McGahan and Booth look on the bright side after group of death trauma

THERE was much to reflect on for both coaches after Munster had overcome London Irish with both Tony McGahan and Toby Booth left to plan for a second half of the season without Heineken Cup rugby to look forward to.

The rugby calendar, which moves into Six Nations season for the next six weeks, has given both men the chance to regroup after severely disappointing European campaigns that has seen Toulon emerge ahead of them and Ospreys from the dreaded ERC group of death.

McGahan is the one going out of the competition with a victory and he welcomed the chance to head back to Magners League action next month with something of a feelgood factor following the 28-14 victory on Saturday.

“Every time we have a break, whether it’s the autumn or the Six Nations, it’s always important to have a result, especially when you come from behind and shown a lot of character to come from behind,” the Munster coach said. “It gives everyone a huge buzz. It allows the players, the staff, and also the supporters, to go away feeling good.

For Booth, whose London Irish team ended a 10-match losing run with a victory over Ospreys the previous week, the positives continued in spite of another defeat.

“To be in the contest for as long as we were, I thought our effort was outstanding, defensively in particular,” Booth said. “I don’t know how many (visiting) teams have ever gone in at 0-0 (at Thomond Park) so for what was, for us, a dead rubber, I was very pleased. We showed that intensity and passion and (a will) to compete and contest.

“There’s no doubting the quality that Munster have. For us, last week against the Ospreys, looking at the team sheet, was like playing Wales and this week it was like playing Ireland. How we’ve handled that test, despite it getting away from us in the final five minutes, bodes well for us.

Another high finish in the English Premiership will see London Irish return to the Heineken Cup next season when Booth will be pleading for a softer draw than this year’s.

“I wasn’t actually at the draw, I was on holidays and when the message came through, I thought I had been drinking. From that point of view, Munster were top seeds in tier one, Ospreys were seeded top of tier two, we were seeded top of tier three and Toulon were top seeds of tier four. Mathematically you can’t get any tougher than that. Whether that is right or wrong, that is the situation. Does it make it exciting for all concerned? Of course it does. But I’m pretty sure Munster would have been happier to have an Italian side in their group, which theoretically would make it easier to get into the quarter-finals. That’s just fact, and statistically you have to look at that. But unfortunately that is the situation that we are in, and that is the luck of the draw I’m afraid.”