Munster must find performance ceiling in Croke Park cauldron
RIVALRY RENEWED: Hugo Keenan of Leinster is tackled by Craig Casey of Munster. Pic: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile
No better time or place for a temperature check on Leinster-Munster relations than a sold-out Croke Park as the URC campaign moves up a gear in Dublin on Saturday evening.
In the 15 years since these two rivals last met at GAA HQ, in front of 82,000-plus supporters for a Heineken Cup semi-final that marked the most significant momentum shift in Irish rugby from red to blue, there has been little sign of parity, never mind a swing back to Munster’s pre-eminence before that day in 2009.
Yet Graham Rowntree’s side, their palettes cleansed by a 23-0 victory over Ospreys after the bitter taste of a horrible defeat at Zebre Parma, will travel to the capital’s northside with a body of work that suggests they can be a match for anyone, anywhere, if they play to their collective capabilities.
That they won the URC title in 2023 having dispatched Leinster in the semi-final at Aviva Stadium was a meaningful development in the balance of power between them.
It showed Leo Cullen and his boys in blue they could longer afford to take their southern neighbours lightly while for the Reds, though they narrowly lost both league meetings last season, it restored belief that for all Leinster’s dominance of national squads and their greater consistency across a season, Munster can operate on a similar plane when it matters most.
Four weeks into the new season may be far from the business end of the campaign but if Munster can reach the levels required at Croke Park, against a team which has started 2024-25 with three bonus-point victories from three, then it would send a powerful message to their rivals that the title race will not be the expected procession.
Yet playing to their capabilities is the absolute necessity for Rowntree’s team at Croke Park and Munster’s focus will have to be razor-sharp in the hottest of atmospheres.
Individual battles will need to be won, not least at fly-half where Ireland number 10 Jack Crowley faces off against Ciaran Frawley, his chief rival for a Test starting place.
However, with the clock ticking towards Ireland v New Zealand on November 8, Crowley this week outlined why this match should not be about personal rivalries.
“It's a competitive edge because it's Munster v Leinster. It's in Croke Park and everything to do with that.
“But no... Of course, everybody that's playing 10 in Ireland wants to be in the 10 jersey and everybody that's a young fella growing up wants to be in the 10 jersey. So it's the jersey that creates the competition, but ultimately you can't get lost in that.
“I'm trying to focus on what I'm doing for the team here and doing for myself to be able to perform as well. So no, it's Munster v Leinster.”
While Leinster wing James Lowe on Monday described a “mutual hate” between the two squads, Rowntree characterised the dynamic from Munster’s end as respectful.
“I go in with respect, utmost respect for them, the way they play, the way they dismantled Treviso last week.
“I've respect for the caps that that squad have accrued, they're always a handful. You've got to be properly on your game to stand a chance against them.
“Last November, we were really disappointed because we put a really good account of ourselves on the field and still couldn't beat them. There's a lot of things that have got to go your way to beat these.”
The Munster head coach makes four changes and a positional switch from the team which blanked Ospreys having shipped 11 tries in its first two games, replacing the injured Oli Jager at tighthead prop with Stephen Archer and moving Jack O’Donoghue to cover the absence of Peter O’Mahony at blindside flanker while restoring Gavin Coombes at No.8.
He also welcomes back centre Alex Nankivell from a shoulder injury and Sean O’Brien to the left wing on his return from Emerging Ireland duty.
Leinster, meanwhile, will be without injured wrecking ball lock Joe McCarthy, but have James Ryan to partner former Munster man RG Snyman in the second row.
There are two further enforced changes from the side which dispatched Benetton 35-5 in Italy, at hooker and on the right wing, with Lee Barron replacing Ronan Kelleher and Liam Turner taking over the number 14 jersey from Jimmy O’Brien.
Both sides have switched to benches of five forwards and three backs from the previous weekend’s 6:2 splits, Munster handing a potential first involvement of the season for dynamic lock/flanker Tom Ahern following an ankle injury.
H Keenan; L Turner, G Ringrose, J Osborne, J Lowe; C Frawley, J Gibson-Park; A Porter, L Barron, T Furlong; RG Snyman, James Ryan; J Conan, J van der Flier, C Doris – captain.
G McCarthy, C Healy, T Clarkson, R Baird, M Deegan, L McGrath, R Byrne, H Byrne.
M Haley; C Nash, T Farrell, A Nankivell, S O’Brien; J Crowley, C Casey; J Loughman, N Scannell, S Archer; J Kleyn, T Beirne - captain; J O’Donoghue, J Hodnett, G Coombes.
D Barron, K Ryan, J Ryan, T Ahern, R Quinn, C Murray, T Butler, S McCarthy.
Chris Busby (IRFU).
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
