DONAL LENIHAN: London calling for Munster and Ulster
With the margin for error evaporating before their eyes, qualifying as eighth seed to face Harlequins in April came down to one storied Irish Heineken Cup champion staring down the other.
Leinster’s bonus point win over Exeter, scoring the minimum required four tries in the process, presented a very simple equation for Munster to advance at the expense of the reigning champions — beat Racing Metro with a four try bonus point. The only other outcome that could possibly derail Munster’s progression was the unlikely scenario Toulouse would lose to Leicester but accumulate two bonus points. In a Welford Road snowstorm, that was never going to happen.
The signals emanating from Paris prior to the Munster game suggested Racing were fulfilling a fixture rather than travelling with any great hope of success. In addition, with an entitlement to 2,500 tickets, Racing requested a mere 200 a few weeks ago before returning 191 of them during the week. For a team that regularly fills the Stade de France, that told another story.
Yet despite those advantages one wondered how this inexperienced Munster outfit, shorn of the direction provided by Ronan O’Gara and Paul O’Connell, would cope with the pressure to deliver. When Racing flanker Antoine Batut was sent off for dropping his knee on the head of Tommy O’Donnell after just six minutes of play, all the advantages were now with the home side and the odds on delivering the required bonus point win shortened dramatically.
One wonders what was going through the minds of the Leinster players at that stage. It was worse for them that Wayne Barnes’ decision to flash the red card was harsh in the extreme. A yellow card seemed more appropriate but Munster weren’t exactly complaining. It summed up Barnes’ overall performance which was once again substandard with his officiating at the scrum incredibly frustrating.
By awarding three free kicks and a penalty against Munster in the opening quarter, he stifled any opportunity they had to build momentum. It has become an all-too-regular occurrence for referees to position themselves on top of BJ Botha at scrum time and the frequency with which he is being penalised for early engagement has reached epidemic proportions. Barnes was far too trigger-happy and the Munster management need to address this issue with the powers that be.
In fact the inconsistency of refereeing at the scrum is now the biggest single blight on the game with Ulster also the victims of poor decisions against Castres on Saturday. Just when there appeared to be an element of consistency, with penalty tries being awarded for the collapse of five metre scrums when the attacking side has forward momentum, Nigel Owens denied Ulster a certain penalty try when they were awarded three penalties in a row but no try. To add insult to injury, he then proceeded to penalise Ulster in the next scrum. This has to be sorted out and it could have cost Ulster the match. As it was, Saracens’ bonus point win over Edinburgh cost Ulster home advantage for their quarter-final and they, like Munster, are London bound to face their former captain and coach Mark McCall.
Munster’s achievement in reaching the knockout stages once again is a massive reward for an incredibly committed young squad. It was a day when Thomond Park found a new hero in Simon Zebo and his second successive hat-trick of tries in round six of a Heineken Cup must surely be a record. His broken field running was sensational and when the pressure was at its greatest, with Munster struggling to put 14 man Racing away, he delivered. To hear his name chanted from the stands fulfils a childhood dream for the Cork man.
Others too came of age, not least Dave Kilcoyne who explosiveness and ball carrying was an inspiration. What a choice Declan Kidney has on the loose head side of the Irish scrum with Cian Healy, immense once again for Leinster on Saturday and Tom Court all playing out of their skins. Peter O’Mahony, Tommy O’Donnell, Mike Sherry and Conor Murray were also superb while in the second row Donncha O’Callaghan and Donnacha Ryan led the way and got through a ferocious amount of work.
All of which is of little interest to Leinster. Having done everything that was asked of them in the last two rounds, with a maximum return of 10 points, they’ll will rue their failure to register a bonus point in their opening home game against Exeter. Injury blighted their campaign but had they met any opposition other than Clermont Auvergne, who secured a home quarter-final against Montpellier, in the back to back phase they would have prevailed.
A proud champion has departed the scene, joined in the secondary tournament by Europe’s most decorated side Toulouse which will make the Amlin an even more difficult trophy to lift this season. The fact they were also kept apart in the semi-final draw offers the prospect of a mouth-watering final pairing at the RDS.
Faced with a choice of meeting Munster or Leinster, I am sure Harlequins director of rugby Conor O’Shea was happier to see the former advance even though he will never admit it. The fact his improving team has gone from strength to strength since beating Munster in the semi-final of the Amlin in Thomond Park two seasons ago will bolster his players’ self belief but it will also offer Munster an additional incentive. They will harbour no fears travelling to London for that quarter-final and by that stage O’Connell and CJ Stander could be on board to strengthen the pack even more.
In fact it promises to be a bumper weekend for the Irish in London next April given that Leinster are also scheduled to make their Amlin debut against Wasps along with Munster and Ulster’s Heineken Cup appointments. However such coincidences offer little by way of solace to the ousted champions. Sport has a habit of inflicting pain on even the very best of sides.
