Transitional Munster get helping hand from Euro rivals

MUNSTER rugby does strange things to people.

Last week, Castres forsook home advantage for the Heineken Cup visit of the two-time champions in the hope of making a financial killing at the Stade Ernest-Wallon, the home of fierce rivals Toulouse.

But the plan backfired.

Vast swathes of the stadium were empty on Saturday, they lost the match and also the support of the business people of Castres, livid at the change of venue.

On Friday it also emerged Northampton were switching their game against Munster in January from their fine grounds at Franklin’s Gardens in the heart of the city to the MK Dons football stadium 20 miles away in Milton Keynes.

They arrived at that decision before their home defeat to the Llanelli Scarlets.

Should they drop further points between now and the visit of Tony McGahan’s men, the game will be of no significance to the Saints with the result that a large proportion of their fans will stay at home.

While Munster are entitled to a rueful smile at the way their rivals are making their task of reaching the quarter-finals a little easier, they will also reflect on how these straitened times have caused some of their loyal supporters to restrict their overseas travel.

No praise is too high for those who travelled to Toulouse at the weekend and it was only fitting that their efforts should have been rewarded by the latest miracle kick from Ronan O’Gara.

As Paul O’Connell stressed on Saturday, this is a Munster team in transition and only time will tell how good it can become.

However, their inner resolve is probably as strong as ever while the words of caution and realism emanating from both players and management after this latest great escape are also extremely reassuring.

“We were good at times, poor at times, so we have plenty of areas to look at, but sometimes you learn more from mistakes,” said O’Gara.

Paul O’Connell agreed: “There were a lot of good things but a lot of bad things to work on.”

It’s back to business already as Munster turn their attention to Saturday night’s clash with Michael Bradley’s Edinburgh in the Rabo Direct Pro 12 at Thomond Park.

Under the IRFU Player Management Programme, the top internationals may play no more than six matches between the start of the Heineken Cup and the end of December.

That means McGahan will have to rest some of his key men in the secondary competition but that shouldn’t bother him unduly.

The likes of O’Gara, O’Connell and try scorers Peter O’Mahony and Doug Howlett deserve a breather after their exploits against Northampton and Castres.

Though Howlett passed his 33rd birthday, try scoring seems to come as naturally to him as it did in the halcyon days when he ran up a New Zealand record of 49 in 62 Tests.

O’Mahony’s performances in both games were outstanding but he took a fierce knock in France and doesn’t need to be rushed at this still early stage of his career.

Front-rowers Damien Varley and Wian du Preez played every minute of those two matches and are also deserving of a rest.

Will Chambers has been something of an unknown quantity but was another to play a key part in the famous 41 phases against the Saints and was also to the fore in the late rally against Castres.

He should now start against the Scots and among those who deserve a similar opportunity are Tomás O’Leary and Denis Fogarty, while Marcus Horan would also benefit from game time.

Donncha O’Callaghan and Denis Leamy, who must be desperate for game time, will also likely be given their head. Niall Ronan, who surely had his most effective outing in a Munster jersey against Castres, would enjoy the chance to build on that performance.

Edinburgh have pulled off two amazing Heineken Cup wins and coach Michael Bradley will relish the chance of continuing that winning run against his old team.

While Leinster achieved their anticipated bonus point win over Glasgow and are a safe bet for a home quarter-final, Ulster joined the many who have fallen to the juggernaut that is Leicester at Welford Road, while reality dawned quickly and cruelly for Connacht at the hands of Toulouse.

It is difficult to see how a side of limited resources can bounce back from such a big disappointment.