The Champions Cup is fast losing its lustre. A tournament that was once pre-eminent in northern hemisphere rugby is now looking careworn and frayed around the edges as various accommodations have been made to vested English and French interests in recent years, to the overall detriment of the competition. It is a shell of what it once was, with little prospect of recovering that sheen.
On September 18th, 1998, I made my first start in Europe for Leinster against Llanelli, and my immediate opponent that day at Stradey Park was Welsh international wing Wayne Proctor, who had also represented his country in the 110-metre hurdles.
I wasn’t well versed with his pedigree as I rarely watched rugby on television or in person, pretty sure that I had sold my schoolboy ticket in favour of getting up to some mischief rather than attending Ireland’s 30-21 defeat to Wales at Lansdowne Road, a match in which Proctor featured.
I marked my European debut with a try, a hitch-kick and burst of acceleration leaving the Welsh speedster floundering. It’s with a great deal less vanity that I remember the rollicking I received from Leinster coach Mike Ruddock after the game. The source of his displeasure was a moment of reckless self-indulgence on my part.
In the final few minutes – we were leading 33-27 – as the ball trickled over our tryline I decided I would flick it up to myself with a boot and then touchdown for a 22-metre drop out. There was a major divergence between theory and execution to the point where, in desperation, I dived, juggled the ball and just about managed not to give away a try that might have cost us the victory.
All the adventure and positivity of the previous 75 minutes vanished in an instant. I cannot, to this day, explain what was going through my head. The suspicion is, nothing. The principle of fine margins was described to me in depth with the volume turned right up; unfortunately, it would not be the only lesson I required on that front over the next few seasons.
Leinster didn’t emerge from the pool in a season in which Ulster became Ireland’s first European champions, a wonderfully evocative and colourful journey even for those of us who watched from the outside.
The early days in Europe brought little cheer for us, something that the late Anthony Foley took great delight in poking fun at, when the Ireland squad congregated in late January to prepare for the Six Nations Championship. Sipping a cup of tea in the team room, he invariably offered a wry smile accompanied by the teasing inquiry, “Have you made it out of the pool this year, lads?”
In those days the European Cup had a colour, a flavour, an aura that fired the imagination and generated an excitement and adrenaline rush at the prospect of sharing a field with some of the best players in the world. Travel was fun, different. Media interest was huge, so too fan investment, in a format that best suited the tournament.
There was more interest in the pool stages as most teams had an honest crack initially in trying to progress to the knock-out stages. There was a pride to playing in Europe that seems to be missing for too many clubs in the current format.
There appears an imbalance, an unhealthy arrangement where clubs are happy to accept the financial benefit of being involved in Europe yet unwilling to uphold their part of the bargain, which is to be competitive.
There has always been the possibility that rugby would cannibalise itself as a viable professional spectacle, with too much focus on salaries and money and not enough on the number and quality of matches. It is an existential challenge for the sport at a time when there is a lot going on behind the scenes, which does not bode well for the future.
Two English Premiership clubs, Wasps and Worcester Warriors, offer a stark reminder that good governance is essential to the wellbeing of any business. Wales appear to have adopted the “nothing is wrong here” approach, believing that a new national coach in Warren Gatland can fix their issues rather than finding a lasting solution to the systemic failures and lack of competitive success in terms of the clubs in the URC and Europe in recent times.
Ireland and France offer two different templates that have proven to be both sustainable and successful across many levels in modern rugby. This Irish model is not without faults, such as the blatant underinvestment in the club game, but the union spends within its means.
The French have restructured their club game to prioritise the development of their young talent in clearing a pathway to play in the Top 14, while continuing to use private funds to inflate wage expectations.
What’s really disappointing about this season’s European fare is the number of teams that have all but checked out after just two rounds. There is a clear focus for some clubs on their domestic league, which is hugely disappointing in the new format.
Europe, once centre stage, is in danger of becoming a sideshow, at least as far as the pool stages are concerned. There will be much greater interest in upcoming domestic derby fixtures
It wasn’t as if everything was perfect back in my day, as some of the French clubs were very lukewarm about European commitments, but that attitude is currently more prevalent. The pool stages have now become a filtering process to reduce 24 clubs to 16 before anyone starts to throw a few shapes about making a run to the final.
As teams refocus on their domestic competitions, the European competition has been left swinging in the wind a little, beset by clubs who travel without hope in terms of the squads they select and the increasing incidence of one-sided contests.
Europe, once centre stage, is in danger of becoming a sideshow, at least as far as the pool stages are concerned. There will be much greater interest in upcoming domestic derby fixtures.
Munster’s URC clash with Leinster at Thomond Park on St Stephen’s Day is sold out, and there will be similar interest for Christmas Eve clashes between Racing 92 and Stade Français in the French Top 14′s Parisian derby and the tussle between Leicester Tigers and Gloucester in the English Premiership to highlight a few matches to illustrate the point.
Graham Rowntree’s Munster are continuing to make progress. It’s not their fault that the Northampton Saints were abject in defeat. It’s easier to be picky when you’re winning. Munster showed character to win, physical on both sides of the ball, particularly in defence in repelling Northampton’s basic and narrow frontal assault. There was certainly no subtlety.
Munster get to benchmark their recent progress against Leinster and then take a run to Belfast to play a battered and beleaguered Ulster. That game in Thomond Park is a fan’s dream, a brilliant atmosphere fostered, anointed for many with liquid courage.
As a player you accept that your Christmas is not like most people’s; it’s part of being a professional rugby player. I used to write off Christmas, travelling down to my folks late on the 24th after training and then hitting the road back to Dublin as early as socially acceptable.
In my head I never wanted to enjoy Christmas too much; I knew my preparation was different to that of others. Some of my team-mates could joke and laugh right up to the final moments, and then flick a switch. I needed to build the match in my head the day before, and Christmas Day wasn’t a great conduit to that type of approach.
It won’t be a sacrifice for players from any provinces; in this era it is simply what is needed to win. The challenges facing both teams in Limerick next Monday are different. Leinster will use their full resources over the coming weeks. Traditionally in this period they have been fantastic at blending and balancing the squad with ruthless effectiveness.
Munster will want to build on their win in England with another strong performance against Leinster. A win is probably too much to expect at this stage in their renaissance, as a large part of their game has not yet fully fired this season.
The set-piece foundations are strong, but their attack shape has still to click either from set-piece or broken play. There does not seem to be a link between what is happening up front, and what could happen in behind. Joey Carbery is symptomatic of their malaise. He isn’t doing anything poorly, but aside from his place kicking, he isn’t doing anything particularly well.
Rowntree and Mike Prendergast need to help him figure out what needs to change to tap into that next level of performance that we know from the past is there. This is not necessarily a match to continue the development of the Munster attack but instead an opportunity to delve into the emotional reserves, and force Leinster into a place they do not want to go.
It served Munster well in December 2018, a bad-tempered match that was less about who was better at rugby and more about who wanted the victory most. Shifting the playing field is important for Munster; if left to pure rugby acumen then it is unlikely the men in red will fare too well on that front.
Leinster’s mindset won’t be in question - it rarely has been; however, there is a rivalry that runs deep between these two sides. If Munster can use this match to unlock something in their own psyche, everyone will benefit from it.
Leo Cullen’s squad wants to be tested; winning matters more when you have worked for it. For the men in red, knowing they are going in the right direction - and again, regardless of the result, delivering a noteworthy performance - is paramount.
