Ronan O'Gara: Toulouse, like Liverpool, always seem to find a way

I frequently transport myself back 16 years and the walk from the dressing room in the Millennium Stadium to the pitch-side. And Paulie reiterating as he led us out: We’ve got to play, boys’.

Fri, 06 May, 2022 - 09:04

Ronan O’Gara

I hope sincerely Munster aren’t in the same space Sunday morning as I was after La Rochelle went under in Toulouse a week ago.

How much of these ties against champion teams are played in the head and how much is played from the heart? And do these factors dilute or enhance the importance of match strategy?

Forgive the repetition because I have written this before: Nonetheless, I frequently transport myself back sixteen years and the walk from the dressing room in the Millennium Stadium to the pitch-side ahead of Munster’s third Heineken Cup final, this time against Biarritz. And Paulie reiterating as he led us out: We’ve got to play, boys’.

There’s still so much in that. La Rochelle made too many unforced errors in Toulouse last Saturday as we went down by seven, 23-16. You insist those mistakes had very little to do with Toulouse but, simultaneously, had everything to do with Toulouse because they put you under pressure, mentally and physically.

Would those errors occur if it was a different set of jerseys facing us? The upshot is that you want your players to accumulate the important takeaways every time we play a top team, and Toulouse are probably the top team in Europe right now.

How long did it take us in Munster to get to the 2006 Heineken Cup final win? By that stage, we had hoovered up enough knowledge and suffering. Eventually, we had enough hurt. And that is the balance between strategy and heart. You need both. Pointless getting yourself to a pitch if you can’t deliver the quality minutes when it matters most.

Last Saturday night wasn’t a final, but it was a big game for us in Toulouse and there is no point skirting around that issue. But the beauty of it is if we improve, we get to see them again in the Top 14 play-offs. For Munster, Saturday’s game against Toulouse will define their season, but in France, the Bouclier is still the monster. The Champions Cup is the cherry on top.

Munster should have seen enough from our performance in Toulouse to give themselves a lot of optimism about getting beyond the champions in Dublin tomorrow. The flip side, of course, is that Toulouse remain a champion team. They have an admirable knack of winning tight matches. What they do better than any other team in Europe - a bit like Liverpool – is finding a way.

I wonder how much their poise can be de-stabilised by the Munster support at the Aviva on Saturday? The margins are fine enough for it to be a factor. Look at the game between the sides last year, four tries each and Munster had Toulouse on the ropes before eventually going under 40-33. Toulouse had the nous to survive, Munster didn’t have the knockout blow. In terms of a basic template, it is a good starting point for Munster. It’s not like they have to devise a complete new strategy, they ‘just’ need to be more consistent for longer. As in turning 30 minutes of proficiency, good decision-making and minimum errors into 50-55.

I AM supposed to call a winner and I will say Toulouse, but it is virtually impossible to predict with accuracy because there are many variables. The Munster fans will play a part, I’m just not sure to what extent. Munster have momentum now, which has not been the case heretofore this season. Don’t underestimate Joey Carbery’s ceiling either, which is higher than many still believe. The Toulouse perspective would see Carbery as a highly dangerous threat to their ambitions.

Players and coaches in France, and many people passing through the building here in La Rochelle, reference him. He’d be seen as the man to get Munster silverware. Of course, he has an horrific injury profile but if he strings three or four European knockout games together, there’s serious potential to be a gamechanger.

It's not like Toulouse come in as the runaway leaders in France. But they are building, and like any good side, they smell the money games and work themselves towards a peak for the business end of the season. This is their championship window. The pack is strong and athletic but they will be missing some options, I am told, in the backline with Mallia and Chocobares reportedly missing and winger Sofiane Guitoune a doubt. They are also missing the thrust of Cheslin Kolbe, who has gone to Toulon and provided those magical get-out-of-jail moments that every side craves in a dogfight.

Mike Prendergast will be able to take in the game, as Racing 92’s quarter-final against Sale is Sunday, and he will do so now with vested eyes. It’s a great piece of business for Munster to secure him as their new attack coach but ultimately, as we’ve intimated before, it comes down to a family decision for Prendy. He has accumulated a wealth of experience in the Top 14 and Pro D2 and has a creative body of work under his belt at this stage. He will be good on detail and creativity with the Munster players but as importantly, they will relate to him, not just for the fact that he is one of their own, but because his personality makes him easy and enjoyable to work with. Of course, he would love to sign off with a Champions Cup victory under his belt. If Racing beat Sale, and we beat Montpellier, we will rendezvous in the semi-final. That would be an interesting catch-up.

For many folk, the Leicester v Leinster quarter-final is the most intriguing of the weekend because it properly scrutinises just how far the Tigers resurrection under Steve Borthwick has come. Win or lose, all agree Leicester have reclaimed their place at rugby’s top table, dominating in the English domestic sphere, and reinvigorated in Europe. They put on impressive back-to-back displays against Clermont Auvergne in the Round of 16 and will provide Leo Cullen’s side with a serious European test.

It might be an easier quarter-final to call if it was in the Aviva, but with the history of Leicester in this competition, with the fact that their rugby is matched by the stomach for the battle, Leinster will have their work cut out. Borthwick has the Tigers building brilliantly and for all Leinster’s depth chart etc, they need to go to Welford Road and stay alive. The rankings in Europe still say that Toulouse are the No 1 side and unless or until such time as someone knocks them off their perch, they are the most prized scalp. But for anyone in that Leicester dressing room, the thought of taking down Leinster sends out an almighty statement to the rest of Europe.

Home advantage is huge in this series of four matches. For those of us with that advantage, it must be utilised to the fullest extent. La Rochelle lost at home to Montpellier in the Top 14 and though the opposition is the same, playing them in the Champions Cup is a very different proposition.

In some respects, we would have liked being straight back into Top 14 action this weekend to right the wrongs of the Toulouse game. We don’t return to domestic fare now until May 21 against Stade Francais. In between, there’s either a European semi or a weekend off.

But who wants a free weekend at this stage of the season?

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