Munster maul Foley’s call

GIVEN their back three injury woes, Munster could have done with an adverse weather forecast here in Llanelli this afternoon.

But with no rain forecast until tomorrow Tony McGahan must prepare his side for the wide game the Scarlets favour at present.

With some of the best young talent Welsh rugby has had to offer for some time, this Scarlets backline is full of pace, inventiveness and physical presence. The likes of George North, Scott Williams, Rhys Priestland and Jonathan Davies will prove a handful for their Munster opponents.

As always, McGahan will oversee operations today but his assistant Anthony Foley will have his hands full, given his dual mandate as defence and forwards coach. The easiest way to curb the attacking threat posed by a side of the Scarlets’ capability is to deny them quick ball. Foley will therefore have his forwards competing ferociously at every breakdown, buying vital seconds to get his defensive structure in place. Foley will also be mindful that Munster cannot afford to kick away hard-earned possession without a decent chance of putting the recipient under pressure.

I have no doubt his mind will drift back to the last time these sides met, here in the back-to-back phase of the tournament in December 2007. Having lost to the same opposition at the quarter-finals seven months earlier, Munster exacted revenge en-route to regaining the Heineken Cup. While people are still eulogising about Ronan O’Gara’s drop goal after 41 phases against Northampton, Foley will recall Munster’s 38 phases in the mud at Stradey Park in the first of those back-to-back clashes as they retained possession through a series of mini rucks and mauls to frustrate the hosts.

In his new capacity, Foley has reintroduced an effective maul and today could well be the occasion to use it forcibly in order to deny the Scarlets any momentum. Of course they will have periods in the ascendancy and that is where Munster’s ever improving defensive structure will be called upon to perform. Foley will use an aggressive four-up defence to deny the impressive Scarlets midfield of Williams and Davies time on the ball. The only concern here is that Munster are lacking someone of Doug Howlett’s experience to marshal the troops and make key defensive decisions.

Remember his accuracy in breaking the defensive line to deliver bone crunching tackles on Dylan Hartley and Ben Foden against Northampton in Thomond Park? In both instances, his intervention saved try-scoring opportunities as the Saints had overlaps out wide. Simon Zebo just doesn’t have that type of experience and therefore if he is found wanting in any area today it could well be in his defensive duties. It doesn’t help either that the midfield pairing of Will Chambers and Lifeimi Mafi have had precious little game time together and consequently even more responsibility will fall on the shoulders of O’Gara.

The most straightforward means of subduing the Scarlets attack is by simply denying them ball. Munster’s set piece will therefore have to be spot on with their newfound prowess in the scrum used to maximum effect, while they must also attack every Scarlets lineout with vigour.

This promises to be an even busier day for Foley than any of his outings here as a player.