Good to still have days like this

WHERE has this Munster been hiding for the past two weeks?

Losing to Leinster for the fifth successive game was a sore thing and about the only redeeming feature of the defeat by London Irish was the last minute try that earned a bonus point.

However, when this group find themselves against the wall in an all-important Heineken Cup encounter, they are a completely different side as star-studded Toulon discovered at Thomond Park on Saturday. Munster’s level of intensity was awesome and apart from the tries with which they were credited, they were denied a couple more by the English TMO Graham Hughes.

Had he not deemed Johne Murphy to have brushed the corner flag after a truly awesome length of the field attack in the 15th minute, the score would have ranked with that touched down by Gareth Edwards for the Barbarians against the All Blacks back in 1973. That moment is etched in the minds of rugby fans the world over thanks to the television pictures and this would have been of a similar vintage had the call gone Murphy’s way.

It was that good. The TMO saw it differently but may well have misinterpreted the corner flag law. Murphy admitted that he “didn’t mean to dive as high as I did”, meaning that he aided Felipe Contepomi in putting in the crucial tackle and also claimed it didn’t matter given the team eventually wound up with a bonus point. But I beg to differ. Had the score been allowed, it would have been played time and time again on television, thus demonstrating to the world that this Munster team is about a whole lot more than forward power and vast experience.

Since his days at Sale Sharks, Toulon coach Pierre Saint-Andre knows what it is like to be humiliated when he brings teams to Thomond Park. This was his third time to appreciate Limerick’s unique atmosphere and how it inspires the home side. He should have been expecting it but, disappointingly, he sounded and looked like a bad loser, constantly referring to the two yellow cards picked up by George Smith and Felipe Contepomi.

He couldn’t see any reason for either call by English referee Wayne Barnes, simply moaning that “it’s hard enough to play Munster at Thomond Park with fifteen men” while overlooking the forward pass by Pierre Mignoni that led to his side’s try in the very first minute. In contrast, his Munster counterpart Tony McGahan was deliberately gracious and low key in his reaction.

“The biggest thing we had going for us was the pressure we applied through the set piece and field position and we finished off our points which we haven’t been doing“, he said. “We controlled the ball well and that gave us the platform we needed. The only good thing about that early try for Toulon was that it came with 79 minutes still to play. ”

Individually, the more established campaigners, David Wallace, Alan Quinlan and Paul Warwick – why weren’t they in the chosen team a week earlier – the very worthy man-of-the match Mick O’Driscoll, Donncha O’Callaghan, Denis Leamy, Ronan O’Gara, two try Doug Howlett, Keith Earls and Wian du Preez all did as much and in most cases more than you could reasonably expect.

I haven’t mentioned Peter Stringer which may seem strange considering he is one of the most experienced members of the squad. But he has been playing second fiddle for some time now and was under pressure to demonstrate that he remains an outstanding number nine. He responded superbly – as you knew he would. Stringer’s service to his old mate O’Gara was flawless, he made several little runs that kept the French back-row honest and even found time to pull off the kind of tap tackle for which he is legendary.

Denis Hurley will be remembered for his crushing tackle on Toulon hooker Jean Philippe Genevois, Tony Buckley for his resilience in claiming a try having taken some criticism for failing in that regard against London Irish, Damien Varley for his accurate line-out throwing and immense amount of ball carrying and Johne Murphy, Leinster-born but clearly the kind of player beloved of the Red Army. McGahan is quietly proud of that particular signing: “John has settled into the squad tremendously well. He is extremely well liked and he has been one of our top three players since he arrived and very often at the top of that three. He is an excellent footballer.”

Not everything is right just yet with the luckless Jerry Flannery probably facing another period on the sidelines after suffering recurrence of his calf muscle problem.

“Days like this, playing in Limerick on Heineken Cup week, are so special”, said McGahan. “You can feel the build-up all week. You go to pick up a newspaper or litre of milk or whatever you need, it’s at your doorstep and you really look forward to it. For everyone in Munster, these are the weeks you train so hard for.”

Scorers for Munster – Howlett 2 tries; Leamy, Buckley, O’Driscoll, Coughlan try each; O’Gara one pen, six cons.

Toulon – Genevois, Van Niekerk try each; Contepomi pen, con.

MUNSTER: P Warwick; D Howlett, K Earls, J Murphy, Denis Hurley; R O’Gara, P Stringer; W du Preez, D Varley, T Buckley, D O’Callaghan, M O’Driscoll, A Quinlan, D Wallace, D Leamy [capt].

Replacements: J Flannery for Varley and J. Coughlan for Quinlan (both 55); Varley for Flannery (76); M Horan for du Preez (62); J Hayes for Buckley (68); D Ryan for O’Driscoll (70); D Williams for Stringer (74).

TOULON: C Marienval; P Sackey, M Kefu, F Auelua, R Wulf; F Contepomi, P Mignoni; L Emmanuelli, J Genevois, C Hayman, J Suta, K Chesney, G Smith, J El Abd, J van Niekerk [capt].

Replacements: G Lovobalovu for Sackey 35; J Wilkinson for Kefu 46; L Magnaval for Mignoni half time; S Taumopeeau for Emmanuelli 52; M. Ivaldi for Genevois 52.

Referee: W Barnes (England).