The old ones are still the best
For me, memories of a famous quarter-final win in Welford Road in 2003 came flooding back when Leicester were going for a hat-trick of Heineken Cups. In the second row for the Tigers that day were Martin Johnson and Ben Kay, both at the height of their powers just six months in advance of steering England to World Cup glory in Sydney.
Opposite them in the line-out that day, a pair of young bucks, Paul O’Connell and Donncha O’Callaghan. A decade on and O’Connell rose from his latest injury woes to inspire another famous away quarter-final win with a performance that will surely book his place on the plane for a third Lions tour. A word too for his long-time partner, O’Callaghan, who was also there at the end to share another one of those special Munster days after Donnacha Ryan was forced to drag his battered body off with 12 minutes to go.
It just goes to show that when it comes to knockout rugby, Munster are alone on a plateau. Chasing bonus- point tries has not fitted in well with their psyche of late, but when it comes to squeezing the opposition, forcing penalties and dominating territory, they are still the kings. On the final whistle, Conor O’Shea stood on the sideline, shook the hand of every Munster player as they left the field in the knowledge that his side had been taught a lesson in the art of cup rugby. Maybe he is interested in the Irish job after all.
The 18-12 success means another unbeaten top seed from the pool stages fails to go on and win the tournament. Looking back on that dreadful defeat to Glasgow 10 days ago, perhaps it was a blessing in disguise. What it prompted was a return to what Munster do best, pressurising the opposition and drawing penalties with the power of their driving lineout maul. Despite scrum difficulties which led directly to six points in the opening quarter for the hosts, Munster even sorted out their issues before recovering to dominate that sector in the second half.
Coaches always refer to the championship minutes, that period 10 minutes either side of the half-time break. On Saturday in Twickenham, Saracens registered 10 points in that segment before the break which launched them on the road to victory over Ulster. Yesterday it was Munster’s turn with the evergreen Ronan O’Gara producing nine points from the boot immediately after the break. It set Munster on their way and even gave them the breathing space to expand their game to the point where Casey Laulala became an increasing influence in midfield along with James Downey, who enjoyed his best day in a Munster shirt.
O’Connell apart, massive credit must go to the collective efforts of the Munster back row, who completely outplayed their much vaunted Harlequins opponents, for whom England captain Chris Robshaw was a peripheral figure and was completely outplayed by Tommy O’Donnell. Along with him, James Coughlan and Peter O’Mahony were outstanding throughout. They succeeded in the most important challenge they faced coming into this game by slowing down the pace of the Harlequins recycle at the breakdown.
Time and again, Robshaw was reduced to heated debate with French referee Jerome Garces, in relation to Munster’s approach when the ball was on the deck. As a result, the likes of Ugo Moyne, Mike Brown and Tom Williams were offered precious little opportunity in attack. When they did get the chance to run, they were smashed in the tackle.
In the end, Munster won because they were smarter, had more variety to their game and knew what to do, with and without the ball. Harlequins’ lineout was reduced to taking quick throws to loose head Joe Marler standing on the five-metre line and Munster hassled and harried their hosts to such a degree they were quivering wrecks by the final whistle.
For Munster, the knock-on effect of this result could stretch all the way to Australia and O’Connell may not be the only beneficiary. More than likely Conor Murray was in a head-to-head battle with Danny Care for the third scrum-half slot in Warren Gatland’s party coming into this game. If so, there was only one winner, with Murray outstanding. Simon Zebo has also offered himself a Lions lifeline. That squad will be announced three days after Munster’s semi-final visit to Montpellier, for what is sure to be another monumental challenge against Clermont Auvergne.
A word too for the imperious O’Gara. In an ironic twist of fate, he found himself back at the scene of his very first flirtation with the Heineken Cup, when his love affair with this great tournament got its first airing here at the Stoop way back in September 1997, registering 15 points in a 48-40 defeat. Despite missing those two relatively straightforward penalty kicks in the opening half, he never wavered and was once again instrumental in yet another famous day for the province.
Despite all the trials and tribulations of a difficult season, Munster have defied all odds to make it to the last four in Europe. They just refuse to go quietly.
Sadly, that’s precisely what Ulster did on Saturday night. After such a bright start to a season that saw them unbeaten up to Christmas, Ulster produce their worst performance in well over a year at Twickenham against Saracens. From the outset, they were well off the pace of the game, tentative in attack and lacking in leadership and direction. It didn’t help that Ruan Pienaar was off target with two relatively easy penalty kicks in the opening half which would have helped in stemming the tide and keep them in the contest.
After looking sharp and playing much flatter against Leinster last week, Paddy Jackson reverted to type and was far too deep to ever threaten the gain line or have any influence on the game. This played into the hands of Saracens’ impressive press defence and Ulster were left with little option but to kick. When they did, they executed badly, handing hard-earned possession back to a Saracens side that knew exactly what to do with it, with Owen Farrell excellent in his decision making. By comparison, Ulster were slow in thought and deed and never found the pitch of the game. It was a depressing performance with only Iain Henderson, Craig Gilroy and the ever impressive John Afoa making any inroads.
It falls to Munster, then, to keep Irish hopes alive in the Heineken Cup for another year, with Leinster now favourites to go all the way in the Amlin. Connacht, therefore, have two lifelines left in their quest for a third successive season of Heineken Cup action.
