RUGBY:With so much talent available to Munster their supporters should not lose faith just yet, writes LIAM TOLAND
ON THE 53th minute Harlequins packed down against Munster. The score stood in Quins favour by 17 points to 7. Both Donncha O’Callaghan and Nick Easter were in the bin and the crowd were growing impatient and very uneasy. From the resultant scrum just outside Quins’ 22 the kid Rory Clegg, who had replaced the All Black Nick Evans, received the ball. Even though he was inside his 22 he had to go down town. When the ball left Clegg’s boot the clock stood at 53 minutes and eight seconds. The next minute and a half told a lot about Munster and where they are at present.
Munster’s back three were magnificent especially off poor kicks. When Doug Howlett caught Clegg’s kick he transferred it to Felix Jones who found Keith Earls, all three in tandem. By the time Paul O’Connell received the ball way up the field the counter had gone through 12 sets of Munster hands. Interestingly it passed through loose head Wian du Preez twice.
On each occasion du Preez had the football knowledge to off load immediately to a better positioned and capable red jersey. The ball had transferred from Munster’s 22 back to Harlequins’ with two breakdowns, each one lasting three seconds which afforded the ever growing Conor Murray speedy clearances. O’Connell eventually hit a brick wall and hit the deck.
This was sensational rugby from Munster and the young Quins were on the ropes. The next play could have brought the crucial seven pointer. Considering the clock time and the score this would have been a major blow to Quins. Munster of old would not have taken their foot off the visiting team’s neck. Unfortunately next man to arrive Damien Varley couldn’t help himself and picked from the base to trundle around the fringe.
This was all the more galling as Murray was but a foot behind him and could have swept the ball away towards a certain score. Now start the clock. It was a full 18 seconds before Murray could dig the ball out of the carnage to find Ronan O’Gara. Harlequins were all back in harness and Lifeimi Mafi’s pass bounced awkwardly to Jones who was hammered. A beautiful counter-attack under extreme pressure started at the back with Jones ended in a cul de sac with Jones, who turned it over and Quins drilled it back over the touchline metres from Munster’s line.
So much of that 90 seconds was sensational and the ever growing critics of Munster must recognise that this team is far from finished. Remember Howlett had two tries but for a yard or two forward passes. Had Munster scored at that point the score would have been 14 points to 17. How much of a blow would that have been to the very young Quins? That 90 seconds had Munster’s back three flying and many players aiding until Varley picked off the quick ruck. All season he has been the best Irish forward at the breakdown but he must follow du Preez’s lead of finding the better placed red shirt.
Obviously mini units have struggled, particularly the centre pairing which needs drastic restructuring. Munster unfortunately have bought poorly in recent times and at the dizzy heights of the play-offs weaknesses are exposed. Even with a team that has those minor weaknesses, as I said last Friday, the danger for Munster was an over reliance on their ever growing back three to the detriment of killing the Mighty Quins at source. The real damage had been done long before that 18 second ruck. Again from last Friday Harlequins were a team to be reckoned with, especially their comfort with the ball in space or traffic, as having watched them several times, they continue to create the most “positive errors” of them all. While Quins were playing with the ball Munster had to stop them before the fifth pass.
Munster must have known this so why they stood off in the opening salvos I just can’t understand. Clearly they felt that Quins get the ball away from contact, minimising ruck play. To combat this Munster decided to commit but two players, if even that to each ruck. At home in the play-offs, the third man in is crucial in that he has the vision and build up to attack the ball and counter ruck.
I’m amazed Munster gave a very talented but immature Harlequins this much respect. For much of the opening 40 there was no intensity from the Reds and Quins were able to string pass after pass allowing a second row to canter in for their first try; unforgivable. With so much still to play for in Munster it is far from a dead season. Just look at their try before half-time. All the key decisions and executions were spot on. O’Gara kicks the corner from a penalty. David Wallace gets on the ball then O’Gara, Mafi and finally Jones who scores. They are very close to surfing upwards on the down slope of their cycle but if they don’t improve their lineout stats under pressure, fix their midfield and add a second row and back row to their ranks, then a soft landing may be a struggle.
BJ Botha is an excellent addition especially at scrum time. Ideally, Leinster bound Seán Cronin would be a fantastic addition to Jerry Flannery and Varley having buckets of football in him as has his fellow Ardscoil Rís hooker Mike Sherry. Keep a close eye on the sharp looking Sherry tonight as he starts against Connacht.
Munster will be kicking themselves for exiting as they did. The problem is double edged because, as they take time to figure out their requirements, their opposition is growing in confidence, nullifying the Thomond Park factor.
Harlequins are a very talented side full of running, angles and ever growing precision under pressure but Munster failed to test that precision when it really counted, in the first half and in contact; very un-Munster like but eminently fixable. With so much talent the red terraces should not lose faith just yet.
liamtoland@yahoo.com
