Comment: Munster won’t be caught on the hop by Saracens
“I think it will be a factor, certainly,” O’Connell said of the 4G pitch at Saracens’ Allianz Park. “It’s a harder surface so it’s going to be a bit quicker and the bounce of the ball is going to be different, particularly for the back three. Luckily I won’t have to deal with any of that but, yeah, it’s a factor for them as well.”
No, much to O’Connell’s delight, the backfield of the 4G pitch at Allianz Park will be the domain of Munster full-back Felix Jones and his wing partners as the visitors will seek to negate the attacking threat posed by a dangerous kick-chase that frequently sends Chris Ashton and David Strettle flying up field looking to exploit a favourable bounce or a back-three defender’s error.
Munster are hardly strangers to 4G surfaces. They train intermittently on one at the University of Limerick and play competitively in the Pro12 at Cardiff Arms Park against the Blues, but it is still another variable for Jones to contend with this weekend, and not just the bounce.
“There’s obvious differences about it, but certainly our grass cover would be of high importance because letting a ball bounce on that... there’s no give,” the Munster full-back said. “It’ll hop up and it can go anywhere.
“I think on top of that, it being a good surface, you can get through a lot of work, a lot of speed, a lot of load goes through the legs there as well so there’ll be a fair bit of work.
“You’re used to having a wet, muddy ball (in January) whereas you’re going to be pretty much guaranteed a clean ball and if it’s dry, (the ball) is going to be bone dry. It can be nice but it works both ways. While you are moving a bit quicker, so are they.
“Guys that are able to move and change direction sharply, it’s just probably increased just an extra little bit.”
Whatever the surface, Saracens’ attacking style means plenty of hard work and focus, as Jones attests following their Thomond Park encounter in Round 2 back in October, when Saracens frequently opted to kick high and ahead to give Ashton, Strettle and full-back Alex Goode plenty to chase, the trio contributing five Champions Cup tries between them in four pool games this season.
“It’s uncanny,” Jones said of their try-scoring. Their three guys show up together the amount of time they’re on the ball and they’re on the side of each other so yeah, they’re seriously dangerous guys. We’re doing our analysis and giving them the respect but we’re going over there to not allow them to do it.
“I think it’s just something that you have to put a good bit of work into during the week. Obviously the game in Thomond had a huge amount of kicking and a lot of contestable-type balls and going up and winning those.
“Sometimes you can go up and win those and be in the perfect position and somebody will get a hand through or ball will be knocked down so you’re relying on the guys around you then to clear up those little spillages around those guys.”
The encouraging thing for Munster is that the province dealt admirably with Saracens’ aerial threat last time out, and Jones believes a repeat job will be necessary tomorrow.
“I’m not going to say it’s the reason we won the (home) game,” he said. “There’s so many little battles going on. You ask the front five about the scrum or around the breakdown and that’s a massive battle. There’s so many of these types of battles going on, you’ve just try to come out on top at the one that you’re involved in.
“So if that was the case for the last game, well then great, and that’s part of our job done, but that’s your job. You’re going in to win those battles.”
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