Making a case for the defence

DEFENCE coach Tony McGahan is one of the least known members of the Munster backroom staff but after the magnificent performance in preventing Gloucester from scoring a try in Saturday’s Heineken Cup quarter-final at Kingsholm, his name should be up in lights.

Rarely if ever have Munster put up such a blanket resistance against a side good enough to lead the English Premiership all season long and in a game in which they had a regular supply of quality possession. There were times when it seemed inevitable that Gloucester would make the breakthrough but there always seemed to be a Munster man on hand to save the day. As inspirational skipper Paul O’Connell insisted, this was “a team effort from one to 15”.

True, there were some mighty hits at crucial stages from the likes of Alan Quinlan, Denis Leamy and O’Connell himself, but it was the manner in which they operated as a unit that proved Gloucester’s downfall. The point was not lost on head coach Declan Kidney.