Shocked McGahan facing crucial week

THE big question being asked by shocked Munster fans is just where their team could go from here?

In the next two weeks, they face crucial Heineken Cup matches, away to high-flying Challenge Cup holders Northampton Saints followed by a visit from Benetton Treviso to Thomond Park.

Coach Tony McGahan was equally shell-shocked after the province’s second successive hammering by a vastly superior Leinster outfit and a repeat of the RDS fiasco could see them make an early exit from Europe. !McGahan looked around for positives but came up with nothing at all except to muse they had overcome similarly fraught situations in the past.

“We have gone into the Heineken Cup in crisis before and we’ve got a quality dressing room with quality senior players and we would expect to get a response this week,” he commented, seemingly with more hope than confidence. “We certainly thought no part of our game was anywhere it needed to be and tonight we were badly exposed.”

McGahan has been trying to make light of the near certain absence of John Hayes from at least the next two Heineken Cup matches, pointing out that “we have Tony Buckley, Julian Brugnaut and young Darragh Hurley who we feel are well up to the required standard.”

Buckley is the obvious replacement and while he would like his chance to come in better circumstances, he has certainly been handed a massive chance to lay his hands on the number three Ireland jersey. A matter, of course, which is the last thing on Tony McGahan’s mind right now.

“We were well beaten at the breakdown and physically got taught a lesson there this evening,” he admitted. “We are still trying to get our things together and so felt that a win or a loss wouldn’t be all that important in itself. But to be 30 points on the other side of the scoreboard is a major concern, to say the least. Our carries were poor, our support play was non-existent against a well-organised defence. They worked extremely hard on the floor and in the tackle, they locked up the ball very well and we reacted slowly.

“Even at 13-zip down at half-time, we felt we could turn it around but we didn’t have any field territory. We thought with early points on the board, there would have been a chance with a tremendous bunch of players to do it and you certainly would have backed them. But we turned the ball over again and again. The biggest thing for us now is to get back to basics and put a few core principles back in our game. We need a response this week.

“It’s never nice to lose at any point in time and especially against Leinster. The dressing room was very frank and we’ll get that assessment on Tuesday along with that of the management and we’ll go forward from there. Of course we are shocked. We certainly thought coming here that we’d put in a resilient performance at the least. We were second best in every facet and that’s a bit of us but you need to credit Leinster as well. They were excellent. The scoreboard in some cases doesn’t reflect the play but this evening, it certainly did.”