentality changed. I felt we were outmuscled in certain areas but we responded to that and got the point last week. The two halves were a mirror image. We had a lot of scrum pressure. We had that mentality to come back and not panic when the pressure came on.”

Borrowing some Munster traits then.