‘It was always going to be a battle’
Saturday’s Heineken Cup menu offered up something similar, with Munster and Perpignan taking to the stage just after the curtains had drawn on what was quite possibly the greatest shoot-out in the cup’s history.
As it was, both sides stuck to the script by serving up a no-frills forward-orientated game.
Munster’s John Kelly said: “It was a tight game, a tough game. Conditions weren’t great. It was a game that always going to be dictated up front in those conditions. Sometimes people expect you to be scoring tries from everywhere. But it wasn’t going to be that kind of day. It was always going to be a battle.”
And much of that was due to Perpignan’s approach.
“They carried the ball very well. They had a lot of very good ball carriers. All credit to them, they went nine points behind but they never stopped coming at us. This idea of French teams lying down when they go behind is gone. Perpignan are the perfect example of that. They kept at us for 80 minutes.”
Marcus Horan said Munster were frustrated by a game described as “stop-start” by Declan Kidney.
“Our discipline held out. That was where it was won. The penalties were a big thing. We seemed to get ours and put them over. Our discipline was superb. It’s important against a team like this that you keep your head and stay focused because it can get frustrating out there.
“There was a lot of rucks spoiled and moves that broke down because of their indiscipline. The referee did well, he gave us the penalties. We’d prefer to finish them off over the try line, rather than having to take the kicks, but you’ve got to take it when you get it.”
Despite victory, there is room for improvement. Both of Perpignan’s scores came from Munster errors but Kidney should be pleased it was the Catalans who failed at the basics more often on the day. With three weeks until the semi-final, both provinces have huge scope for improvement.
Horan said: “We’re in a semi-final now and, having not been together for so long, we’ve got to be happy about it. The other side of it is that we have a lot of work to do and we know that.”
The game itself will be sold and promoted on the battle between Leinster’s backs and Munster’s forwards. An assumption as lazy as it is untrue, according to Anthony Foley.
“You insult a lot of people when you say that. A lot of lads have pride in themselves and see themselves as good professionals. When the sides go out they will be two 1-15s. They will be well matched.
“Both sides have big Celtic Leagues games between now and then. It’s important we don’t lose the run of ourselves by looking three weeks ahead.”
Kidney turned was similarly professional in turning his attention towards the next item on the agenda - Munster’s Celtic League game away to the Dragons on Friday. But he did have this to say about his side’s next Heineken Cup opponents:
“It was a brilliant win by Leinster, wasn’t it?
“To go down to Toulouse and shoot 41 points is a huge credit to them.”
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