Reds’ shot at redemption after Dublin capitulation
Coach Tony McGahan may have been tempted to throw caution to the winds after the feeble display at the RDS but has decided to stick with the tried and trusted. The Aussie has found room to accommodate all his big names with Keith Earls moving to the left wing to make way for the return of Paul Warwick at full-back and is sticking with the Jean De Villiers-Lifeimi Mafi axis in midfield. Tony Buckley replaces the suspended John Hayes at tight head prop and with Alan Quinlan and David Wallace returning in the back-row, Niall Ronan is on the bench.
He is joined there by five other forwards, including props Julien Brugnaut and Darragh Hurley with new European Cup rule requiring six front-rows to be named in each panel of 23. McGahan has named only two backs, Peter Stringer and Ian Dowling, among the eight replacements.
His Northampton counterpart, Jim Mallinder, has included his two Ulster-born back-row forwards, Neil Best and Roger Wilson, in his starting line-up. Both are Irish internationals and it’s a formidable looking home pack that is led by captain and England star Dylan Hartley. However the experienced Argentine Ignacio Fernandez-Lobbe, an old “friend” of Munster from his days at Castres and Sale Sharks, starts on the bench.
Shane Geraghty, the talented out-half who declared for England rather than Ireland, the country of his parents, has moved from London Irish to the Saints and may be a key man this evening. Furthermore, the centre partnership contains James Downey, a 28-year-old, 6ft 2ins, 16st 3lbs centre, who played for Calvisano, Munster, Connacht and Leinster before settling at Franklin’s Gardens. He caught the eye of the Irish management last season and was a member of the team that captured the Churchill Cup in Denver in June.
This is a massive game for Northampton, who they defeated Mick Galwey’s side by three penalties to a try and a drop goal in the 2000 Heineken Cup final at Twickenham. They have been in and out of the competition since but demonstrated their abilities last season when winning the European Challenge Cup to qualify for the top tier.
Director of rugby Jim Mallinder says that his players are “excited but not daunted” by the prospect of facing Munster and hope to build on a solid start to the Guinness Premiership where they lie fourth.
“The Heineken Cup is a superb competition in which you test yourselves against the top clubs in Europe and they don’t come much bigger than Munster,” said Mallinder last night. “They have a tradition of success in the tournament and are bringing a squad full of international and experienced players. But we aren’t daunted. If we are to progress in Europe we have to win our home games, beginning this evening. We will have to concentrate and work hard from the first whistle until the last if we are to get a positive result.”
You can’t help believing that the Saints will get just that unless Munster really do step up 100% on last week’s dismal performance. The English side are not without their weaknesses despite the threat of Geraghty, full-back Ben Foden and winger Bruce Reihana and a pack led by the excellent Hartley. However, for the vast majority of the home squad, this is their first opportunity to display their talents at this rarified level.
Tony McGahan surely knows that a repeat of anything close to what was seen last week could prove detrimental to the futures of a number of people involved with Team Munster.
He speak of his confidence that “the side’s quality senior players will help them bounce back” while skipper Paul O’Connell — facing into his first full game of the season — is demanding a return to basics.
“The guys are very enthusiastic to get out there and put last Saturday behind,” he says. “The fact that it’s such an important game for our season makes it all the better.
“We must stay true to what made us good and never lose sight of the basics.”
The one theme running consistently through the squad all week has been the need for a win in this match, whether it comes on the back of a sparkling display like we saw when the Ospreys came to Thomond Park last April or one dogged out in best Munster fashion — like against Sale Sharks at Edgeley Road a year ago.
Either way, all concerned carry a big responsibility in the English midlands this evening.
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