Goggin not too worried about Munster try drought

For all the positive reviews of Munster’s adventurous attacking innovations under new senior coach Stephen Larkham, the lack of tries in December has underlined the reality that the province’s brave new world remains very much a work in progress.

Three tries in five games, all scored by forwards, does not reflect the scoring opportunities created and was an understandable source of frustration for head coach Johann van Graan last Saturday night after watching his side draw a blank in the 13-6 defeat by Leinster at Thomond Park.

Yet there are mitigating factors, not least the attritional nature of not just the interprovincial derby clashes over Christmas but the fact there were also back-to-back European pool tussles with Saracens in less than encouraging conditions.

Munster back Dan Goggin is certainly not perturbed by the paucity of tries. The centre whose task on the wing last Saturday was as much about containing Leinster flyer James Lowe as it was crossing the whitewash himself, believes the tries will come but derby games are not necessarily the place to find them.

“I don’t think there is too much concern here because I know, we all know, the ability we have to score tries,” Goggin said. “We do remember that they’re derby games at the end of the day and it’s not easy to score in these games, they’re usually very tight.

We review everything and look to pick out where we went wrong. The only thing we can do then is try to do better week on week going into the next game and previewing where we can beat the opposition.

“So I think it will come. We are getting there. It’s just derby games aren’t easy.”

Goggin, named on the bench for tonight’s clash at Ulster, made the further point that last weekend’s interpro also happened to bring his side face to face with the Guinness PRO14 defending champions and one of the form teams in Europe right now, unbeaten in 13 games this season across the two competitions.

He shared the frustration that Munster have left more than a couple of tries behind them in recent games but with the proviso that they have been stymied by quality opposition.

“You could say that, yeah, but I do think that, especially last weekend with Leinster’s defence and the conditions we were up against in the first half, it’s not an easy task."

Leinster are quite clearly on top of both competitions at the moment without losing a game this year:

“They’re so clinical in everything they do and they don’t give away penalties at all. So it’s a hard task to try and get in behind them.

“I felt like we did really well in the second half, a few calls that could have gone our way. That’s just the way the game is.”

Munster can expect more of the same in Belfast tonight when they visit an in-form Ulster side whose only defeat in their last seven games was, ironically, in an interpro try-fest at Leinster on December 21.

Tries have not been a problem for Dan McFarland’s side in these derby games, having scored six of the 14 racked up in that 54-42 defeat at the RDS before outgunning Connacht by five to zero in a 35-3 win last weekend.

They may be on the other side of the competition in Conference A, and trailing runaway leaders Leinster by 11 points but Munster travel in need of league points in the much more competitive Conference B.

With 30 points from nine rounds, they have accumulated one less than Ulster and sit atop their table separated by only seven points from sixth-placed Benetton.

“Yeah, only seven points between the six teams in our conference,” Goggin said. “Everyone’s losing games, everyone’s winning big games and it’s incredibly tight on our side.

“It’s hard not to notice the other conference as well and watching Leinster try to push away in that. So you try and keep a focus on that and those games and teams on that side.

“The only thing we can do is preview the games, review the games we played and try to do better week on week.”