Munster better off in Amlin?
No doubt once the pool stages are completed next weekend the focus will shift within the ERC boardroom to finally resolving the issues that have polarised opinions within the Anglo-French faction and the other four participating countries. There is very little wrong with this tournament as it stands so here’s hoping common sense will prevail some time soon and that a clear vision for the future of the two European competitions is agreed before the quarter-finals resume in April.
However, the only question on the lips of rugby fans this week is who will join Harlequins, Clermont-Auvergne, Toulon and Ulster in the knockout stages of the Heineken Cup in three months time? At this stage Saracens, Munster, Leicester, Toulouse, Biarritz, Northampton, Leinster and Montpellier remain in the mix, some in a better position than others when it comes to controlling their own destiny. With four slots remaining to be filled, and three more from that list set to be diverted to Amlin Challenge Cup duty, one of those illustrious names is set to lose out altogether.
While some within that mix might baulk at the thought of competing for Amlin glory — Toulouse would hardly be jumping out of their socks at the prospect while Leinster, having won three of the last four Heineken cups, are unlikely to be over the moon either — it is definitely a trophy worth winning.
I mentioned in this column some weeks ago that it wouldn’t be the worst thing for Munster’s long-term development to end up in the last eight of that tournament and with the final also set to be in the RDS, it offers a further incentive to the Irish teams. That could well prove far more beneficial to the evolution of this Munster squad than travelling to Toulon or Clermont Auvergne for a Heineken Cup quarter-final. Two seasons ago, with a far more experienced team on board, Munster were stuffed by Toulon in the pool stages at the Stade Felix Mayol by more than the 32-16 scoreline would suggest. On current form, the gulf would be even greater.
Clermont-Auvergne are also a far more formidable outfit this season than the one Munster encountered in their pool in 2008 and 2009 and the way they dispatched Leinster at the Aviva Stadium before Christmas suggests they have only one goal this season and that is Heineken Cup glory. The resources available to those two French sides is bottomless and the news that Toulon are set to strengthen their squad even further by signing Springbok pair Bryan Habana and Danie Rossouw is frightening.
The French are shifting the goal posts at the moment and with the money on offer over there it is only a matter of time before someone like Jonny Sexton, apparently offered crazy money by Toulon and Racing Metro, will change the ground rules here and play his rugby abroad. Who could blame him?
To win the Heineken Cup you need a controlling figure at out-half and a dominant back row. In the years Munster were leading the charge in Europe they had the luxury of selecting from Jim Williams, Anthony Foley, Alan Quinlan, David Wallace, James Coughlan and Denis Leamy in that crucial sector. That offered balance in terms of fetchers, ball winners and ball carriers.
Right now Munster are fast tracking a host of promising young back row hopefuls in Dave O’Callaghan, Sean Dougall, Tommy O’Donnell, Peter O’Mahony, Paddy Butler and CJ Stander, who has yet to make his Heineken Cup debut. The one glaring omission from that list is a big ball carrying bruiser in the mould of Louis Picamoles, Sean O’Brien, Nick Easter or, dare I even mention him, Nick Williams. Anyone following Ulster’s progress this season will now understand what Tony McGahan thought he signed when Williams arrived in Munster a few seasons ago. Unfortunately, we never experienced the real deal due to injury and issues surrounding his fitness. How Munster could do with him in his current form notwithstanding the news that he has been ruled out for two months due to a knee injury. That’s a massive blow to Ulster.
At this stage Clermont and Toulon are favourites for the tournament and an examination of their resources in the back row alone offers a firm indication why. In Toulon, Bernard Laporte has the luxury of pruning a back row trio from a squad containing Joe Van Niekerk, Chris Masoe, Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, Steffon Armitage and Jocelino Suta, internationals all, along with up and coming French hopefuls in Pierrick Gunther and Stephane Munoz.
At Clermont, Vern Cotter can choose between French internationals Elvis Vermeulin, Alexandre Lapandry, Damien Chouly and Julien Bonnaire in addition to the talented Gerhard Vosloo and Julien Bardy. Both Nathan Hines and Jamie Cudmore have also been utilised as additional ball carriers in the back row when required. That offers serious ballast.
The more the season progresses, the more glaring the loss of Paul O’Connell to Munster has become. Apart altogether from what he brings to the mix in terms of his individual performance, his sheer presence in the team would add so much with so many young players fighting to establish themselves. Instead of players like Peter O’Mahony and Conor Murray being able to feed off the positive energy that exudes from someone like O’Connell, they have been catapulted into the role of senior player and leader by virtue of their international status at a time when they are still coming to terms with the demands required to dominate at Heineken Cup and international level.
In times past, O’Connell himself, Leamy, Donnacha O’Callaghan, Tomás O’Leary, Ian Dowling, Jerry Flannery and Keith Earls among others were able to find their feet and acclimatise at this level, safe in the knowledge that Mick Galwey, Ronan O’Gara, Anthony Foley, Peter Clohessy, Peter Stringer, John Hayes and David Wallace would absorb all the pressure and allow them concentrate on their own game. The new breed don’t have that luxury and for that reason alone the aura O’Connell brings is sadly lacking.
In those circumstances to come through the pool stages unbeaten last season and make it to the quarter-finals again this time would be a major achievement and another special day in the storied history of Thomond Park.
Leinster will look to make Munster’s task even more difficult by securing a bonus point win at Sandy Park on Saturday, thus adding to the pressure on Munster to score tries, a task they haven’t handled well recently. With some of their more seasoned campaigners back in harness at the RDS last Saturday, the tries started to flow with five registered and at least two more left behind. When one considers Leinster were still short Brian O’Driscoll, Sean O’Brien and Richardt Strauss from the outset of that game against the Scarlets, they will be even stronger this weekend.
