Coughlan banks on getting basics right

RUGBY is such a simple game, at least according to James Coughlan, as the Munster number eight prepares to practice what he’s preaching at Thomond Park tomorrow.

Tony McGahan’s side may be sitting atop the Heineken Cup Pool One table after three wins from three but so narrow have been the margins in each of those victories over Northampton, Castres and, last week, Scarlets that coaches and players alike know how quickly things can change in the group stages.

That two of those wins were on the road is also of no comfort to Munster and as they prepare for tomorrow’s round four rematch with Scarlets (12.45pm), Coughlan confirmed to the Irish Examiner there has been no let up in preparations ahead of their return to home soil, with last Saturday’s 17-14 success in Wales leaving much room for improvement.

“Going into this week I think we’re in a good place in the table, top of the league, but we know there’s much more in us. We know if we get another couple of small things right we’re not that far away from letting loose.

“But it’s a massive challenge and Scarlets are going to be right up for it. They’re a really good side. They went to Northampton and got a bonus point so they could do the exact same this week.”

With a points differential of plus eight from three games following victories of two points at home to Northampton, three away to Castres and three again last weekend in Llanelli, Coughlan can trace some progress in Munster’s performances. But he admitted niggling problems needed to be eradicated.

“You get a team in their 22 or from their 10-metres in and we’re not getting the phases or we’re missing the lineout or the ball is shooting out the back of a scrum, which is my fault, or we’re knocking a ball on after two phases when they still have a pretty good line. We have to stay in there for six, seven, eight phases and eventually we will grind them down. Our work rate is such that we will get a score eventually, whether it be three [points] or five, it doesn’t really bother us as long as we keep the scoreboard ticking over.

“So it’s not so much that last pass [that’s missing], it’s more the ability to keep going and going and keep teams under pressure. And that’s where the half-break comes in. They’re the kind of things that we’re looking at rather than one big thing.

“I think our set-piece is extremely good, our scrum is extremely good, our lineout is getting more accurate and we’re executing things better, we are not giving away soft turnovers. Set-piece is massive. Backs are getting better ball and we’re getting more go-forward ball and when we’re hitting breakdowns we’re going forwards rather than backwards. That way you become more efficient. So set-piece is our focus, getting go-forward ball and making your tackles when it’s that time because they’re going to have a purple patch and those are times when we’re going to have to hang in there.”

If this is all reminiscent of the philosophy of former back-row brother Anthony Foley, you would be dead right. Foley’s ‘back to basics’ influence in his role as a coach is a running theme.

“I suppose it’s an old-school Munster thing in Axel and his father Brendan before him,” Coughlan said.

“It is a simple game, you win the small breakdowns, win the small battles, make your tackles, run hard.

“You win your set-piece, your breakdown, your maul, kick the points, win the game. Sometimes you try to make it more complicated than it is but you just need to keep that focus and that’s something that Munster have always done.”

Except, perhaps, during last season’s Heineken Cup campaign when they went winless on the road as a result of “soft penalties” and “poor execution”, says Coughlan.

“We’re executing better. Our scrum and set-piece has been better and we’re getting more front-foot ball. We’re taking it forward and if it’s on afterwards then we’ll pass and if it’s not we’ll just keep moving forward. That’s something maybe we did lose sight of in last season’s Heineken Cup.

“Towards the end of the season, against Leinster and Ospreys at home, we were direct and had a massive intensity and massive workload and it’s very hard to play against a team that keeps coming and coming and coming. So if we can just keep doing that we’ll be extremely hard to beat.”

When it comes to workload, Coughlan is one of the players at the front of the line in Munster. Yet despite turning 31 this month he sounds like a kid just out of the academy, even if his outlook belies his own contribution to the Munster cause, one that earned him the recognition of his peers, with the player of the season award last May, and his current and consistent good form, having played in 11 of 13 competitive games in the campaign to date.

“I’ve taken the attitude of just trying to be better every week, not look at the whole season but assess the last week and look at what I can do the next week. Laurie [Fisher] last season and Axel now have been brilliant with me. That’s all I’m trying to do, be better this week than I was last week, hopefully keep improving and keep getting selected.”