Confrontation is key for Munster
Both involved former teams of mine, one an AIL clash between age-old rivals Cork Con and Garryowen, the other a crucial RaboDirect contest between Munster and Cardiff Blues. Despite the perceived gulf in class between the amateur and professional game, both my former teams lost for the same reason.
As Mike Ross pointed out in an interview at the weekend, “Rugby is first and foremost a game of physical confrontation.”
I made the exact same point to a former team-mate in Temple Hill on Saturday after Cork Con lost a game in which they never sought to engage the opposition in the physical stakes, despite fielding one of the biggest packs in recent memory, with Munster hopefuls Ian Nagle, Brian Hayes, Phil Donnellan and John Ryan all on board. All too often, Con confuse themselves with the Barbarians and neglect to set the ground rules up front.
Munster were guilty of making the same mistake a few hours later in Musgrave Park, slavishly moving the ball laterally across the field without asking any questions of the Cardiff defence. The fact that Munster were clearly superior in the set piece in the opening half barely registered with the players but crucially they came off second best in the contact area. Cardiff were clearly expecting a physical examination and were up for it from the outset but when it wasn’t forthcoming, they grew in stature and deserved their win.
One of the difficulties facing Munster at present is that with their forwards spread about the field in three separate pods in broken play, two out wide in each of the five metre tramlines and four in midfield, there is additional dependence on the closest backs to clean out at the breakdown in order to retain and recycle possession quickly. That is the key to exploiting the space that becomes available in a multi-phased game. New Zealand backs are generally far better at doing that than we are, with obvious exceptions like Brian O’Driscoll and Gordon D’Arcy, who have excelled in the contact area for years.
Confrontation is in Munster’s DNA but in developing Rob Penney’s new game plan, they’ve tended to move away from that traditional tenet. Right now the team appear handcuffed to one philosophy and are not adjusting to how things are unfolding in front of them. James Downey has strengths to his game that are being ignored at present and Munster, after taking a number of steps forward this season, have taken one or two back in recent outings, against Ulster and Cardiff. The question now, with survival in Europe at stake, is whether they can get things back on track in seven days.
With the necessity to beat Edinburgh and Racing Metro over the next two weekends, with a minimum requirement of at least one bonus point to keep their hopes of a Heineken Cup quarter-final alive, Munster need to reassess their approach. Edinburgh, like Cardiff, are having a poor season and confidence must be very low after losing their last five games. That is why Munster don’t need to present them with easy targets to hit as they did to Cardiff on Saturday which enabled them to get a foothold in the game.
In addition, the fact that Racing Metro beat French championship leaders Toulon at the Stade Felix Mayol where they were unbeaten in the previous 18 games, offers a further indication that when they are switched on, they are a match for anyone. That is why they may yet do Munster a favour and turn over Saracens in Nantes on Saturday. While that result would make them more difficult to beat the following week in Thomond Park, it would also mean that Munster, by winning in Edinburgh, could then top the pool.
Munster have become a bit too predictable in recent weeks and the opposition are ready and waiting to respond. More variety is required in attack with decoy runners essential in order to fix or at the very least, create uncertainty, in the opposition defence. On the back of the last two outings, it will be very interesting to see how Munster approach that opening 20 minutes in Murrayfield next weekend.
The biggest plus for Irish rugby over the weekend was the welcome and overdue return to competitive action of Luke Fitzgerald and Rob Kearney. The fact that Brian O’Driscoll also managed his comeback a few weeks ahead of schedule also augurs well not only for Leinster’s bid to stay alive in Europe but also for Ireland’s Six Nations aspirations. With Wales in the midst of an injury crisis at present — George North was their latest casualty when he was stretchered off at Ravenhill on Friday night — Declan Kidney has been offered the perfect boost as he prepares for Ireland’s must-win opening encounter against the Welsh in Cardiff in less than four weeks.
The key for that trio now is game time as they were all understandably ring-rusty against Edinburgh. It takes a minimum of four games after a long lay-off before a player begins to regain full match fitness. Proof of this was seen in the performance of Sean O’Brien last weekend who, after being thrown in at the deep end in the crucial back-to-back games against Clermont-Auvergne, is now fully up to speed.
Last Saturday’s outing was O’Brien’s sixth game back and he delivered a man-of-the-match performance. For long periods of last season his training programme was severely curtailed due to issues surrounding his hip but he is now back to his best at a crucial time for club and country.
O’Brien also offered a timely reminder to Warren Gatland that he will be in prime shape by the time the Lions tour comes around and given the rate at which several key contenders have been hit with injury already this season, it underlines the perennial problem for all Lions tour parties — keeping everyone fit and healthy after yet another long, bruising season.
The fact that Paul O’Connell has now gone under the knife to address his long standing issues with a bulging disc also offers some clarity about his position. At this stage, Paul will only be focused on one thing, adhering to the rehab programme drawn up by his medical team with a view to getting back on the field.
He has endured an incredibly frustrating few seasons after a series of injuries and right now would settle for putting a run of three or four games together. Only then will Gatland even consider bringing him to Australia. That said, four games on the trot would probably be enough for O’Connell to make sufficient people sit up and take notice. If only Munster had him this weekend.
