Penney must keep his stars under wraps
With the depth of the squad available to Bernard Laporte, the Toulon coach could afford to close his eyes and pluck names from a list of his front, second and back row options confident in the knowledge that he will field a formidable forward unit.
At out-half, he has the luxury of knowing that if Jonny Wilkinson is still sidelined by his hamstring injury, he can opt for the multi-capped Wallaby Matt Giteau, outstanding when he took over from the England legend against Leinster. French international Freddie Michalak is also an option for Laporte. The same embarrassment of riches applies for Laporte when it comes to deciding his midfield and back three combinations.
Penney has options too, as evidenced by the rotation policy he has applied throughout Munster’s Pro12 campaign but nothing like the depth of seasoned international quality available to his French counterpart.
As a consequence, some players need to be rested this weekend against Connacht with a view to the clash at the Stade Velodrome.
Chief amongst those and most crucial of all to Munster’s cause is tight head prop, BJ Botha. His importance cannot be overstated and the sight of him rolling his ankle against Glasgow will have sent palpitations through the Munster management.
With his most experienced back-up Stephen Archer out injured with a bulging disc, and James Cronin also struggling with an ankle injury, Munster had to press the promising but inexperienced John Ryan into service on both sides of the scrum against Toulouse.
Tight head is the cornerstone of the scrum and if you are in trouble there, then it is very difficult to survive. That is why Toulon have two world-class options available in All Black Carl Hayman and Italian mainstay Martin Castrogiovanni. Botha will be required to go the full 80-plus minutes against Toulon and provide the angle on the right-hand side of the scrum to enable Conor Murray to operate with maximum efficiency.
Given the importance and emphasis placed on the scrum in France, it is imperative that Munster start with a solid platform against Toulon, just as they did against Clermont Auvergne last season. Leinster fared quite well in this key sector in the quarter-final but Munster’s prospects of doing likewise will rely on Botha starting. The Springbok cannot be risked against Connacht on Saturday despite the dire need for Pro12 points after the toothless performance against Glasgow last weekend.
At the base of the scrum Murray’s game has progressed at an incredible rate. Three years ago Tony McGahan offered him an opportunity after Munster failed to make the Heineken Cup knockout stages and were rerouted to the Amlin. Since then, Murray has passed every challenge with flying colours, progressing from fifth choice Irish scrum-half in the summer of 2011 to starting against Wales in a World Cup quarter-final four months later.
This time last year, he was preparing to go on a Lions tour as third choice behind Mike Phillips and Ben Youngs. By the end of that tour he was arguably the number one. Murray thrives on accepting responsibility, and in Munster’s first season in the post-Ronan O’Gara era, that is vital. He is to Munster now what Ruan Pienaar has been to Ulster for the last few seasons without having the added burden of place kicking.
If Pienaar has nurtured, protected and taken the pressure off Paddy Jackson, Murray has done likewise with Ian Keatley. As a partnership, they are getting better with every game and Murray’s tactical awareness with boot and ball in hand has helped to ease the burden on the No 10, whose every action is compared to the former Cork maestro O’Gara. That can’t be easy for Keatley but since ridding himself of the groin injury that hampered him a few months ago, the former Connacht man has been outstanding. That said, Munster wouldn’t want to go into battle against Toulon without Murray (pictured) as the key link between the backs and forwards.
That is where he excels. As a player not shy about taking on the opposition, he fully understands the needs and desires of his forward pack. He appreciates when they have the ascendancy in key situations and leaves them have the ball in order to maximise the psychological damage they are inflicting on their opposite numbers. And his forwards respect him as a result of it.
The fact that Casey Laulala emerged as a doubt for the semi-final after damaging his knuckle against Toulouse highlights just how important he is to Munster’s aspirations. He is one of those players whose value to the cause is highlighted when he isn’t there.
I am an admirer of what Laulala brings but I also understand how some find his relentless search for the magical offload in preference to protecting and recycling possession extremely frustrating. That is part of his DNA and he is used to playing in a New Zealand system where players thrive on opportunities his line breaks and offloads create. Like when Christian Cullen was in of the set up, Munster have never fully grasped how to maximise return from his specific skillset.
When it first emerged he was a doubt for the trip to Marseille, my immediate reaction was one of trepidation, due primarily to the presence of Mathieu Bastareaud in the Toulon midfield. Munster need the former All Black to deal with the challenge presented by the French wrecking ball.
I subscribe to the view that Keith Earls is best suited to a role in the back three and the sheer disparity in physical stakes that Earls would have to manage if he was shifted into the centre would take its toll. Bastareaud has excelled in his recent outings against Brian O’Driscoll and Gordon D’Arcy for club and country, eliciting more missed tackles from that vastly experienced axis than ever previously.
While Bastareaud appears supercharged facing O’Driscoll, Munster can’t afford to hope he becomes the peripheral figure that so often characterises his game when he is disinterested. Laulala is one of those players who performs better against big names and thrives on the challenge. Bastareaud is difficult to contain but his skill levels are often overlooked because of his size.
However Laulala is no shrinking violet and is a massively powerful man. He has the attributes to deal with the challenge posed by the explosive Frenchman. For that reason alone Penney might even be thankful that Laulala’s injury has forced his hand in wrapping his fellow Cantabrian in cotton wool for the next 11 days. He should do likewise with Murray and Botha.
