Munster victory a defiant message to pretenders

DESPITE the fact that over an hour had passed since the final whistle, I sat in splendid isolation at the back of the main stand at Welford Road. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a lone Munster supporter, sneaking on to the hallowed turf to place a large red flag in the centre of the pitch. As it blew proudly in the wind, the message was clear. The Munster machine, both on and off the pitch, was not yet ready to concede one inch in this magnificent tournament.

Of the opening 12 Heineken Cup games, Munster’s victory was the most significant. Diminished hunger can quickly follow success. Not with this group, however. Paul O’Connell’s men, in the face of the most physical test of all, have announced to the rest of Europe that their title will not be easily relinquished.

Welford Road on Sunday was as close as you will get to Thomond Park abroad. The fabulous old stadium reeked of rugby heritage. Two teams went head to head with scant regard for their physical wellbeing. The atmosphere generated by both sets of supporters, despite the constant downpour, was exhilarating. To their eternal credit, the Leicester faithful even remained silent for Ronan O’Gara’s match-winning penalty goal.

This victory will work wonders for the confidence of the squad. It has also, even at this early stage, placed Munster in the driving seat for qualification to the knockout stages in the new year.

Very few travelling teams would have succeeded in the cauldron Munster faced last weekend. This was a challenge of a totally different kind. Leicester did their homework on Munster’s lineout to such a degree that every throw was hard-earned. Leicester had five quality jumpers to pressurise Munster’s primary ball winners, O’Connell and Donncha O’Callaghan.

While Anthony Foley’s loss was immense, given his outstanding contribution on the day, Alan Quinlan’s introduction brought additional reinforcements out of touch. As a result of Leicester’s ability to contest the Munster throw, their maul, which was tailor-made for the conditions, never got to rumble.

In such circumstances, Munster’s commitment in defence and at the breakdown made up for the scarcity of quality possession. When one considers the pressure Edinburgh exerted on their defensive line in Limerick the previous week, the turnaround in this vital area was central to the victory.

While the book was finally closed on Ronan O’Gara’s much-publicised comments on English rugby by his outstanding post-match interview, there was no question that he imposed considerable pressure on himself to perform. Under the circumstances, he enjoyed one of his finest hours in the red jersey. The manner in which he controlled the tempo of the game on limited possession says everything about the mental strength of the individual.

Despite a six-day turnaround, Munster are now in a very strong position to finish the opening phase of this tournament with two victories. The only negative is the loss of Foley, who has, remarkably, played 71 consecutive Heineken Cup games. It is highly unlikely that the record will ever be matched.

Saturday’s opponents Bourgoin were less than impressive in their home defeat to Cardiff and will not travel to Thomond Park with any level of enthusiasm. Their away form in the French Championship has been miserable, losing all their games on the road, and Munster will secretly target a bonus point victory. Moreover, with another intensely physical game under their belt for the Munster pack, they will now be further down the road in terms of match sharpness.

With three victories for the Irish and Welsh participants along with one for the Borders and a narrow away defeat for Edinburgh against Agen, the Magners League sides competed outstandingly well on this opening weekend. Seven victories from eight games was a magnificent return.

On Friday, two of those sides go head to head when Ulster travel to a rejuvenated Llanelli for what promises to be a titanic clash. Ulster are riding high at the moment and an away victory against the Scarlets would work wonders for their chances of qualifying for the knockout stages for the first time since 1999.

Their game has developed over the past 12 months and they now have an exciting balance between a competent forward unit and a talented three-quarter line. Isaac Boss has now settled well at scrum half after a difficult initial period when he found the going tough after transferring from Wellington. Andrew Trimble also impresses with every outing.

Leinster, after another excellent performance, must now strive to achieve the consistency that has dogged their progress in the past. Their trip to Murrayfield on Sunday to face Edinburgh is a potential banana skin. That said, they will surely have learned from their most recent visit to Scotland when basement side Borders pipped them in the Magners League.

This Edinburgh team has quality throughout as evidenced in their defeat of Munster two weeks ago. With a little more self-belief, they could have beaten Agen away from home last weekend and were denied by an injury-time penalty from out half François Jelez.

From a Leinster perspective, victory is very much within their compass and with the prospect of facing Gloucester in the last game of the pool in Kingsholm next January they must collect at least one away victory in Murrayfield or the Madejski Stadium against London Irish. The back row was particularly impressive last Saturday and it will be interesting to see if Stephen Keogh holds off the challenge of Cameron Jowett when he returns from injury. On Saturday’s display he deserves to start.

With two away fixtures this weekend, the chances of another Irish clean sweep are less likely, Llanelli posing the most significant danger. But a repeat of last weekend’s form would provide the perfect tonic going into the autumn internationals.