Munster must learn from Leinster’s mistakes to crack mighty Toulon
Given that Ulster and Leinster were more fancied to make the last four, Munster’s achievement is even more noteworthy even if the northern province would almost certainly have prevailed had Jared Payne seen yellow instead of red for his clumsy midair collision with Alex Goode.
Toulouse had turned a corner recently as evidenced by their 27-27 draw away to Stade Francais and more pointedly their narrow 32-28 defeat away to Toulon before travelling to Limerick. Given the quality of Toulon’s well-merited win over Leinster on Sunday, Munster should examine how Toulouse ran the Heineken Cup champions so close in that game as a starting point to upsetting the odds, with Toulon already installed as overwhelming favourites for the semi-final.
That will suit the Munster mindset just fine.
They must analyse the areas where Leinster struggled last weekend, the lineout and the breakdown — normally such a strength of their game. Munster must also absorb the key points that many of the Leinster players highlighted immediately afterwards — a lack of accuracy and poor execution.
After a successful two months in camp at international level, the key Munster players need to use that close bond to elicit as much information as possible from their Leinster counterparts while it is fresh in their minds.
Paul O’Connell, Conor Murray and Peter O’Mahony need to arrange a debrief with Jamie Heaslip, Eoin Reddan and Devin Toner about the things Leinster would do differently if they were playing Toulon again.
Rob Penney would also benefit from sharing a coffee with Matt O’Connor.
When it comes to executing clinically in the heat of battle, Munster need only look back to the opening sequence of last Saturday’s game and the build-up to Keith Earls’s crucial try. Buoyed by an amazing atmosphere, they went for the jugular from the off, and were rewarded spectacularly. Their execution was excellent, with the quality of ball presentation in the tackle the key factor in generating quick phase play. In addition Simon Zebo succeeded where Pascal Pape failed against Ireland — delivering a scoring pass to Earls, despite being smashed by Hosea Gear.
People often wonder why home advantage is so important, given that the dimensions of the field are the same everywhere. Home advantage is only relevant if properly used, and Munster have perfected that over the years.
This was so obvious even before kick-off when they finished their warm-up on the far side of the field and then proceeded to jog slowly around the pitch towards the dressing room. Unsolicited, the Red Army honed in on this immediately and unleashed a rapturous reception that reached a crescendo just as the players headed down the tunnel. I have no doubt they lodged that in the memory bank after being on the receiving end of a similar experience from The Shed when Munster played Gloucester at Kingsholm back in January.
Toulouse looked on sheepishly but must have felt better about themselves after receiving a warm welcome from the ever-respectful Munster audience when they reemerged from the dressing room minutes later before being left stew before another stadium eruption greeted the returning home players.
Four minutes later with Earls dotting down in the corner, you could see the Toulouse players looking at each other as if to say “what kind of a place is this?”
One lesson that Munster need to take from last weekend to have any prospect of beating Toulon is to address the lack of concentration that offered cheap penalties to Luke McAlister in the opening half. Tommy O’Donnell was guilty of playing the ball from an offside position from the restart after Munster’s opening try and Ian Keatley, who otherwise had a magnificent game, made the cardinal error of failing to execute properly from the subsequent restart.
To win a semi-final, the silly errors must be eradicated.
With the likelihood that Peter O’Mahony’s season is at an end, it is imperative that Munster get Donnacha Ryan back in harness as soon as possible. They also need to strengthen their options off the bench, with James Cronin a vital cog. Unfortunately Stephen Archer may not make it in time.
Consider for a moment that despite the power and physicality of the Toulon front five last Sunday, there is a possibility that Andrew Sheridan, Bakkies Botha and Ali Williams could be available for selection by April 29, with former All Black Chris Masoe adding to their options in the back row. Behind the scrum, they even had the luxury of leaving outstanding Springbok winger Bryan Habana kicking his heels on the bench against Leinster. That is unbelievable depth for any club.
Elsewhere those who were quick to declare an end of an era after Leinster’s defeat in Toulon missed the point. Losing to Northampton at the Aviva Stadium a week after their most impressive display of the season when they hammered the Saints at Franklin’s Gardens cost them dearly with that away quarter-final.
It was always going to be a big ask for Leinster this season to survive the retirement of Isa Nacewa, the transfer of Johnny Sexton and the injury loss of Sean O’Brien. In addition Leo Cullen’s excellent career looks to have halted while Luke Fitzgerald has also had a horror period with injury after a brilliant start to his season.
Leinster also face into a future without Brian O’Driscoll for the first time since 1999. Yet they have the resources from within, both in playing terms and in their deposit account, to bounce back immediately. There is a conveyor belt of talent coming through the Leinster schools system and the Ireland U20 side has been full with Leinster Academy players in recent years. All that is required is for some of those players to be given a sustained run in the side.
After all, it’s not that long ago that Munster were written off as serious contenders for silverware after the retirement of the majority of players who delivered Heineken Cup success in 2006 and 2008 and led an Ireland Grand Slam in 2009. The accusation was that the Munster Academy was not bringing players through. The problem, of course, was that with so many stalwarts in possession of the jersey, the younger brigade were never entrusted with the chance to prove themselves. Once they were afforded that opportunity, they accepted the responsibility and many of those men now form the backbone of the side. Saturday’s starting team had eight recent academy graduates in its ranks with five more on the bench. Sometimes we are too quick to pass judgment on our own and given Leinster A’s comprehensive 47-15 win over their Munster counterparts in the B&I Cup semi-final last Friday, anyone who writes Leinster off is short-sighted indeed. They will be back.
