The 2009 Lions squad announcement unsettled Munster. The lesson must be learned
Eight Munster players, including the tour captain Paul O’Connell, were chosen by Ian McGeechan to travel and Munster’s stock was at an all-time high. Two of those selections, Keith Earls and Alan Quinlan, were copper-fastened on the back of an incredible performance — in my estimation the best and most complete ever delivered by that gifted Heineken Cup winning squad — in demolishing the Ospreys 43-9 in the quarter-final at Thomond Park.
That Ospreys team had six Lions named in the same squad, underlining the quality they brought to the table at that time, yet Munster just blew them away. Only those closest to that Munster team can attest exactly to what mental impact the Lions announcement had on proceeding that day in GAA headquarters against a Leinster side which drew a line in the sand and declared, enough is enough.
That victory launched Leinster onto even greater things and, eight years later, Munster are still waiting to make a fifth appearance in a European final. The big question now is, will that long wait end next Saturday back in Dublin and what impact, if any, will the announcement today of the latest Lions squad to tour have on the mental preparation of Munster and Leinster heading into the weekend’s deciders?
Reigning champions Saracens are sure to have a sizeable number in Gatland’s party with Clermont Auvergne the only team in the last four totally divorced from any implications Gatland’s final deliberations may have. The nearly men on so many occasions, Clermont, with former Leinster forwards coach Jonno Gibbs doing an excellent job in the same department before departing for Ulster at the end of the season, will be primed for this.
Much has been said about the progress made in Munster and Leinster this season, with both having failed to advance from their respective pools last year, and this weekend’s action will tell us a lot about both outfits.
Leinster’s ever-growing strength in depth was seen in evidence once again against Connacht last Saturday and the ability with which they absorbed the loss of Rob Kearney and Jamie Heaslip in their impressive quarter-final win over Aviva Premiership leaders Wasps says everything about where they are at the moment.
Saracens provide the benchmark of how far this group of Munster players has travelled in recent times. That soul-destroying 33-10 defeat at the pool stage of the 2014/15 campaign to Saracens at Allianz Park highlighted a growing gulf in class between the clubs that even the most diehard of Munster supporters feared would prove very difficult to bridge.
The fact that Munster have progressed to the point where they are now within 80 minutes of a first final appearance since last winning the European Cup against Toulouse in Cardiff back in 2008 speaks volumes for all in the organisation.
It really has been a crazy season for all involved with the squad and Saturday’s semi-final against the reigning champions is sure to test the physical and mental reserves every bit as much as having to front up against Glasgow Warriors 24 hours after attending the funeral of Anthony Foley last October.
Glasgow just didn’t have what it took to deal with the manic fervour Munster brought to battle that day but if this semi-final was being played outside Ireland then, quite honestly, you wouldn’t give Munster much of a chance.
Yet if you were to pick any venue outside of Thomond Park to play this game then Lansdowne Road would be your preferred choice. So often in the past that indescribable synergy that exists between the Munster team and the province’s supporters has served to inspire the seemingly impossible.
The closer you get to this contest and the circumstances influencing team selection, the more you feel the odds are stacked in favour of the visitors. While Munster were losing Rory Scannell and Darren Sweetnam to injury last weekend, joining Conor Murray and CJ Stander on the doubtful list, Saracens were welcoming back a potential Lion in second row George Kruis and the 86-times capped Springbok Schalk Burger to their ranks when beating Northampton 27-25 away from home, short eight regular starters, and having been 20-6 behind at one stage.
Two years on from that demoralising Munster defeat in London, Saracens recovered from losing the 2014 Champions Cup final to Toulon and the 2015 semi-final to Clermont Auvergne to record back to back Aviva Premierships and a first ever Champions Cup victory over Racing 92 in last year’s final in Lyon.
That victory would suggest that travelling away from home to the opposition’s den doesn’t faze them in the least but, how many teams have made that mistake before when facing Munster? The fact that former Ulster captain and coach Mark McCall — what a magnificent job he has done — is head coach at Saracens will help enormously, as he knows precisely what is coming down the line.
The challenge facing Munster now is, just how much adversity can a club handle in any one season. Being forced to start without two key players in Stander and Murray, both of whom will surely be named in Gatland’s Lions squad today, would be a massive blow. Right now the word on Stander’s availability is pretty positive but we will have to wait and see.
The fact that Munster and Leinster secured their places in the semi-finals of the Guinness Pro 12 last weekend — with a home tie guaranteed for Leinster and all but for Munster — provides a huge boost heading into this weekend but, in Munster’s case, at what price? While Stander and Murray would be more high-profile casualties, the potential loss of Scannell could prove just as impactful given the magnificent role his midfield partnership with Jaco Taute, both in attack and defence, has played in Munster’s season to date.
While being in a position to replace the potential loss of the Corkman with an All Black is some consolation, Francis Saili and Taute enjoy nothing like the same level of understanding as a midfield axis. Yet if ever a game was set up for the New Zealander to secure a contract extension for next season then this is the one. All indications are that Scannell will start but, given the nature of his injury, Saili may be required to finish the job.
The parallels with that pool game at Allianz Park just over two years ago are inescapable as we approach this encounter. Back then Murray was also forced to cry off injured in advance to be replaced by Duncan Williams. Stander, an ever-developing influence in the side that season when Anthony Foley promoted him to a regular starting slot after taking over the reins from Rob Penney, went over on an ankle and was forced off after only 20 minutes to be replaced by Dave O’Callaghan.
Williams has enjoyed an excellent season at scrum-half and won’t be anywhere near as challenged as he was back then, while O’Callaghan has forced his way back from long term injury to the point where he is likely to be back on the bench next Saturday.
Those two won’t be found wanting.
That said, there will have to be a collective increase in standards, right across the board, for Munster to prevail. The fact that Saracens could well have up to seven players named today in the Lions squad might also prove a welcome distraction if you are of a Munster persuasion.
How ironic might that prove after the events of 2009?
