Backs against the wall

LEINSTER played the game to a standard any team would have been proud of while Munster produced their most shambolic performance since the bad old amateur days, resulting in an inevitable outcome at a packed RDS on Saturday night.

Leinster romped home by 30 points and deservedly soared to clear leadership of the Magners League table. Their physicality and strength in the tackle and skill at poaching opposition possession in every facet of play completely shattered the defending champions who had been pummelled into total submission long before the finish.

It was a night from which Munster may well take a long time to recover, mentally as well as physically. The men in red never like to be driven back in the tackle by any side, never mind Leinster, and that’s what happened.

And it was all the sadder still for the red card brandished by Ulster referee Simon McDowell to, of all people, John Hayes, the long serving tight head prop whose wonderful career is noted for both honesty of purpose and sporting behaviour.

Coach Tony McGahan chose his words well afterwards, describing him as “a true gentleman of the game” and when it comes to dishing out Hayes’ sentence over the next few days, his exemplary record over the past decade will be borne in mind.

The television pictures, however, don’t look pretty and McGahan seemed reconciled to playing at least the two forthcoming Heineken Cup matches against Northampton and Treviso without “The Bull”. McGahan pointed out that they had Tony Buckley, Frenchman Julian Brugnaut and Darragh Hurley in reserve and that they no doubt would answer the call.

However, McGahan knows full well that some tough talking and perhaps some big selectorial decisions will be necessary in the build-up to next week’s Heineken Cup opener at Northampton. A repeat of this display will see their European aspirations turn to dust within a short few weeks and nothing but a forthright and honest assessment of their shortcomings must be an integral part of getting things right – and quickly.

McGahan and his forwards coach Lawrie Fisher need be in no doubt. Wherever I went in Dublin on Saturday night, Munster fans were looking beyond the anaemic efforts of the team as a whole (with the exception of Tomás O’Leary) and wondering why they patently lacked the hunger so evident in Leinster’s performance. The coaches as much as the players were very much in the firing line.

Quite rightly, due credit was paid to Leinster. They were outstanding in everything they did and on the night national coach Declan Kidney must have been pleased at the number of fringe players to put their hands up, guys like Jonathan Sexton, Kevin McLaughlin, Cian Healy and Eoin Reddan, while noting the continuing well being of Brian O’Driscoll, Gordon D’Arcy, Shane Horgan, Luke Fitzgerald.

And yet people of the calibre of Jerry Flannery, Paul Warwick, Paul O’Connell and David Wallace were left kicking their heels on the bench until Leinster were out of sight.

It is facile to claim that it’s still early days in the season and guys who have served so well for so long should be given more time to hone their games. And yet, O’Driscoll was playing his first game of the season and capped a splendid overall performance with a truly superb try. This is a professional game and if football managers such as Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger believe it appropriate to drop big names, they don’t hesitate to do so. Otherwise, their jobs are on the line.

More often than not, the deposed come back bigger and better than ever. Sentiment has no place in such a situation. The reaction of the Munster management to this debacle will be watched with the utmost interest.

Meanwhile, Leinster’s Michael Cheika is trying to keep a lid on things and understandably so, too. London Irish return to the RDS on Friday night for a crunch Heineken Cup clash and they are also flying on the crest of a wave. It should be a cracking encounter and although Cheika is trying to keep things as low key as possible after this amazing result, he also knows that his squad – which hardly seems to have been adversely effected by the departure of talisman Rocky Elsom and Felipe Contepomi – is clearly capable of going even further than last season.

Not everyone had heard of Kevin McLaughlin before Saturday night. Now they all know about him after a performance that put one in mind of Elsom at his mightiest. Cian Healy added to his growing reputation by again belying his youth in the front-row of the scrum and if Leo Cullen could reproduce the kind of displays he reserves for games against Munster, a return to the Irish second-row would be assured.

Alan Gaffney had asked for a greater level of physicality from Eoin Reddan at scrum-half but such was hardly required on this occasion as his forwards gave him an armchair ride until he finally decided to chase some of the individual glory himself with two telling second half breaks. O’Driscoll and Gordon D’Arcy in midfield were more than equal to what De Villiers and Mafi could offer and the latter is a partnership that Tony McGahan will look at closely before Northampton.

When it comes to physicality and being up for the fight, tradition has suggested that Munster would invariably hold the edge over Leinster. The evidence of the last two meetings of the side would suggest the opposite to be the case. Leinster bullied Munster off the park in both and you can’t help feeling that will be reflected in several key positions in the national side next month – that is, unless Paul O’Connell and his men can turn things round in the next few weeks.

And that seems to be a mighty tall order!

MUNSTER: K Earls; D Howlett, L Mafi, J De Villiers, D Hurley; R O’Gara (capt), T O’Leary; M Horan, D Fogarty, J Hayes; D O’Callaghan, M O’Driscoll; D Leamy, N Ronan, N Williams.

Replacements: P O’Connell for O’Driscoll (50); D Wallace for Williams (50); J Flannery for Fogarty (60); T Buckley for Ronan (60); P Warwick for Mafi (64); I Dowling for Hurley (68); P Stringer for O’Leary (72).

LEINSTER: I Nacewa; S Horgan, B O’Driscoll, G D’Arcy, L Fitzgerald; J Sexton, E Reddan; C Healy, J Fogarty, S Wright; L Cullen (capt), N Hines; K McLaughlin, S Jennings, J Heaslip.

Replacements: B Jackman for Fogarty (55); R Kearney for D’Arcy (59); M Ross for Wright (74); S O’Brien for McLaughlin (74); F McFadden for O’Driscoll (77); S Keogh for Fitzgerald (77).

Referee: S McDowell (IRFU).