Leinster shadow hangs over Munster
Through the eerie silence that greeted this shambles of a performance, I overhead a conversation between two members of the Red Army.
“Maybe it would be a good thing if we lost to the Ospreys in the semi-final,” said one.
“What the hell do you mean?” replied his friend.
“Well, look at it like this,” came the explanation. “Can you stomach the thought of Leinster coming to Thomond Park with the Heineken Cup already in their possession, beating Munster for the Magners League and parading around the pitch in a lap of honour afterwards waving both trophies aloft?”
The silence which greeting his theory spoke volumes.
And such a scenario could easily come to pass. Leinster can do little wrong these days, their emphatic hammering of Glasgow Warriors the latest demonstration of their abilities.
Ulster will probably extend them for a while at the RDS in the first Magners semi-final on Friday but it looks a home banker.
After that, they face Northampton Saints in the Heineken Cup final in Cardiff. Defeat in that game would halt their momentum and make the task of whoever they should meet in the Magners decider a week later appreciably easier.
Imagine, though, the high they will be on should they travel to Thomond Park in search of a famous “double” and a sixth win in seven outings over their southern rivals.
It’s the kind of occasion that might lift Munster out of their lethargy provided, of course, that they beat the underachieving Ospreys in theirsemi on Saturday.
It beggars belief that a team possessing such talent should need a late penalty by James Hook to scrape a two point victory over Aironi and seal a place in the last four.
It may have been a long and frustrating season for Munster but
redemption could be at hand should they reach the Magners final and produce a performance that would entitle them to hold their heads high going into the summer.
Tony McGahan was reduced to expressions like “dogged” and “we hung in there” to try and find positives from the Connacht game. He tried to freshen things up in both games but met with little response, even if Felix Jones continues in a rich vein of form and youngsters Simon Zebo, Danny Barnes and Mike Sherry impressed.
McGahan spoke about how Zebo is “always a threat to the opposition”, of how Barnes “tackled everything in his path” and how Sherry was “tremendous and carried strongly in his first 80 minutes for some time”.
It will be interesting to see if the coach follows up on those comments by retaining Zebo on the left wing, by pairing Barnes and Keith Earls in the centre where Paul Warwick and Lifeimi Mafi were so ineffective against Harlequins and gives Sherry his head at hooker over Damien Varley.
McGahan has spoken all year about the young talent at his disposal. Given the mediocrity of those he has favoured recently, it may be time to replace words with action.
He also stressed that the set piece will be the crucial area of the clash with the Ospreys. It will certainly help that Paul O’Connell is back to near full fitness and will be a major factor in a line-out creaking alarmingly.
He and Donncha O’Callaghan will almost certainly renew their second-row partnership, although here also consideration should be given to the claims of Ian Nagle.
The back-row failed to deliver against Harlequins with Denis Leamy’s current form coming under close scrutiny.
Interestingly, McGahan has refused to be drawn on whether or not there could be a role for Alan Quinlan, who, with Sherry, was certainly their most influential forward last Friday night.
Few need reminding of how the scrum was destroyed in the meeting of the sides in the Heineken Cup at the Liberty Stadium and a repeat could leave only one outcome on Saturday.
To be fair, the front-row measured up well against Connacht which could mean a starting place against the Ospreys for John Hayes and perhaps Marcus Horan with Wian Du Preez and Stephen Archer waiting in the wings. Either way, the Munster scrum will have its work cut out coping with the likes of Adam and Duncan Jones and Paul James.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
