Positives for Leinster ahead of Munster crunch clash

CLOSE examination of the videos of the two Celtic League matches earlier in the week suggests that Leinster have more to be positive about going into Saturday’s crunch clash with Munster at the RDS.

It is never easy to go to Ravenhill and depart with a win under one’s belt. It’s tougher still when injury forces key men like Shane Horgan and Reggie Corrigan to drop out hours before the kick-off.

Much of the after-match reaction, quite understandably, centred on the return after the infamous spear tackle in New Zealand of Brian O’Driscoll, and he will be all the better for his half hour or so of game time. But it was the quality of the Leinster display and the manner in which they dug deep when the serious questions were asked that really caught the eye.

Nobody has ever doubted Munster in this regard and that’s why Saturday’s game promises so much. As with O’Driscoll, the week also saw the return for only his second match in six months of Paul O’Connell.

It remains to be seen whether either man starts in the RDS but at the very least they will both see some of the action and that must be welcome news to Irish coach Eddie O’Sullivan.

Nevertheless, as coach Declan Kidney frequently observes, Munster rarely make things easy for themselves and that was again the case against luckless Connacht in the freezing cold of Thomond Park on Tuesday night.

They waited until the third minute of stoppage time to pick up a bonus point that could in the end prove priceless in deciding the destination of the Celtic League trophy.

That it should have been scored by Federico Pucciarello went down particularly well not just with himself but with his teammates and the fans alike, for the Argentinean-born Italian international prop is hugely popular with both.

Further good news for O’Sullivan is the continued improvement in John Hayes’s performances. Few players are asked to do as much and do it as quietly as the big man from Cappamore. While Kidney was loud in his praise of O’Connell’s contribution against Connacht (“he stood up when the game got tight, he came in and took his score well and I’m delighted that he could come back so successfully having been out for so long”), the second-row himself insisted that the credit should rest elsewhere.

“It’s gas, you know, your name goes down in the record books and you get all the credit. There were two guys lifting Andrew Farley, John Hayes lifted me on his own. All I had to do was fall over the line and I get all the plaudits, whereas it was all down to Hayes’s hard work.”

Looking forward to Leinster on Saturday O’Connell said he would have difficulty getting a place.

“I’m looking forward to the game but there are three second-rows (Donncha O’Callaghan, Mick O’Driscoll and Trevor Hogan) playing very well and one coming back so it will be very hard to be picked for that game.”

Many of the 9,000 fans who braved the extreme cold on Tuesday night were disappointed that a number of the fringe players who had performed so well for most of the game were called ashore in the closing stages to be replaced by the tried and trusted.

But it was Declan Kidney’s way of giving game time to as many of his squad as possible and the fact that the tries touched down by Anthony Horgan, who had a fine game, and Puciarello, came in the dying moments, justified his course of action.

All in all, Kidney was satisfied with the way things panned out.

“The real gain was that we had so many younger fellas out on the pitch and that will stand to us in good stead as we move forward,” he said.

“I think they all stayed the pace well although we’re disappointed for Denis Fogarty. He started well and it would have been nice to see him for the whole eighty minutes. Hopefully the dead leg won’t be too bad and will clear up pretty quickly. Barry Murphy, Jeremy Manning, Tomas O’Leary all went well.

“Then you had Trevor Hogan and Stephen Keogh coming in, that’s not the easiest thing when you’re in and out of the team, but they looked well up for the game. It was the first match in a long time for a number of these guys. That’s the nature of the job, it is tough when you only get a game every so often.”

After a bright start, old shortcomings were exposed with Munster held tryless for more than 30 minutes in a first half in which they looked by far the more dangerous side and dominated possession. The management won’t admit it, but they must be as disappointed and frustrated as everybody else at this ongoing situation.

Kidney, however, makes a fair point when claiming: “We’re working on getting the scores but when you meet these blanket defences in the middle of the field, you want to keep the ball in hand but sometimes they won’t allow you to do so.

“In fairness, they knocked us back a few times and capitalised on those errors. The lack of execution was because we were running into a blanket defence and when you do that, you have to give credit to the opposition.”

As for Saturday’s eagerly awaited encounter, Kidney preferred to dwell on the two successful matches against Connacht before pointing out: “We’ve played them on the double and we’re pleased with our return there.

“These leagues are marathons, we have about thirteen games to go and we’re on top of the table at the moment. We’re there to be knocked down so it’s up to us to keep raising our standards.”