Anthony Foley sees plaudits for what they are. Or what they can so easily become. The contrast in tone, demeanour and decency between the Munster head coach, of deep- welled Limerick rugby stock, and his Leinster counterpart, of highly-regarded Brumbies ingenuity, was nothing but stark late on Saturday night.
Foley in victory, as he has done in defeat, gave us the most telling insight into the need to promote indigenous men to the top posts on this island.
This coruscating October scalping of Leinster brings redemption for a hellish September of leaked emails on player attitudes followed by double defeats in the once impregnable Thomond Park.
But Axel sees the wood through the trees. Sees his own rugby landscape with soft eyes. He was “happy for the 45 players who came to Dublin” on Saturday and beat Leinster twice (the A team won 18-8 on Donnybrook’s brand new all-weather surface) and he was happy for his home- grown coaching ticket.
Comprehensive victory
“At times we are easy targets because we are local,” Foley ruminated. “People know us, they know what we are about, they know our wrinkles, they know our good sides as well. I’m delighted for everybody in the team.
“We are not by any means the finished article but we are looking to improve all the time.”
The Munster players so often labelled as unfinished articles shined brightest in what was essentially a comprehensive 34-23 victory.
Ian Keatley punished Jimmy Gopperth's second intercepted pass to race away for a try that was almost a replica of what Brian O'Driscoll did to Ronan O'Gara in the classic 2009 derby.
And Keatley kicked all but one of his goals. All the while Ian Madigan is ping-ponging from 12 to 15 while Paddy Jackson struggles for the consistency that is essential to become Jonathan Sexton's understudy as the world cup year looms.
“If Keats backs this up with a couple more performances going down the line we can talk about [Ireland selection],” said a protective Foley.
“Everything in international rugby is about consistency. You get judged on that whether you are a hooker, scrumhalf, outhalf. You need to build up the credits for that consistency.”
The new Munster way is a return to old values. It was suggested to Foley that his men got all their joy in the darker, narrower corridors – certainly for James Cronin’s try when he brushed past Mike Ross.
“At times we made some breaches and flooded in, why go away from that?”
The Canterbury way has joined the Battle of Midway in history then?
“It’s not about what I think Munster should be doing. You do what you are good at. You don’t try and reinvent yourself to something you are not good at. Now, at times we were very good at the wide, wide Canterbury-style game and we got to two European Cup semi-finals. And the knockouts of the Rabo.
“There is a lot to be said about that,” he adds with respect to predecessor Rob Penny before switching tack: “You can’t fault the enthusiasm of the players; their appetite for work out there was frightening at times.”
But Foley knows all about these victories and how quickly they can sour.
“September was September. We lost two games. The problem I had with September was we were being judged on two games that were televised and not the four games we played . . . We looked at a lot of players.
“We got two wins up in Dublin today that we will take and go home.”
And think again.
