RUGBY/MAGNERS LEAGUE:BY MOST normal standards, it would have been deemed a singularly competitive campaign. Despite being ravaged by injuries – five of their first-choice pack and a key back started less than half their games – they reached the semi-finals of both competitions only to lose both away from home. But this is Munster.
When they did enjoy a relatively settled spell of games they reached their peaks – Perpignan and Treviso in January, Northampton in the quarter-finals. What rankled though was the manner in which they lost to Leinster and Biarritz, especially the way the latter blitzed the Munster scrum.
It must have made for a lonely end-of-season and long summer for Tony McGahan. “I suppose any job has its pitfalls or its obstacles, whether you’re a top or middle club or one down near the bottom, but I was lucky enough to be here for a few years before I took over the coach’s head role so I knew the expectations from everyone involved – players, management, the branch, all the fans, not only in Munster but across the world. It doesn’t make it easy but you still enjoy it and that hasn’t changed.”
In response, McGahan has clearly identified a need to Munster-ise the coaching ticket while prioritising the scrum. Hence Paul McCarthy has been employed as a full-time scrum coach, to augment the re-signing of Wian du Preez and the purchase of Peter Borlase from Canterbury, as well as Anthony Foley’s promotion as defensive coach and the co-opting of Mick Galwey as part-time adviser.
“You’re looking to re-energise the squad, both the management and the squad, but most importantly it’s change to get better,” says McGahan. “Clubs that have been successful for a long time are looking to keep the identity; of what you are and where you’ve come from. To go forward you really need to recognise your history and all those three men have been great servants to Munster rugby, Mick and Anthony being past captains.”
McCarthy’s appointment is possibly the most revealing of all. “Without a doubt we were certainly well below any standard where we needed to be,” McGahan says in reference to their scrummaging problems, “and certainly well below Munster’s standards.”
Borlase arrives from Canterbury early in November, and his decision to move abroad at 25 is testimony to what McGahan describes as the prop’s desire for self-improvement, as well as providing a potentially valuable option to John Hayes and Tony Buckley when on Ireland duty.
As well as the versatile Johne Murphy, the arrival of the ex-Auckland Blues and All Black centre Sam Tuitupou, a solid, hard-running centre with good footwork is, as McGahan puts it, “a throwback to Rua Tipoki”.
Inevitably, of course, Irish commitments will limit the availability of the dogs of war and the rest of the Irish frontliners – perhaps to a maximum of 10 of the 22 League games given a tough Heineken Cup draw against the upwardly mobile trio of the Ospreys, London Irish and cash-rich Toulon will invariably take priority.
Even so, McGahan vows that Munster want to remain “competitive on both fronts” and so the onus will be on their younger fringe players and development/academy players (arguably a tad over-exposed last season) to come of age.
This must be Donncha Ryan’s time, and perhaps Ian Nagle, while McGahan has been particularly encouraged by the “excellent” form of 20-year-old backrower Peter O’Mahony in pre-season, as well as Felix Jones.
The latter, whom McGahan describes as “a tremendous young man”, used the lengthy enforced lay-off due his nasty neck injury last season to work on some aspects of his game, such as his kicking, and his superb pre-season “puts him in a great position to challenge for a starting spot”.
Another boon has been the return to form and fitness of Denis Leamy, though against that, in addition to Paul O’Connell (sidelined until at least November) Jerry Flannery, Lifeimi Mafi, Keith Earls and Barry Murphy are all carrying knocks into the start of the league, and the majority of the Test front-liners will miss the league opener at home to intriguing newcomers Aironi Rugby, a magnet for returning Azzurri veterans, particularly in the tight five.
“They’ve certainly made a strong statement of intent of what they want to achieve in the first year by bringing in experienced forwards. They’re a big, big side and they clearly see themselves as having a strong set-piece; they’ve made that intention clear. I know a few people there and they don’t feel under any pressure coming to Munster first up.”
McGahan has also targeted the set-pieces. Thus, he welcomes the changes in the tackle and kick-chase laws which ought to suit the kind of rugby he has being trying to implement, “but it’s very difficult to change styles or do anything if you don’t have any ball. You need a strong set-piece as a cornerstone to do anything.”
The big question, of course, is whether the older guard are, as some commentators maintain, past it. “Some of these guys have been at the top for a long time but their desire hasn’t changed. Their birth certificates and maybe their social status has changed with regard to marriage and children, but their desire for what they want to get out of the game certainly hasn’t.”
It should be interesting.
