Munster and Prendergast's on their A game but Bleuler and Boyd say farewell
A GAME: Munster's Attack Coach Mike Prendergast will link up with Irelandd. Pic: ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne
Given the decision had already been made, Saturday night was hardly an audition for Mike Prendergast ahead of linking up with the Ireland camp. That said, after reports indicated Munster’s attack coach would lead Ireland A against England in Bristol next month, the timing of the province’s most impressive attacking performance of the season was nonetheless welcome.
In the first half of the 38-19 victory over the Dragons at Rodney Parade, Munster were both ruthless and stylish in equal measure. Forward runners dominated contact while showing off their handling. The backline purred with their running lines and offloading game. Both Shane Daly and Diarmuid Kilgallen came regularly in off their wing looking for carries. The latter in particular looks more and more of a shrewd signing with every game.
That a 31-0 lead at half-time, courtesy of scores from Kilgallen, Alex Kendellen, Ben O’Connor, Dian Bleuler and a penalty try, was barely built on after the break will be a source of frustration. Munster went with a 6-2 bench on the split, a move which could well have backfired against better opposition as four backs went off with injuries.
The end game saw a pair of backrows, John Hodnett - scorer of Munster’s only second half try - and Jack O’Donoghue play on the wing. Kilgallen was out of position at centre. His lack of experience there showed with Dragons breaking the line to add two late scores. “That will help him appreciate what a 13 has to do inside him,” said interim head coach Ian Costello. “He’s a young man with a really bright future and one of our most exciting signings.
“That’s the best 40 minutes of rugby we’ve played all season,” added Costello of that first half. “It’s been coming, there were elements of our game which really clicked in the first half, which was pleasing.
“The second half turned into a bit of carnage, really. Three HIAs, a couple of injuries, we really had to adapt and readjust. Luckily we had opened up a 30 point lead and we had the ability to do that. The second half was frustrating but I’ve never seen that many adjustments.”
On Prendergast, Costello expressed his delight at the prospect of him leading Ireland A. “The more players, coaches, staff that we can have operating with national teams, that’s what we’re all about,” he said.
“It’s not just about players progressing and us celebrating that, it’s great to see staff getting those opportunities to develop. It’s great for Mikey, and it’s great for the club what he’s going to bring back as well, it’ll be huge for Munster.”
Costello also confirmed that Bleuler, who added a number of scrum penalties to his try, has now played his last game for the club. “This was the conversation to get him to play this week,” said the Munster boss. “There was an agreement up till last week and to be fair to the Sharks, they were very accommodating with him staying one more week.
“The beauty of it is Josh Wycherley is back from injury, Mark Donnelly is back at the moment, and we have Kieran Ryan, an unsung hero to a certain degree. He’s an academy player, finishing in a dominant scrum [against the Dragons], he’s getting a lot of experience and he’s going to be really important in the next bloc.”
Chris Boyd also departs Munster having served as a performance consultant, though he will keep in touch with Costello as the province builds up to a decision on the head coach role. “He’s been a massive support to the coaching group, added a lot of experience, a lot of knowledge,” said Costello.
"He’s a great guy to work with. He goes home now and we’ll be in constant communication to see what the rest of the season looks like.”
Try: C Coleman, H Wilson, D Blacker Con: L Evans (1), W Reed (1).
: Try: Kilgallen, Kendellen, O’Connor, Penalty Try, Bleuler, Hodnett, Con: Burns (3), Butler (1).
: H Anderson; R Dyer, A Owen (c), H Ackerman (H Wilson, 37 HIA), J Rosser; L Evans (W Reed, 69), M Lloyd (D Blacker, HT); R Martinez (D Kelleher-Griffiths, 10), B Coghlan (J Benjamin, 51), C Coleman (P Latu, 62); J Davies, R Woodman (B Langton-Cryer, 46); S Lewis-Hughes, D Lydiate, T Basham (G Young, 5).
Yellow card: L Evans (20).
: B O’Connor; S Daly (P Patterson, 51 HIA), T Farrell (T Butler, 25), R Scannell, D Kilgallen; B Burns (B Gleeson, 57), E Coughlan (D Sheehan, 65 HIA); D Bleuler (K Ryan, 69) D Barron, O Jager (J Ryan, 43); F Wycherley (E O’Connell, 61), T Ahern; J O’Donoghue (c), A Kendellen (J Hodnett, 51), G Coombes.
: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)
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