Donal Lenihan: South African influence will be a ray of sunshine for ailing PRO14
Closer to home, those expecting another bonus-point try fest in Thomond Park were delusional, given the quality of defences on show. Picture: INPHO/James Crombie
It proved a revealing weekend of action on two vastly different, but soon to merge, fronts. Thomond Park hosted Munster and Leinster, the two teams hotly tipped to contest the Guinness PRO14 final next March, even if Ulster will have a big say on that.
Outside of the undisputed all-Irish top three, Connacht remained in the hunt in Conference B hosting the Welsh district’s leading side Ospreys, who fielded a number of players likely to feature for Wales in their Six Nations opener against Ireland.
The western province’s home defeat on Sunday has ruled out any hope of advancing to the decider while a rejuvenated Ospreys side offered Andy Farrell a timely reminder of the quality of player available to struggling Welsh coach Wayne Pivac.
In truth, the PRO14 has been a damp squib this season with no meaningful challenge presented by any of the Scottish, Welsh, or Italian teams. As a result, the tournament is badly in need of the fresh impetus soon to arrive from the best provincial sides in South African rugby.
Right now that is scheduled to occur with the launch of the Rainbow Cup in April. Given the current situation surrounding the coronavirus and the challenges posed by the new strains from the UK and South Africa, there has to be a shadow hanging over that new tournament.
Nevertheless, with the Bulls and the Lions meeting in the first of the Currie Cup semi-finals on Saturday, followed immediately by the other semi between Western Province and the Sharks, we were presented with a great opportunity to compare and contrast the quality the kingpins of Springbok rugby will bring to the newly constructed Guinness PRO16 from next season onwards.
In terms of contrast, the most obvious on first viewing was the weather. Where freezing temperatures and an accompanying snowfall greeted the players when they emerged from the dressing rooms in Limerick, the Bulls and the Lions had to contend with the baking afternoon sunshine and temperatures peaking at 33ºC at Loftus Versfelt in Pretoria.
Later in the afternoon, history was made when Western Province took to the field for the very last time at their spiritual home in Newlands, Cape Town for the second semi-final in a slightly more forgiving 25ºC.
The variance in conditions, not to mention the additional challenge posed when playing at altitude in Pretoria and Johannesburg, are just two factors the Irish provinces will have to adapt to when they eventually get to travel down south. Likewise just imagine the shock to the system the South African players will encounter when they head in the opposite direction at this time of the year.
In terms of quality on offer, surprisingly, given the semi-finalists accurately reflected the top four teams in the country, only six of the matchday squad that represented the Springboks in the 2019 World Cup final featured across the two games.
It would have been more only for injury to the likes of world player of the year Pieter-Steph Du Toit, Makazole Mapimpi, Malcolm Marx, and Steven Kitshoff. That said, there was a liberal sprinkling of grizzled Springboks, past and present on show, including Willem Alberts, Morne Steyn, and Cornal Hendricks, Ivan van Zyl, Elton Jantjies, Jannie du Plessis, and former Munster prop Thomas du Toit. Ten of the World Cup final squad, including Munster’s RG Snyman and Damian De Allende, still ply their trade overseas. That is something Rassie Erasmus hopes to address with the eradication of the crazy travel schedule that a Super Rugby tournament spanning nine different time zones imposed. No wonder it lost its attraction for the majority of the Springboks.
As always with South African teams, the most obvious difference last weekend was in the sheer size and power of all four packs. However, some looked overweight or poorly conditioned for this level of rugby. That was the reason former Munster strength and conditioning coach Aled Walters was enticed to South Africa by Erasmus.
Walters transformed the top layer of South African players but it looks as if that attention to detail is still filtering down.
From an attacking perspective, unsurprisingly in the conditions, there was far less kicking on offer and a greater emphasis on putting width on the ball. All teams carried blinding pace in the back three and the quality of their passing and offloading was impressive. I have no doubt the Irish provinces will be in a position to compete on an equal footing with their South African counterparts but you won’t have any of the crazy mismatches that regularly saw understrength Irish provinces recording bonus-point wins in the majority of their games in last season’s PRO14.
Indeed the one-sided nature of so many of the matches has only served to diminish the product even further. That is why a revamped PRO16 competition can’t come soon enough.
Erasmus also sits on the board of the PRO14 and he sees South Africa’s involvement in the tournament as a stepping stone to achieving the ultimate goal of having his country’s top provinces competing in the Heineken Champions Cup. That carrot will aid the cause even further in not only attracting more overseas Springboks back home but also in keeping some of the younger talent from departing for big clubs in Ireland, England, and France.
While it may not have been pretty to watch, I really enjoyed the intense nature of the contest, with neither team prepared to yield an inch.
While Munster have improved on a number of fronts since the games against Leinster in August and September, there’s no question the Leo Cullen’s side hold a big psychological edge in this contest right now. Why wouldn’t they? Most of their players, especially the younger brigade, have never lost to Munster.
Having started so well, scoring 10 points in the opening 12 minutes, Munster were the better side in the opening half. Crucially, they failed to capitalise on their superiority during that period and, if you fail to put away teams like Leinster when on top, you’ll pay the price eventually.
Munster’s lineout, statistically the best in the tournament to that point, fell apart as the game progressed, especially from promising attacking positions.
That coupled with those two vital missed kicks from JJ Hanrahan proved costly, especially the six-point turnaround prior to half-time. Munster have nobody to blame for this latest defeat to Leinster but themselves.
Perhaps the most welcome aspect of the evening for all Irish fans was the sight of Joey Carbery actively participating in the pre-match warm-up. That’s usually a signal that a return to more active involvement isn’t that far away.
Despite the result, Munster still look certain to top Conference B and make the PRO14 final. With six games left in the conference stage, the time has come to invest fully in Ben Healy as the starting out-half, with a view to building on the significant progress he has made.
Jack Crowley also needs to see some game time and it would be brilliant if Carbery was also in a position to throw his hat in the ring before the Champions Cup starts up again, hopefully in April. Let them all beaver away during the Six Nations, with a view towards broadening Munster’s options in the push for end-of-season silverware.
And if you’re craving some decent rugby action in the void before the Six Nations starts, you can get a glimpse of the future by tuning into the Currie Cup final between the Blue Bulls and Natal Sharks in Pretoria on Saturday afternoon. Rugby apart, it’s worth it alone for a glimpse of the clear blue skies and scorching sun.
