Hurley plots containment

MUNSTER’S Denis Hurley could have been a disciple of Jack Charlton in the days when the football coach decreed his Republic of Ireland players used a simple “put ‘em under pressure” tactic to deal with all opposition.

Tonight, in Munster’s Heineken Cup opener at Thomond Park, Hurley believes the pressure game could be central to the prospects of success for the home team against last year’s finalists Northampton Saints. Aware of the potency from Northampton’s back three – Ben Foden, Chris Ashton and probably Vasily Artemyev – Hurley will be just one of a number of players plotting to keep this group under wraps.

Ashton’s strike rate of 88 tries from 100 appearances is astonishing, Foden has scored 20 tries in 84 appearances and Artemyev, the 23 year old Russian winger who represented Ireland at schools and under 19 levels, has hit the ground running for his new club with six tries in four games!

Artemyev will have a deeper knowledge of what to expect from Munster, having watched the province from the close quarter of Dublin during his university years.

Hurley said: “Their record speaks for itself, they’re quality players but they’re coming back off World Cup, and some of those guys haven’t reached to the height of their potential so we have to wait and see this weekend. Obviously we must not give them easy ball to allow them come from deep; it is part of our game that we will (try to) take that option away from them and put them under pressure rather than giving them easy attacking options.

“I think we know we have a big job to do — nullify any of their line running, make sure our tackles are going in and stop them from breaking through. It’s a big job, but even top quality players can be contained.”

As an exampla gratis, he points to a Munster-Cardiff Blues game when Leigh Halfpenny, already then a British and Irish Lion, was a foe to be feared. “We had a game plan that included keeping him under control. We have ways of containing players and I would like to think one of my strengths is to chase the high balls and put pressure on players.”

Concentration and dogged defence will be everything tonight, he figures. If there was a bonus from last week’s defeat to Leinster, it was that the defence stood firm. “We can take something from that because they’re a quality side who have broken us in the past. This time it will have to be the same.”