Players take collective responsibility for curious late penalty call
CJ Stander will take encouragement from his side’s efforts in defeat at Saracens, but the decision to turn down a kickable penalty and seal a losing bonus point may well come back to bite them.
Stander had the captaincy thrust upon him minutes before kick-off on Saturday when club skipper Peter O’Mahony withdrew with a groin injury at Allianz Park.
It was 75 minutes into the game when Stander’s side, trailing 15-6, earned a kickable penalty to move Munster into losing-bonus-point territory. Instead, the decision was made to kick for the corner, a curious one given the fact that even if a converted try would still have likely seen them accrued, Munster would have still likely lost lose the game 15-13. The attacking lineout came to nought, and they lost 15-6.
Explaining the decision, Stander said: “I think at that stage we had just got back in momentum. We were thinking if we go here and set up a maul in the middle of the pitch ... well, we tried it and it didn’t work out. That’s hindsight now, we should have gone for the three, but that’s the feeling you have on the pitch.
“Look, we’ll probably have a chat as a leadership and then next time don’t do it again, see how we feel.”
Johann van Graan refused to criticise his players, saying: “You always back the decisions on the pitch. They decided to go to the corner and unfortunately it didn’t work out for us. But there’s a lot of rugby left in this pool, the fact Saracens didn’t get four tries means it’s 17 points (for Racing 92), 11 (Munster), 10 (Saracens). The Paris game becomes a knockout game for us now, we need to go and win in Paris.”
The overall performance, a week on from a 10-3 victory, has encouraged Stander as he looked toward the must-win round-five trip to Pool 4 leaders Racing on January 12.
“Just starting the way we did (on Saturday) and keep on doing it for the full 80. We have to work out a plan. I think our plan was good for this game, a few things put us under pressure and we could have maybe got a try when we were there (nodding towards the tryline), it would have changed the game. But look, that’s the game.
“In a perfect world, if everyone is fit and ready to go, then if we can do that up for 80 minutes then happy days, that’s what we train for.
“I think 92% of the squad has been there (to La Défense Arena, in January 2018), we’ll be well used to it. It’s just going to come down to who is up for it on the day.
“Europe is a great competition, it’s quick and it’s the best coming up against each other. I’m looking forward to the rest of the pool.”
In the meantime, Stander will be one of 12 Munster players who represented Ireland at the World Cup in September and October whose minutes must be managed over the Christmas period.
The province returns to Guinness PRO14 action with three interprovincial clashes — at Connacht this Saturday, home to Leinster on December 28, and concluding with a trip to Belfast to face Ulster on January 3.
Van Graan can only use his internationals in one of those three fixtures and Stander understands the thinking behind the IRFU’s player welfare protocols.
“You need a rest when you get it, we’ve got a big group, a great group with a great vibe in the group,” he said.
Everyone wants to play, everyone is excited, and everyone wants to play and do well.
“Everyone will get a chance in the next few weeks for sure over Christmas, we’re going to have to use it to make sure in the PRO14 we keep our standing where we are.”
