Munster miss a few gears
Little did we know that one of monumental proportions was almost on the cards in the very first game.
With just four minutes left on the clock on Friday night, Munster, trailing by a point stood on the verge of the greatest shock in the tournament’s history. Had Montauban held their nerve to the final whistle Munster’s chances of advancing to the knockout stage were in peril right from the off.
Things didn’t get much better for Tony McGahan’s men as the weekend advanced with pool rivals Sale recording a remarkable away win in Clermont Auvergne, picking up a bonus point on the way. That puts them firmly in the driving seat as Munster now prepare for a very testing assignment against the Sharks in Stockport next Sunday.
Meanwhile, Leinster recovered well from their recent travails against Munster and Connacht with a bonus point victory in Edinburgh on Saturday. Despite looking hesitant and vulnerable in the opening quarter, poor defence from Edinburgh offered scoring opportunities which were punished with ease by Rocky Elsom and Felipe Contepomi. It had a calming effect on the visitors. Even more encouraging was the display of Brian O’Driscoll who looked menacing throughout. Form is temporary etc... Two tries in a four-minute spell by O’Driscoll and Shane Horgan ensured a bonus point by half time at a venue that has caused Leinster so much grief.
That said, Leinster still played well below their capability and managed just three points in a second half where they rode their luck at times. They also displayed a cynical edge that we associated with Wasps and Leicester over the years. Maybe that marks a turning point of sorts. With Contepomi sin binned earlier in the half, Chris Whitaker was very fortunate not to suffer a similar fate in deliberately knocking on when Edinburgh looked likely to score.
Against a more clinical side they could have been in trouble. They still look as if they are lacking in confidence but with only one victory in eight visits to the Scottish capital they had every right to be cautious.
Overall, Michael Cheika will be pleased to have erased a few ghosts of the past before welcoming former winners Wasps to the RDS next weekend. There was also evidence that new signings Elsom and CJ van der Linde are settling into the side. Elsom in particular was excellent both in the contact area and in scoring the all important opening try which came as a great relief to all. Beside him Jamie Heaslip was a livewire throughout especially from broken play and Shane Jennings competed for everything on the floor to form a very effective breakaway unit that will only get better in time.
In contrast to the frayed nerves that accompanied Leinster to Scotland, Munster could not have been in better shape for their tournament opener on Friday night. Right from the start, however, things did not seem right. We had a foretaste of what was to come when even the best efforts of Cara O’Sullivan failed to generate any response from a muted crowd. It didn’t help that traffic chaos resulted in groups of supporters arriving late. Tales of four-hour journeys from Cork became the norm.
On the field however Munster must take responsibility for their own actions. The key to any contest is that you must respect the opposition. Despite their best efforts, Munster were sucked into a false sense of security when Montauban choose to let many of their regulars at home.
Time and again I have heard the likes of Ian McGeechan and Warren Gatland preach the mantra that “a team must earn the right to go wide”. By this they mean that before a side attempts to put width on their game they must engage the opposition and create space by sucking in defenders. Munster either forgot or chose to ignore this very important principle. When they did force the visitors to commit more numbers to the breakdown opportunities presented themselves in particular when Barry Murphy scored his vital try.
This was an occasion when Munster attempted to move straight into overdrive without any effort to shift through the gears. It suited a highly charged opposition who knew in advance that they would have to be extremely accurate in defence to survive. They were.
As the game progressed Montauban grew in belief and despite very limited ambition in attack would have won but for three missed kicks from the man-of-the-match Petre Mitu. The game bore remarkable similarities with the World Cup efforts against Namibia and Georgia only 12 months ago when once again the chase for a four try bonus point was prioritised before establishing the basics. With eight players on board on Friday night who shared those experiences one would have thought that the lessons would have been absorbed.
Ulster’s difficult start to the season in the Magners League has followed them into Europe when as expected they went down to Stade Francais for the first time in five meetings in Belfast. They simply don’t intimidate anyone in Ravenhill anymore.
Stade were excellent in defence and even their discipline was exemplary with Niall O’Connor having to wait 48 minutes for his first kick at goal. Ulster huffed and puffed for long periods but lacked any cutting edge. Stade, with fewer opportunities, were far more clinical.
Ulster now face an uphill battle away to Harlequins next Saturday who opened their campaign with a great win on the road against the Scarlets in the last competitive game to be played at Stradey Park. Their challenge looks doomed already.
Sale’s achievement on Saturday now puts them in the driving seat in Pool 1 as Munster prepare for two successive away assignments in England and France. The only consolation at this stage is that the task could even have been greater had Montauban held their discipline for a few minutes more.
