Munster machine still rusty

Munster 30 Perpignan 21

The train is back on the tracks after the hammering in Gloucester the week before but on the evidence of both games, the only conclusion to arrive at is that Alan Gaffney’s men still face an uphill battle if they are to reach the knock-out stages of the Heineken Cup for the fifth successive year.

For one thing, Gloucester are in a class of their own in Pool 2 and put 80 points, including 12 tries, on Viadana on Friday. On top of that, Munster could only share the try count three-each with Perpignan thanks entirely to their own profligacy. It could cost them dearly at the end of the day.

It’s not easy to explain why but this campaign has been slow to get going. The Thomond Park crowd, so renowned for its support of the side in the past, was strangely muted and light years removed from what the Gloucester fans produced at Kingsholm seven days earlier. Even when Munster took control in the second half, the fans never really got worked up and the atmosphere was far from what one expects at Fortress Thomond.

“Maybe they were a small bit subdued today because of our poor performance last week, they might have been waiting to see how we carried on,” mused Anthony Foley, a man rightly proud at pulling on the red jersey for the 100th time and leading the side out to mark the occasion. “It was up to us to lift the crowd and they responded at crucial stages of the game”.

It didn’t help that the team contrived to hand Perpignan at least 14 if not all of their 21 points, thereby never putting the issue beyond doubt. A touch of uncertainty and anxiety clearly permeated the chilly autumnal air. In mitigation, one couldn’t help notice the wealth of talent on the sideline.

Jeremy Staunton joined the injured brigade on Friday night but he will be back within days. A few weeks later will see the return of key men like Paul O’Connell, Donnacha O’Callaghan and Anthony Horgan and it can hardly happen quickly enough.

“There were good parts and bad parts and generally speaking I was very happy with the result,” coach Alan Gaffney commented. “I didn’t think Perpignan should have been within nine points at the end of the game but the most important thing was winning. There were certain parts of our game that I thought were a major step-up from where we came and other parts where our ball control was down. We are disappointed at the way we coughed up the ball but we created things and that’s a plus as far as we are concerned. I’d be very concerned if we weren’t creating opportunities and today we were doing that. ”.

Trouble, of course, was that as soon as Munster looked as though they had the situation under control, they allowed Perpignan back into contention with elementary errors. If Perpignan were a moderate side, Munster on the day didn’t strike one as being a whole lot better and it was a poor match by Heineken Cup standards.

The number of handling mistakes was unacceptable and must have been particularly frustrating for a pack of forwards who battled to gain the ascendancy only to see those behind threaten to give it away. Few Munster backs will recall the game with total relish.

John Kelly came off his wing to score the first try in the other corner but hardly saw the ball subsequently, largely because the midfield was clogged and there was a general lack of penetration. The other two scores were the property of the forwards. Quinlan claimed the first when Perpignan failed to cope with a well rehearsed but rather simple line-out manoeuvre. The second was reward for persistent 15-man pressure and rounded off majestically by Hayes. With a glint in his eye, an admiring coach described it: “It was something we had looked at beforehand but we didn’t exactly structure the step off the right and the shimmy off the left. Seriously, he showed outstanding skills and I was very pleased for him”.

There is a growing belief that Heineken Cup referees are “homers” and there were occasions when that looked to be very much the case. Just as Joel Dume did Gloucester no harm the previous week, Tony Spreadbury did similarly few favours for Perpignan on this occasion. They played for most of the second half with only 14 men having had Peillard, Daniell and Moreno yellow carded within close proximity of each other. It all seemed a trifle harsh but that’s not a view shared by Anthony Foley.

“The referee was mainly concerned that they were slowing down our ball and stopping us from playing,” he said. “They gave away a lot of penalties which prevented us from getting into a nice pattern of play. As the game progressed, we got ourselves into better positions than the week before and retained possession comfortably. Every time we did that, they infringed”.

However you have to wonder if the French have been left off the hook on the try count issue, a factor that hasn’t escaped Gaffney.

“Obviously it’s a consideration but we are aiming to win our next four games and getting to ten points, which will be good enough to qualify, and then we won’t have to worry about the try count”, he claimed.

Munster scorers (J. Kelly, A. Quinlan, J. Hayes tries; R. O’Gara 3 pens, 3 cons)

Perpignan (M. Edmonds, N. Cuttet, N. Laharrague tries, Edmonds con, B. Bellot 2 cons).

MUNSTER: D. Crotty; J. Kelly, M. Mullins, J. Holland, M. Lawler; R. O’Gara, P. Stringer; M. Horan, F. Sheahan, J. Hayes, M. Galwey, M. O’Driscoll, J. Williams capt, A. Quinlan, A. Foley.

Replacement, K. Keane for Crotty 79 mins.

PERPIGNAN: M. Edmonds; P. Bomati, N. Cuttet, C. Manas, F. Cermeno; B. Bellot, J. Basset; R. Peillard, A. Moreno, N. Mas, R. Alvarez-Kairrels, J. Daniell, L. Mallier, P. Murphy, B. Goutta.

Replacements: F. Sid for Bomati 71; D. Marty for Couttet 79; N. Laharrague for Bellot 71; S. de Bescombes for Mas 76; F. Rofes for Mallier 79; S. Deroeux for Murphy 65.

Referee - T. Spreadbury (England).