I’d rather be McGahan than Schmidt
For one there is an embarrassment of riches with high quality players returning from injury and suspension; for the other a question of how best to juggle diminished resources behind the scrum to best effect.
Schmidt has seen little go his way in terms of injury since assuming the reins at Leinster last June, starting with the loss of highly under-rated prop Stan Wright in the first outing of the season. In the circumstances, he has done very well in recent months but must have looked on in horror as every weekend of international action seemed to wreak havoc on his highly acclaimed back-line. First Rob Kearney succumbed to a knee injury, then Luke Fitzgerald with a similar problem before his crown jewel, Brian O’Driscoll, became the latest victim with a facial injury.
Not only does their combined loss, along with a neck injury to promising young winger Andrew Conway, cause a serious headache for Schmidt but it also denies rugby fans across Europe of the chance to see two of the Heineken Cup’s best back divisions going head to head on successive weekends. Anyone who saw Clermont Auvergne edge past Toulouse by 32-25 last weekend will appreciate that.
Having witnessed first-hand the demolition of French back play in the Stade de France 10 days ago, when their negative approach was exposed to an embarrassing degree by their youthful Wallaby counterparts, last Saturday’s game begged the question just how the likes of Julien Malzieu, Benoit Baby, Anthony Floch, Clement Poitrenaud, Maxime Medard and Florian Fritz are all deemed surplus to requirements — and that is without advertising the merits of Vincent Clerc, Maxime Mermoz and Yann David. Marc Lievremont has a lot of explaining to do.
Schmidt, having directed operations behind the scrum in Clermont for the last few years, must be gutted that he will not be in a position to run his best back-line against this Clermont unit, for whom half backs Morgan Parra and Brock James were masterful against Toulouse.
James is on a mission of atonement after his travails against Leinster in last season’s one point quarter-final defeat at the RDS. Forget about all his missed kicks that night (the management should have got Parra to take over on a permanent basis), it was his reluctance to seize control in the final minutes to drop a winning goal. His effort, when it eventually came, lacked any conviction and cost his team badly. On Saturday, against their great French rivals, James was back to his best. His game appreciation and tactical kicking was magnificent and the inevitable decision this season to relieve him of the place kicking duties — Parra was successful with eight from nine against Toulouse — seems to have revitalised him. Defensively, Clermont were also very impressive and given the strength of their squad — 17 internationals from a variety of countries saw game-time over the course of the November internationals — it is hard to fathom why they have struggled this season.
Their most influential player last Saturday no longer features for his country, but is in awesome form at present. Former All Black number eight Sione Lauaki, a target for Munster at one stage, was outstanding and his ball-carrying and off-loading will cause Leinster difficulties. In the opening round at the RDS, Jamie Heaslip thoroughly outplayed his acclaimed opposite number Sebastian Chabal against Racing Metro but will have his hands full once again on this occasion. Clermont are capable of playing in a varietyof different ways and that makes themdifficult to play against. Then again, Schmidt will appreciate that more thananyone.
If Leinster’s game offers a rare opportunity for two of Europe’s best to showcase their talents against each other, Munster’s clash with the Ospreys will hold few surprises for the players or management on either side. Suffice to say, these two have history.
Munster’s 43-9 demolition of Sunday’s opponent in the 2009 quarter-final must rank as the provinces most complete performance in the Heineken Cup, given the quality of the opposition that day. Within weeks, seven of that Ospreys side were selected for the Lions tour of South Africa, all of whom featured in the test squad at some stage. In addition All Blacks Marty Holah and Filo Tiatia started in the Ospreys back row. Munster blew them away with a display of ball in hand, attacking rugby that not only cemented Keith Earls’ Lions credentials but finally laid waste to the perception of Munster as a one-dimensional team. For some reason, they have never been able to replicate the variety and quality of the attacking game they produced that day.
What is noticeable, however, is that quarter-final defeat and the manner in which they were humiliated seems to have been a watershed in the development of the Ospreys. They were a unit transformed last season, beating Munster home and away in the Magners League and faring far better in the quarter final of last season’s Heineken Cup against Biarritz in San Sebastian than Munster did in the semi-final against the same opposition. The manner in which they dusted themselves off after that defeat to beat Munster in Limerick in the Magners League and Leinster in the final at the RDS to deliver silverware suggests that they have turned a corner.
The Ospreys will not fear Munster in any way, and the Thomond Park factor will pose no issues for them. That affords them a serious advantage over some of the high-quality sides from France and England who have allowed reputation and perception to impact on their performance long before setting foot on the Thomond Park pitch.
Last weekend’s win over the Cardiff Blues was a typical pre-Heineken Cup performance from Munster. On so many occasions in the past, Munster have under-performed on the eve of the big occasion only to pull out a big game when it is needed most. McGahan only gave his side a 3/10 last weekend, a little harsh, but nonetheless highlighting the number of unforced errors and poor handling that characterised the performance. They will be better for that game this weekend.
With Paul O’Connell back, even if a little under-cooked and likely to be used as an impact substitute — what a luxury — you can be sure that everyone on the pitch will be bursting a gut to raise performance levels. Dealing with McGahan is one thing; the prospect of a disgruntled Lions captain coming on with 30 minutes to go is another. No wonder the Munster coach wouldn’t trade places with his Leinster counterpart for any money this weekend.
