Ulster v Munster Talking Points: Munster face a long road back
United Rugby Championship Quarter-Final, Kingspan Stadium, Belfast 3/6/2022. Ulster vs Munster. Munster’s’s Keith Earls scores a try despite John Cooney of Ulster. ©INPHO/James Crombie
It began in Parma on a cold Sunday afternoon in November 2017 and it ended in June sunshine in Belfast. Johann van Graan just had an overseeing role in Parma that day four and a half years ago as Jerry Flannery and Felix Jones were temporarily in charge after the departure of Rassie Erasmus. Flannery subsequently departed to help guide Harlequins to the Premiership title, Jones followed Erasmus and won the World Cup. The following week van Graan took charge for the first of 122 games in charge of Munster and he now departs the fourth head coach in a row not to win silverware.
He started with a 36-10 win over Ospreys in Musgrave Park and with 83 victories, three draws and 36 losses, van Graan heads to Bath with a 68% win record. Only Declan Kidney has been in charge of more games for Munster. But of course he delivered the Heineken Cup twice and a league crown.
Now the mantle will fall to Graham Rowntree to try and end the famine which has gone on since Tony McGahan led them to the 2011 league title.
Only one player started van Graan’s first game in charge and his last as Munster head coach. Appropriate then that Jean Kleyn should crown that with a try in this one. He was partnered that December evening in 2017 against Ospreys by Billy Holland.
Stephen Archer was the only other player involved in both games, coming off the bench for the final six minutes that evening against Ospreys. Most of that team are no longer with Munster with Darren Sweetnam, Sammy Arnold, Alex Wootton, Ian Keatley, James Hart, Rhys Marshall, Holland and Robin Copeland having all moved on, while John Ryan and Chris Cloete will leave this summer. Only Simon Zebo, Rory Scannell, Liam O’Connor, Kleyn and Jack O’Donoghue remain from that first 15 that van Graan selected.
The applause which accompanied John Cooney when he went off after 58 minutes shows how valued he is in Ulster and the former Leinster and Connacht scrum-half crowned his 100th appearance for Ulster with another superb display. He was relieved when Gavin Coombes’ 45th try was ruled out for a knock-on after Cooney’s clearance was charged down.
But it was a rare mistake from Cooney, who got Ulster off the mark when quick-thinking by James Hume and himself saw him saunter over unchallenged for the opening try when half of the Munster team were engaged in a bit of a scuffle. Cooney has filled the gap left by the departure of Ruan Pienaar and is keeping off the challenge of Nathan Doak for that starting nine slot with Ulster.
This defeat was Munster’s ninth in 14 knockout games in the league and Europe under van Graan’s watch. The task facing the incoming coaching team could not be laid more bare. The appalling basic mistakes which littered this performance in Belfast should set the bottom line from which to build. Misplaced passes, crooked lineout throws, constant knock-ons and missed tackles were truly shocking. In a way Munster are lucky they were not beaten by much more.
Ulster have endured the longest period of any of the Irish provinces without silverware. It’s now 16 years since they won the league. This was their 11th knockout game under Dan McFarland and only their fifth win in those. They now face a trip to either the Stormers or Edinburgh in the semi-finals but if James Hume can set the bar for the level of performance required, they can have a right crack at it. Munster fans must be wondering if they will ever see their backline running the ball like that. It was as if Ulster were playing a different game at times.
Keith Earls is the only one in the current Munster dressing room who knows what a Heineken Champions Cup medal looks like. Even in a dismal team display the 34-year old was able to produce a couple of magic moments to make it 64 tries in 193 appearances for Munster. The manner in which he acrobatically dived over for his first try after 53 minutes harked back to a day when Munster made things happen.
Munster fans will hope Graham Rowntree can lead that revival but it could be a long road back.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
