Before we move on to the Six Nations...
See you in a few weeks, lads.
For the non-international contingent there was a mandatory week off while those required by the national squads at full and A level went their separate ways. It can be a frustrating time for Tony McGahan and his coaching staff as it will be more than eight weeks before his squad will train together again as a complete unit.
Munster will have Magners League games against Edinburgh, the Dragons and the possibility that the game against the Scarlets, lost to the big freeze, will be re-fixed, but the management must plan to train and play without several frontline performers for the next few weeks.
It will be no different for Michael Cheika with Leinster.
The inevitable moaning and groaning that was as predictable as it was nauseating from England (after finishing the pool stage with their worst ever representation at the quarter-final stage) was led by London Irish coach Toby Booth after his side self-destructed after leading Pool 6 going into the final series of games.
Booth’s predictable reaction was to bemoan a scenario where the Irish sides have all the advantages over their English and French counterparts because of central contracting.
He conveniently forgot to recognise that France have four teams in the knockout stages. He also conveniently forgot to recognise that in the Exiles’ head-to-head with champions Leinster, London Irish accumulated six points with a win and a draw to Leinster’s three while they only amassed a miserly one point from his two pool defeats to the Scarlets. If Booth is looking for reasons as to why his side is out of Europe, he need look no further than the appalling game management of his players in the heat of battle. Last Saturday in Twickenham, his out-half, Chris Malone, had at least four opportunities to win the contest with the boot but failed to deliver.
While central contracting has worked wonders for the fortunes of the national team, it doesn’t always work in favour of the provinces. Booth could learn a lot by having a conversation with McGahan or Cheika who constantly have to battle on two fronts with many of their frontline players unavailable to them. It was no coincidence that Munster and Leinster lost their opening games of this year’s Heineken Cup, given that neither had time to reintegrate their international and Lions contingent back into the fold in the two weeks prior to those first-round contests.
Booth conveniently forgot to recognise that as a key factor in his side’s surprise win over the holders at the RDS. When you lose your first game in the Heineken Cup, the margin for error evaporates. In those circumstances it was a marvellous achievement for Munster and Leinster to produce home quarter-finals. Munster’s doggedness was there for all to see by managing to complete their campaign as No 1 seed despite playing below par in all their home games. It was the two bonus-point wins in Treviso and Perpignan that ultimately showed their true character.
Munster know they have a massive amount of work to do on their set piece to make sure the pummelling they got from an excellent Northampton pack is not repeated when they return in April. Yet between now and that contest in 11 weeks, Munster (and Leinster) will only train with all hands on deck for two weeks. How would Toby Booth cope with that?
It is time for those in English rugby to face facts and recognise that since Martin Johnson’s excellent World Cup winners of 2003, their game has gone backwards. Ronan O’Gara was almost swallowed whole for suggesting in 2006 that the Guinness Premiership was not all it was hyped up to be. He was right then and if anything, the quality has deteriorated further since he made those comments. Warren Gatland, who knows a thing or two about the Premiership from his time at Wasps, was also criticised by officials last November for stating that in his opinion the opening rounds of this season’s Premiership action were the worst he had ever seen.
Yes they do have the added pressure that relegation brings and that is not a factor in the Magners League but after the first few months of action, that threat is normally confined to about two teams out of 12. They don’t all have to play in a straight jacket.
In any case it shouldn’t be a factor in Europe as teams should relish the break from the grind and intensity of the domestic league.
Regardless of how England do in the Six Nations, the sooner those in authority recognise that they have problems, the sooner they will set about rectifying them. In the meantime, Booth, who is an excellent coach, would be better served to look closer to home for reasons as to why his very talented squad will be kicking their heels when European action resumes in April.
Now another pet subject from the weekend — the performance of the three French officials in Thomond Park on Friday night. I had flagged in advance of the game that Romain Poite operates to a different charter that most other referees at the breakdown with players allowed to come in from the side or contest for possession when off their feet with impunity. Is it any wonder that someone as experienced as Paul O’Connell got so animated with Poite? I have been there before and understand his plight.
Poite and his assistant referees, Eric Soulan and Bernard Dalmaso, were very poor for both teams. I have never seen so many crooked lineout throws and forward passes go unpunished in any game. The high tackle on Paul Warwick by Shane Geraghty was not only a penalty but a yellow card. How could it have gone unpunished?
I am sure if Danny Cipriani was watching he must have cringed. On Thursday night, Wasps lost to Racing Metro 92 in Paris after the young England star was penalised for a high tackle on his opposite number Jonathan Wisniewski in the last play of the game. It was a marginal call but I think that referee James Jones got it right. It cost Wasps the game. Geraghty’s clothesline effort on Warwick was far more dangerous and swept the Munster full back off his feet and yet it went unpunished.
Finally, and most seriously of all, was the management of the injury to Northampton’s replacement second row, Christian Day, who lay prostrate for five minutes, six yards from the touchline, while medics braced his neck, fearing a serious injury. The assistant referee, who was only yards away from him, failed to inform Poite to stop play.
That was ridiculous and brought no credit to this great competition.
At one stage, four medics including one of the Munster staff surrounded the injured player in an effort to protect him from play. Thankfully all of the action was concentrated on the other side of the field at the time. Play should have been stopped. A similar scenario developed in the RDS two seasons ago when Peter Stringer also appeared to have sustained a neck injury but again the assistant referee failed to intervene.
Thankfully the injury to Day was not as serious as it first appeared. Full marks to the Munster supporters on the terrace on that side of the field for waiting for a prolonged period after the game to clap the injured player off the field when he was finally removed by stretcher.
Poite will be in charge when Ireland open their Six Nations campaign against Italy in just over two weeks.
Declan Kidney will have to sedate O’Connell before that one.
