Munster show their strength and depth in comfortable victory against Dragons
STRENGTH AND DEPTH: Munster's Tom Ahern scores his teams fourth try. Pic Credit ©INPHO/Ben Brady
Graham Rowntree will welcome back his senior Ireland players to the Munster fold on Monday morning as their reintegration to BKT URC rugby begins following World Cup heartbreak.
Yet while in times past the likes of Tadhg Beirne, Conor Murray and captain Peter O’Mahony might have been rushed straight back into preparations for this Friday’s trip to interprovincial rivals Ulster in Belfast, the head coach finds himself in the luxurious position of giving his senior personnel all the time they need to readjust from the emotional and physical toll taken by their quarter-final defeat to New Zealand.
That 28-24 Stade de France loss to the All Blacks three weeks ago was a visibly crushing blow for all involved in Ireland’s World Cup campaign and Rowntree recognises it will need time for those wounds to heal. It also helps that last season’s URC champions have a wider squad capable, on current evidence, of more than managing without their A-listers.
Bigger challengers than the one provided by a seriously understrength Dragons side in Cork on Saturday night will demand the experience and Test-level smarts of O’Mahony and company in the weeks to come but the way a Munster side featuring seven academy players negotiated this third game of the campaign with relative ease suggests there is no need yet to look over the hill for signs of the cavalry.
Munster cruised to this win by seven tries to two on Saturday night to extend an unbeaten start to their URC title defence, with 21-year-old fly-half Tony Butler taking the reins in his first senior start and second first-team appearance, 19-year-old back-row replacement Brian Gleeson claiming his first senior try and full-back Ben O’Connor, also 19, making his debut off the bench.
A try in each half from Calvin Nash, who would leave the field injured in the one negative from the night, and one apiece from Rory Scannell, Gavin Coombes, Tom Ahern, Craig Casey as well as Gleeson handed the champions a second home win of the new campaign on their seasonal debut at Musgrave Park to rebound from the previous Sunday’s 13-13 draw against Italian side Benetton in Treviso.
There was much for the 8,171 crowd to be pleased with for while scrum-half Casey’s second-half try marked the first reappearance of that World Cup contingent, it was the growing depth in Rowntree’s squad that impressed most.
The head coach has fielded 10 academy players across the opening three games, powerhouse lock Edwin Edogbo having started them all. Butler’s chance came as a result of the wrist injury to Joey Carbery, which will require surgery this week and sideline the unfortunate 28-year-old for “a few months”, according to Rowntree.
Carbery’s injury also saw Munster ask for and receive dispensation from the IRFU to bring Ireland’s Jack Crowley back as a replacement, just as they had done to rush back scrum-half Casey earlier in the week and listening to the head coach after the game, it is clear only injuries will bring temptation to call on the other returnees.
“We’ll see the lads Monday, Mur, Pete, Tadhg,” Rowntree confirmed. “Dave (Kilcoyne) and Jeremy (Loughman) have been in doing a bit of fitness, and Jeremy warmed up with us tonight. So we’ll see how those guys present on Monday morning.
“I’m not going to rush them back. I’ll pick them when it’s right to, for the team and for them because what they’ve been through, having been there myself, it’s a tough experience emotionally and physically.
“So I’ll pick them when it’s the right time, similarly with the South African lads (locks RG Snyman and Jean Kleyn), they’re a week into their celebrations and they’ll be available for us again November 20, that week. Soon enough.”
Rowntree is not expecting to call on his Ireland stars for this Friday’s first interpro of the URC campaign at Kingspan Stadium.
“I’d say the early signs are no. I want to see how they present and train rather than trying to force them into a big game for us on Friday night when we’ve got a well-oiled group of lads here who have been doing it as a group for a long time.”
You can see his point. Rowntree will not get too overexcited by this result, against a Dragons side missing seven internationals on Wales duty against the Barbarians on the same day and another 13 to injury.
Yet the impacts made by that core of academy players, also including loosehead Kieran Ryan and replacements, back rower Ruadhan Quinn and prop Mark Donnelly, from the young senior professionals such as second row Ahern, back row Alex Kendellen and replacement hooker Scott Buckley was difficult to ignore.
So too the impression made by summer signings in midfield Alex Nankivell and Sean O’Brien, who made his first Munster start out of position.
“And John Ryan as well!” Rowntree added. “His third comeback for the club. It’s good to see him out there, playing a good amount of game time as well.
“Sean, on the wing, he wasn’t expecting to be starting on the wing 10 days ago. I was pleased with him.
“Alex has been very good. We did our research on Alex, watched him for a long time. He’s actually giving to the group, giving to the young men as well. It’s not all about what he’s doing in his own position, he’s really good off the field as well, with the lads. So very pleased.”
S Daly (B O’Connor, 63); S O’Brien, A Nankivell, R Scannell, C Nash; T Butler (J Crowley, 66), C Casey (B Gleeson, 55); K Ryan (M Donnelly, 70), D Barron (S Buckley, 63), J Ryan (S Archer, 70); E Edogbo (P Patterson, 55), T Ahern; J O’Donoghue – captain (R Quinn, 68), A Kendellen, G Coombes.
A O’Brien (D Blacker, 2); C Baldwin (E Rosser, 55), S Hughes - captain, J Dixon (A Owen, 66), A Hewitt (C Baldwin, 70); W Reed, R Williams; R Jones (A Seiuli, 65), B Roberts (B Coghlan, 65), L Yendle (N Evans, 64, L Yendle 77); J Davies, G Nott (B Langton-Cryer, 64); R Woodman, J Benjamin (G Young, 72), Taine Basham.
Sam Grove-White (Scotland).
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
