Donal Lenihan: Munster’s Achilles’ heel remains the lack of variety and creativity in attack

Munster’s staid kicking and attacking approach left you wondering just what Johann van Graan’s side are trying to achieve

Dejected Munster players after the United Rugby Championship match between Ospreys and Munster at Liberty Stadium in Swansea, Wales. Photo by Ben Evans/Sportsfile

Despite its rather grandiose title, the United Rugby Championship - URC to this column for the remainder of the season - has already proved more engaging than any of its predecessors since the emergence of the Celtic League back in 2001.

Since then we’ve experienced the Magners League, RaboDirect PRO12, the Guinness PRO12, and PRO14 through to the current format which, in a move with potential implications for the international calendar, includes South Africa’s leading four provincial sides. With a minimum of one Heineken Champions Cup slot on offer for them in the season after next, how long before we see the Springboks join an expanded Six Nations championship?

So, what’s to like about the latest format? Taken at face value nothing much has changed with the Irish provinces once again leading the charge. Leinster, Ulster, and Munster were all unbeaten heading into Round 5 last weekend with a firm grip on the top three slots.

Despite their lofty positions, question marks hung over how Ulster and Munster might stand up to greater scrutiny. Leinster, with more of their senior players back in action last Friday night against Glasgow, took the opportunity to remind everyone just why they are already favourites to become the inaugural winners of the URC.

Munster travelled to Swansea last weekend with four creditable wins under the belt but there were sufficient shortcomings exposed by the Stormers and Connacht on recent visits to Thomond Park to suggest that they still remain vulnerable to sides that deny them entry to their 22. That fear was realised in a very inept performance against an understrength Ospreys team.

All the positive vibes generated from the polished display delivered by the younger generation of Munster hopefuls against Scarlets in Llanelli two weeks earlier were well and truly neutralised by this incredibly limp showing.

Compare the fluidity, crisp passing, and inventive spark Connacht brought to their controversial 20- 18 defeat in Limerick and in their dismantling of Ulster at the Aviva Stadium last Saturday to Munster’s staid kicking and attacking approach last weekend and you wonder just what Johann van Graan’s side are trying to achieve.

The manner of the defeat has diluted many of the positives from the opening few weeks with the spotlight firmly focused, once again, on the lack of variety and creativity in their attacking game.

Connacht are so much more inventive and, consequently, easier on the eye. With a demanding trip to South Africa on the horizon on their return to URC action after the international break, Munster have a lot of work to do.

The big four from South Africa have endured a difficult start to the new tournament but will be better after navigating their way through this challenging opening phase of games. The rugby produced by the Stormers against Munster when they sprinted into an early 15 point lead, revealing a scintillating offloading game in the process, offers a glimpse of what these teams are capable of once they come to grips with the nuances of Northern Hemisphere refereeing.

It’s been a very difficult period for South African rugby. On the international stage, the newly crowned 2019 World Cup champions had to wait 21 months before making their reappearance against Georgia last July as they attempted a crash course in preparation for the Lions series.

On the domestic stage, their leading provinces grew tired of playing against each other and stagnated. They didn’t realise just how far they had fallen off the standards required until runaway Currie Cup winners the Blue Bulls were destroyed 35-8 by Benetton in last season’s Rainbow Cup final in Treviso.

That result set alarm bells ringing back in South Africa. While they struggled in the opening rounds of the URC, there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that not only will they grow into this tournament but will compete vigorously once they get to host games in their own stadia with their full complement of Springbok’s back in harness.

On that front, the URC board deserve credit for reversing the decision to host their “home games” in Italy and allow their provinces to welcome visiting URC teams to South Africa next up in rounds 6 and 7 now that the country has been removed from the UK’s red list for travel. In one of the anomalies of the tournament, the South African sides will play their round 5 matches against each other on February 4th next when the Six Nations kicks off on this side of the world.

That will distort the overall URC table until they catch up with the rest in the new year.

Munster will be the first of the Irish provinces to sample the rarified atmosphere of Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, the storied home of the Bulls. Many a touring side fell on their sword against Northern Transvaal, as the Bulls were known in the amateur era, with two of the most physical test matches I’ve ever witnessed played there when the Springboks hosted Ireland and the Lions in 1998 and 2009 respectively.

Munster will not only have to adapt to playing at over 6,000 feet - it will be fascinating to see from what distance Ben Healy will attempt to kick goals from there - but do so in temperatures likely to be in excess of 28 degrees. Whether they will be greeted by the famously raucous Bulls supporters is unclear at present as clarity is awaited as to when crowds can return to stadia in South Africa.

The following weekend Munster travel an hour down the road to Johannesburg to play the Emirates Lions at Ellis Park, the scene of the iconic 1995 World Cup final. These games are going to be a lot more challenging for the Irish provinces than what they encountered against the Southern Kings and Cheetahs in the Guinness PRO14.

While Munster’s disappointing lack of progress on their wider attacking game remains a live issue, Van Graan faces major logistical issues surrounding how best to mix his squad for that trip given that the week after they return from Johannesburg, Munster start their Heineken Champions Cup campaign against Wasps in Coventry.

With 10 players away with Ireland throughout November, Damien De Allende on Springbok duty, and Ireland’s final game of that autumn campaign against Argentina taking place only six days before the Bulls game in Pretoria, the timing of Munster’s inaugural URC trek to South Africa could not be worse.

After such a positive start to the new tournament from a results perspective, the fact that Munster now have five weeks without a match to get that bitter defeat to the Ospreys out of their system makes things even more challenging.

With Champions Cup pool games against Wasps and Castres, followed immediately by consecutive URC derbies against Leinster, Connacht, and Ulster, Munster have no wriggle room whatsoever once they return from their South African sojourn.

Right now Leinster look rejuvenated with Johnny Sexton, who has benefitted hugely from a proper pre-season after a first summer off in years, pulling all the strings. Equally significant is the increased power generated in their front five by shifting Andrew Porter from tighthead prop back to the loosehead side of the scrum where he started his career.

That reconstructed front row of Porter, hooker Ronan Kelleher who has clearly benefitted from shadowing Ken Owens, Jamie George, and Luke Cowan-Dickie on the Lions tour, and Tadhg Furlong not only offers a rock-solid scrum platform to play off but a dynamic mix of explosive power and ball-carrying ability in the loose.

While Leinster appear to be absorbing the lessons of those disappointing Champions Cup knockout defeats to Saracens and La Rochelle over the last two seasons, Munster have yet to come to terms with their most glaring shortcomings in attack. Once matched up front, their try-scoring options in attack diminish appreciably.

Unless that’s addressed, the long wait for silverware of any kind is set to continue.