McGahan’s Munster model paying dividends now

Laurie Fisher is right at home, literally, coaching rugby in Canberra.

The Australian capital is where he was born and began his coaching career, coming up through the ACT Brumbies system en route to becoming the franchise’s forwards coach in 2003, during which they were crowned Super 12 champions in 2004 and its head coach between 2005 and 08.

It was at that point that Fisher left home, heading to Europe and a stint as the Munster forwards coach when Tony McGahan’s took over from Declan Kidney in 2008. Fisher left Munster in July 2011 and rejoined the Brumbies as forwards coach, this time under former South Africa World Cup-winning coach Jake White and alongside backs coach Stephen Larkham, the former Australia fly-half.

“Coaching is what I enjoy doing, it’s a good environment here, we’ve built it back up and I really enjoy being here,” Fisher admitted after the Brumbies’ final training session before facing the British and Irish Lions this morning at Canberra Stadium.

“It’s good working with Jake and Stephen, it’s only Stevie’s second or third year coaching but he’s really taken to it and we’ve a good staff here, a good bunch of boys and we’re making progress.”

Today’s match with the Lions will be something of a break from routine for the Brumbies, leaders of the Super XV’s Australian Conference, their place in the finals already assured. So while it will be a chance to assess the younger squad members’ aptitude for rugby at the highest level, it will also serve as a good chance for Fisher to catch up with former Munster charge Paul O’Connell, whose old forwards coach believes is still at the peak of his powers, not least against the Waratahs last Saturday.

“Three breakdown steals the other night plus some shifts through the hands, some good carries, he’s just a wonderful competitor,” Fisher said of O’Connell. “It’s great to see him back after an injury-disrupted period and he’s developed his game over time. He wouldn’t have been renowned as a poacher four or five years ago, I’m sure, so he’s developed with the game as it has developed and I’m full of admiration for Paul. He’s fantastic.

“He’s one of the few guys that even on limited training time has the capacity to pick up on an idea and just mentally prepare himself. He’s wonderful like that. A lot of guys have got to repeat, repeat, repeat to change their behaviour, with Paul he can talk himself into it, which is why he can produce top form on perhaps a limited training diet. His mental preparation is so good.

“He was outstanding against Harlequins (in the Heineken Cup quarter-final). He’s got an iron will and constitution, he’s never beaten. He’s got a simple game and he’s not an enormously powerful guy but it’s who goes hardest the longest and he goes hardest the longest.”

It is the example set by the likes of O’Connell and Ronan O’Gara as well as the foundations laid by his former boss McGahan, that Fisher believes have helped pave the way for the next generation of Munster players to flourish, as they have done of late, not least Peter O’Mahony and fellow back rower Tommy O’Donnell, capped for the first time against the USA and a try scorer against Canada on Saturday night.

“(Dave) Kilcoyne, O’Mahony, Tommy O’Donnell, they were young guys starting out when I was over there and it’s a credit to Tony (McGahan) and what he did with the academy system over there in really getting that working and developing players in that 18, 19, 20 age group. That’s starting to show fruition.

“In my early days it was a very senior side with not a lot in behind it and that’s come back to bite them a little bit but that said, there’s a lot of good young guys coming through now. And you look at the Ireland side at the U20 World Cup, there’s a lot of good young Irish players when in years past it hasn’t been traditional to give young guys an opportunity, but I think that’s changing as well.

“They’re in a good environment driven by senior players, your O’Connells and O’Garas and people like that. They’ve thrived on a strong work ethic in that environment and when it comes to the junior ranks, they will have idolised iconic players like that and tried to emulate that. It’s an environment that generates the right attitude to playing the game.”

And it’s not just the academy system, said Fisher, who points to recent recipients of Munster’s most coveted award for insight.

“You look at Munster players of the year over the last few years and it’s James Coughlan, Donnacha Ryan, Tommy O’Donnell and none of them are your standout, iconic, international players.

“Some people might have called them journeymen or late bloomers or whatever you want to call them but boy do they deliver quality football. That again (it) says something about having faith in people and in the system and giving guys an opportunity. You gives an opportunity and most often they’ll reward you.

“Those three are examples. In the early days we didn’t look at them and say ‘that kid is going to be an out and out champion’ but they’re three players of the year in one of the great club sides in world rugby.

“Sometimes you’ve got to bite the bullet and gives guys opportunities.

“You need plenty of bravery, good fitness and a good level of skill and if you apply yourself and you get the right opportunity, then you can make it.”

Now Fisher is hoping his young Brumbies can make the most of their opportunities today against the Lions, as they feature in a side missing key players like back rowers David Pocock and George Smith to injury while the Wallabies are holding onto Ben Alexander, Stephen Moore, Ben Mowen, Pat McCabe and Christian Lealiifano in the Test training camp.

“Test sides aren’t supermen, they’re just good footballers and it’s only 80 minutes and less than half of that is ball in play, you’ve just go to drive yourself, be mentally tough for those 80 minutes. We’re not going to come out with all guns blazing for five or 10 minutes and then just fall off the pace. You’ve got to start and finish with a level of intensity and maintain it throughout, not fall off. We know how we want to play, we’ve been playing it for a year and a half now and developing little things as we go along, we’ve just got to do that well.”