Munster make their point
Gloucester's victory over Treviso, and the bonus point they earned, puts them top of the group but the psychological edge is with Alan Gaffney's perennial contenders.
Bourgoin boasted a proud unbeaten record stretched over 18 months going into Saturday's clash but couldn't sustain it in the face of Munster's stunning resilience. They're making a habit of creating headlines on the road, and it is good to see that the close season and World Cup hasn't taken the edge off their attitude.
Next weekend may tell a tale in the pool. While Gaffney's side will be expected to deal summarily with Treviso at Thomond Park, the result of Gloucester's clash with Bourgoin at Kingsholm will have far-reaching implications. The French can scarcely afford back to back losses, but if they do, it will tee-up the clash of Gloucester and Munster on January 10, better than the organisers could have dared.
There were some irksome moments during last Saturday's game conceding the only try of the game, for one and some head-scratching at the introduction of a new rugby ball trade name William Webb Ellis.
It was Munster's first Heineken Cup pool victory on French soil since they beat Castres in 2001, giving them an impressive 50% strike rate from ten matches at Gallic grounds.
It all came down in the end to the mental strength and goal-kicking ability of Ronan O'Gara, though neither he, nor anyone else appeared happy with the introduction of the new ball.
Coach Alan Gaffney remarked: "We're not the only ones to complain about the new ball this weekend but it has caused us problems. We can't go overboard about it when Rog kicks six out of seven. He kicked very accurately but he didn't go for a lot of distance. He concentrated on a type of Australian Rules punt kick, which was very smart because you're getting ten or 15 metres less distance with this ball than with others used before.
"In previous times, Rog wouldn't hesitate in attempting a penalty from around half way but he won't try it with this one. I don't know if there is much we can do about it because it's a sponsorship deal between ERC and the company concerned. But every team and every kicker will complain about it.
"The ball we had last year was a very good one and now we've got a situation where we had only two of the new rugby balls to train with for the last couple of weeks. On Tuesday, we had another six delivered but there's more to this than just about the goal kickers. We have a squad of 40 players and we didn't have much time to prepare for a game with a rugby ball totally different from the ones we're used to."
Gaffney admitted: "It wasn't the prettiest of wins but I felt we deserved it. We were the better side. We tried to attack them, particularly in the second half, but turned a bit of possession over. That could have cost us when they scored the try but we showed great character in getting back into a controlling position and then battening down the hatches.
"We've got to be philosophical about this. It was only the second game back for our guys and the preparation for European rugby has been limited. At half-time we were pretty confident because there was a strong wind against us in the first half.
"We felt we were the better side after 40 minutes even though we didn't have the points racked up on the board. Then, that second half try came against the run of play and put us back a bit. We dropped the ball in their territory, gave away a silly penalty and gave them the opportunity to counter-attack.
"We put a bit of pressure on ourselves but fought our way out of it and it was great credit to the boys for ultimately winning the game."
Gaffney paid tribute to O'Gara for his match-winning contribution from the dead ball. "Rog didn't start the game the way he would have liked. The kick-off didn't go ten from the start, he kicked a ball dead behind their line and made a couple of other mistakes.
"But when you analyse what he did for the rest of the game, you would realise that he was very good. That last penalty and a touch he found inches from their line in the last minute just demonstrated that he is a class player. What he did was very courageous and very well executed because it put all the pressure back on them to run the ball back at us from deep in their own territory."
Gaffney, however, conceded that Munster are a long way off their best. "I think we're at about 70% of our potential right now. But considering it's the first big European occasion after seven months, I'm happy we were capable of grinding out a win. It might not have been a fantastic performance but it was a fantastic win."
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
