Donal Lenihan: Thinking outside the Boks - How Munster's mindset needs to change

Wed, 09 Sep, 2020 - 10:12

Every champion team has one or two key players whose mere presence lift those around them.

Even New Zealand, despite being jam-packed with quality performers, is reliant on the inspirational figures that separate them from the rest. For years, it was Dan Carter and Richie McCaw. When Carter was ruled out of the knockout phase of the 2011 World Cup on home soil, a team brimming with confidence to that point suddenly became vulnerable.

Cater’s loss was such that McCaw was forced to finish out the tournament playing virtually on one leg, with a broken bone in his foot preventing him from training for the last few weeks. McCaw soldiered on, as only he could, and New Zealand flopped over the line. Without him, they might not have made it home, even against an ailing French side.

In that brief moment when a team comes together in the dressing room before entering the fray, certain players need reassurance. For them, it comes when they survey the group and make eye contact with that inspirational figure in the circle. For years in Munster Paul O’Connell and Ronan O’Gara fulfilled that role.

With those two on board, everyone believed Munster would not only compete but win tight contests that would inevitably go to the wire. Years of defeat at the penultimate stage of the Guinness PRO14 and Heineken Champions Cup — even with those two in the latter stages of their immense careers — finally convinced those running Munster Rugby that figures of similar stature were required if that cycle of defeat was to be broken.

Munster lacked a “world class” presence in the front five and in midfield. In order to finally address their shortcomings on the home straight of domestic and European competition, that needed to change. To their credit, Munster identified two top-of-the-range individuals capable of fulfilling that brief with a track record of delivering on the highest stage of all.

The signings of Damian De Allende and RG Snyman would not have happened but for the influence of Rassie Erasmus and Johann Van Graan. As Springbok director of rugby, Erasmus was thrilled those two would be returning to Europe from Japan, especially with a Lions series to come in 2021. His experience with Munster also played a vital role when both players sought his advice on the move.

With due respects to De Allende, the acquisition of Snyman was the one that excited me most.

Munster’s problems in negotiating the final hurdle in Europe has started up front. The likes of Saracens, Leinster, and Racing 92 all have sufficient firepower in their set piece and at the breakdown to cope with any advantage Munster enjoyed in those crucial areas when progressing to the last four. In addition, all three sides are far more potent in attack.

With the exception of New Zealand’s Brodie Retallick, no second row in the game at present, including Maro Itoje, possesses the range of skills Snyman brings to the party. Itoje is a more disruptive force at the breakdown and in the maul but Snyman is up there with Retallick when it comes to influencing the game from broken play.

As a lineout presence, not only does he guarantee you quality ball on your own throw but is a menacing irritant on the opposition's. That has as much to do with his athleticism as it does his 6’9” frame. Jean Kleyn is only an inch shorter but offers nothing like the same presence out of touch.

Given that so much of Munster’s game has traditionally functioned around a productive lineout, Snyman offered certainty.

Erasmus had so much talent available to him up front with the Springboks that he choose to hold Snyman in reserve and introduce him on the 50-minute mark of games, despite the fact that he is a better all-round player than the admittedly impressive Lood de Jager. What a
luxury to have.

The lift it offered to see Snyman sprung from the bench so early in the second half, coupled with the collective sigh his introduction brought to the opposition, was worth its weight in gold to South Africa at the World Cup.

Snyman is a rare breed in that he matches a superb skill set for such a big man with a physicality and hard edge more associated with a Bakkies Botha. With him you get two players for the price of one, well, maybe with a reported annual salary in excess of €650,000, one and a half. As Munster discovered once again in their painful defeat to Leinster last Friday night, he is worth it.

That’s why to lose him after a mere six minutes and 13 seconds of action is so galling. The regulations surrounding the coronavirus meant that Munster spent a lot of time training in mini pods when they emerged from lockdown which made it difficult for Snyman and De Allende to integrate with the squad.

Yet word filtered back from those grouped with Snyman that he was a a bit of a freak. As the squad came together in the buildup to that opening PRO14 game against Leinster, the full range of what he had to offer was emerging.

The potential gains that he would bring to the Munster pack was plain for all to see. To have that whisked away before the players caught their second wind against Leinster was cruel. The recovery time from an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear varies anywhere between six and nine months. Add another few months to that to recapture form and confidence.

Snyman has a long road to travel and countless hours spent recovering in unfamiliar surroundings in the company of players he barely knows. No matter how big a personality you are, the only real way to immerse yourself in new surroundings is to share the thrill of victory or the pain of defeat on the field of play.

Everything else appears false.

The very presence of the Potchefstroom giant in the high performance unit in UL will only serve to remind all and sundry exactly what they are missing on a daily basis. From that perspective, he might be better off undergoing some of his rehab back home in South Africa.

Last Friday night’s depressing defeat at the hands of Leinster was all too familiar but even more disheartening than usual. Given the quality of their performance in the 27-25 defeat to the same opposition only 13 days earlier, one had every right to expect a more competitive performance from Munster.

There’s no question that Snyman and Dave Kilcoyne were badly missed in the front five battle but, given Leinster were short Tadhg Furlong and James Ryan in the same sector, that should have balanced the books. It didn’t and the way Munster played has left a sour taste as they enter hibernation for a few weeks before next season kicks off.

Munster were comprehensively outplayed in the set piece. Once that happens, this side have no chance. Given the quality of the three-quarter line on offer now, that should not be the case. Then again, it doesn’t help when you continue to kick possession away to an opposition who know exactly what’s coming and prepare accordingly.

Leinster learned their lessons from that opening game after lockdown and made the necessary adjustments to their lineout, at the breakdown, and in dealing with the predictable aerial bombardment coming the way of their back three.

It’s demoralising to see Munster continue making the same mistakes time and time again. While Snyman’s return can’t come soon enough, without a significant change in approach from the coaching staff, you wonder if it will make any difference.