JJ crucial to Munster hopes
It’s hard to know if players found it hard to raise themselves for Glasgow after the Toulouse game. Emotionally they’d certainly have been up for the Heineken Cup game, there’s something so special about the competition, obviously, and taking on a team that’s synonymous with the tournament, but I don’t think it would have taken as much physically out of them as certain other games. They won quite comfortably in the end.
Something to bear in mind about the Glasgow game was its significance for the visitors: Glasgow have nothing else to play for bar the Rabo, so last weekend was their season, really. And when it comes to top level sport, if you’re even a small bit off, a tiny bit lacking in focus or application, you’ll be exposed.
What would worry me is how easily Glasgow ended up beating Munster in Thomond Park by, but I think they’ll get over it, and get over it pretty fast.
Something worth pointing out is the one vital ingredient that was missing from Munster last weekend. I don’t think their performance would have been as flat as it was if Paul O’Connell had been in the squad. That’s his importance — he’s on a level above the coaches, even, when it comes to his significance to the team and the level of performance they can reach.
The down side of the defeat, though, is that there were opportunities for players last weekend, but they didn’t take those opportunities.
The message I tried to get across as a senior player in Munster was a simple one: if you’re not the man in possession of the jersey, then you’ve got to do 30% better than the man who’s starting ahead of you — but you’ve got to achieve that level not once, but in a minimum of three games if you’re going to take his place.
Do it in three games and you’ll get in. But if you have one cracking game and then two average games, it’s nearly counter-productive to have had that good game.
You’ve alerted everyone to what you can do because you’ve been able to do it once, but you can’t back it up in consecutive games. Another player may not be doing anything spectacular, but if he’s tipping away and his standards are more reliable rather than relying on the odd flash of genius, well, he’ll get in ahead of you.
Regarding Munster specifically, the question you’d have to pose right now is whether there’s genuinely strong competition for places among the midfield backs. I don’t think there is, and that’s why JJ Hanrahan’s injury is so significant.
I think he could be the key man for the Toulon game, and if he’s out of contention, it’ll seriously weaken the squad. If he gets game time he can change a game, though I don’t think we’ve seen the best of him this season on a consistent basis even though he’s the brightest prospect I’ve seen in years.
He probably made a bad decision against Edinburgh, which people remember. Lazy analysis of that game would conclude he’d cost Munster the win that day, but over 80 minutes no one incident costs you a game.
By the same token, saying he won the game for Munster in Perpignan is a complete overstatement: he did brilliantly for one score.
The game in the Aviva against Leinster didn’t go the way he wanted, and when he came on against Toulouse the game was more or less over in terms of the result, so it was pressure-free.
Looking around, you have Johnny Holland, but in real terms there isn’t a lot of depth to replace Ian Keatley if he gets injured early on against Toulon. I wouldn’t get too down about that possibility: you can survive even in those circumstances, and especially in a big game. The adrenaline takes over and there’s a certain ‘rallying-round’ factor that clicks in with the rest of the team.
The competition is going to be a little different next year, obviously, with the new European competition that’s been set up. As the French clubs are getting more money, they’re happy enough with the new tournament; they’d feel they’re contributing a lot to it and that it’ll be a good competition all round. I think the onus on qualification is a good step and will definitely make the tournament better.
Do we overvalue the Heineken Cup in Ireland? I think no other team gave more to the competition than Munster, for what was done on the field and what the supporters achieved, following the team all over Europe.
There’s a happy correlation between the success of the team and the tournament
But it’s funny here that Ulster, Munster and Leinster are viewed as much the same — and in recent terms, given their success, Leinster would be very much seen as being on a par with Munster, despite what Munster would have achieved from 1999 to 2009 or so.
There’s a respect for what the Irish teams have done, but it comes with a specifically French outlook. The European dream doesn’t become a reality for a French club unless it’s competing seriously for the Top 14.
Clermont and Toulon have that ability to do both because in essence they have two teams; at Racing we’re trying to build a team to compete for the Top 14.
The difference in what’s required is something people may not recognise, either. The game’s faster in Ireland than it is here — French teams can start running the ball when the weather improves, but in the winter the Top 14 is a slogfest.
On the other hand, in France there’s an ability to acquire marquee players that don’t exist to the same extent in Ireland. Against that, though, there’s a contrast with the homegrown players in the provinces, and the standard of the players in the provinces is very high. They’re hungry for their chance.
Opportunities and depth. That’s where we came in.
