Munster regrets matched by Ulster frustration
My first thought was that as Toulon coach Bernard Laporte is currently serving a 16-week ban for his latest abuse of a referee, Boudjellal was filling the void. Our French colleagues in the press room scuppered that one immediately with confirmation that he always addresses the media after games before the management get their opportunity.
There is a smugness about the comic book king that grates somewhat and even the compliments thrown Munster’s way after their latest heroic efforts appeared a little empty, coming from him.
At that stage nobody within the Munster set-up was in any mood for platitudes, regardless of the source, as they were coming to terms with another shattering defeat at the penultimate stage. This is nothing new to Munster, of course, with so many of the previous generation of players sharing the pain of defeat in three semi-finals and two finals before experiencing the ultimate highs of lifting the trophy in 2006 and 2008.
The question now is, with a hardcore of ever-developing younger players having experienced two semi-final defeats in a row, can they rise from the ashes and emulate their predecessors in turning the lessons of adversity into ultimate triumph?
The first thing that has to be said is that departing coach Rob Penney has done an excellent job in steering Munster to consecutive semi-finals. On each occasion he was laboured with a very demanding away draw against two of the very best sides in the French championship, yet pushed both to the pin of their collar to win.
Penney has played a major role in the development of a number of the new brigade and instilled a confidence in them that they hold no inhibitions facing any opposition. The task facing Anthony Foley is to build on that.
To take that final step, however, there is no avoiding the fact that Munster need an infusion of star quality and the signing of at least two players of proven international pedigree to help breach the gap with the best sides in Europe. That would not only offer a statement of intent but would also invigorate this hard-working group of players.
The problem at the moment is that there is a paucity of players available who fit that bill and that is unlikely to change until after the 2015 World Cup. At least Munster can take solace from the fact that a number of players who have come through the system here are more than holding their own against the best the likes of Toulouse and Toulon could throw at them.
Over the last few months, Dave Kilcoyne, despite falling foul of Wayne Barnes during the opening quarter on Sunday, CJ Stander and Dave Foley have really stepped up to the demands of playing at this level while James Cronin also made a decent impact off the bench on Sunday.
At the next level, Conor Murray and Ian Keatley are becoming a very authoritative pairing with the out-half performing magnificently in difficult circumstances in Marseille. Simon Zebo is another to have experienced a difficult season but nobody could question his work rate or commitment to the cause after Sunday.
His superb corner flag, desperation tackle, on Steffon Armitage just three minutes into the second half stemmed what could have led to a rout and gave Munster the impetus required to work their way back into the game.
Zebo’s try on the back of great work from the pack and superb awareness from Murray offered Munster a lifeline but unfortunately they were unable to capitalise on it.
To lose two semi-finals is a crushing blow and will only make this group more determined to succeed. The hurt, pain and anguish on the faces of all the players on the final whistle was enough to suggest that nothing other than lifting the trophy will satisfy their desire and hunger for success. That offers hope for the future. Arguably the Irish province with the biggest cause for regret after the weekends semi-finals is Ulster. Given the close nature of their defeat to Saracens at the quarter final-stage, despite playing for 75 minutes with 14 men, I have no doubt they would have overturned the Aviva Premiership leaders had Jared Payne seen yellow instead of red for that clumsy challenge on Alex Goode.
It must have made for painful watching to see how far off the pace Clermont Auvergne were in Twickenham and had Ulster made it to the last four at Saracens’ expense for a date with Clermont in Dublin, there is every chance they would now be contesting the final in Cardiff.
Heineken Cups are so difficult to win and after missing out on the knockout stages of the tournament for 11 seasons after winning the European Cup in 1999, Ulster will appreciate that more than anyone.
They have shown steady progress over the last four seasons with consecutive quarter-final appearances along with reaching the 2012 final but with the departure of John Afoa, Tom Court and Johann Muller from their front five next season, you wonder if they have missed the boat.
While the basic structure of next season’s European Rugby Champions Cup has been made known at this stage, with a reduced number of 22 competing, it will be interesting to see how the new body running the tournament go about drawing the five pools.
The existing tournament had a ranking system based on past achievement in the Heineken and Amlin Challenge Cups and even then, there were anomalies in the balance of the draw with at least one pool of death every season.
With four less teams competing, the quality will be higher from the outset but it has yet to emerge how the new organisers propose to conduct that all-important pool draw and when it is going to take place.
A line has been drawn in the sand in relation to how the professional club game is going to be run from next season onwards and the challenge for all in Irish rugby now is to stay abreast of those changes and for the provinces to remain as competitive as those in the last decade have proven.
