Schmidt frets over knees, bumps and bruises

THE season finale that everyone, with the possible exception of Declan Kidney, wanted has been delivered with Leinster and Munster successfully negotiating their way through their respective Magners League semi-finals over the weekend.

What it means is that the majority of Ireland’s potential World Cup squad will now be in action right up to the last day of the season reducing their recovery period before the real work starts in July for the build up to New Zealand. We will leave the implications of that for another day.

Right now, the hottest item in rugby is Leinster who face the biggest 12 days in their history. Nothing is straight-forward, however, and a series of unfortunate injuries to key personnel in the win over Ulster on Friday night is sure to occupy Joe Schmidt’s mind for the next few days.

Munster still have the opportunity of finishing the season on a high in front of their own in Thomond Park when they entertain what could well be the newly-crowned Heineken Cup champions. In contrast to last Saturday night, what an occasion that will be.

Singer Brian Kennedy must have wondered what all the fuss surrounding Thomond Park was about when he belted out the Fields of Athenry at the half time break to a stadium that was less than half full. It was a very surreal atmosphere for a contest of this stature.

Munster won’t be too worried about that this morning. Saturday’s performance was a vast improvement on the recent outings against Harlequins and Connacht in terms of commitment, intensity and competence at the set piece but the issue that has plagued them all season — converting territory and possession into points — remains a very real problem.

Despite playing into a very strong wind, it is no exaggeration to suggest that Munster could have led by as much as 29 points against the Ospreys at half time. They left at least three tries and a penalty behind them over a 40 minute period where they completely outplayed a very ragged Welsh outfit, yet retired to the dressing room with a very vulnerable five point advantage.

The plusses are all about the solidity of the Munster scrum, which was dominant throughout after being badly exposed in each of their previous four encounters this season. Marcus Horan laid down a marker for the World Cup with an excellent showing against Adam Jones while John Hayes also had a fine evening. In addition, Stephen Archer caught the eye when he replaced The Bull.

However, the star of the show was undoubtedly Danny Barnes. Midfield has been a problem area for Tony McGahan with the Barnes/Mafi combination Munster’s twelfth of the season. Apart from his two tries, Barnes was magnificent with his physicality in defence matched by his pace and work ethic in attack. The true test will come if he is handed a start in the final against Brian O’Driscoll and Gordon D’Arcy but I say give him that chance. He will only benefit in the long run.

But if Munster are to beat Leinster, they will need to be far more clinical in attack and also need to vary the manner with which they carry ball into contact. Right now they are too predictable and easy to defend against.

Munster will be the last thing on Leinster’s mind for at least another week as they have other pressing matters to contend with. They negotiated their way through a potentially tricky semi-final contest against Ulster without ever looking seriously threatened. The only potential threat to their double aspirations came in the form of unwelcome injury concerns over a number of key players, most notably O’Driscoll and Richardt Strauss.

While O’Driscoll would pose a serious loss to any side, the injury that will cause more concern is that to Strauss given that cover for the hooking berth is thin on the ground since the retirement of John Fogarty and Bernard Jackman. Jason Harris-Wright did a good job in the second half but lining out from the start against the might of the Northampton front row would be an entirely different matter. Joe Schmidt will pray for positive news from his medical team with regard to his South African hooker.

The last thing you need in the build up to a massive game like a Heineken Cup final is for training to be compromised due to injury doubts. Schmidt will want all the issues surrounding Friday’s bumps and bruises to be put to bed by training this afternoon so he can plan accordingly without any unnecessary distractions.

After reaching this stage of the season with only Rob Kearney in sick bay, it would be a disaster to lose key personnel in the week leading into the biggest game of the season.

At least Leinster are entering the final in Cardiff on the back of yet another win while their opponents will have been filled with negative thoughts after their Aviva Premiership defeat to Leicester in their semi final at Welford Road on Saturday. That too was an explosive encounter and Northampton have been left with far more that bruised egos as they prepare for a first Heineken Cup final in 11 years. Schmidt will have learned much from that game but will be equally mindful that he will need all his big guns on board to achieve what could be the first leg of a historic double.