You don't know how strong you are until strength is all you have left. After losing at the Stoop on Saturday, Leinster will have to dig deep tomorrow, but not as deep as Munster, whose loss to Clermont wrought considerably more damage to their chances of qualifying for the knock-out stages for the European Champions Cup.
Leinster at home will be fine but what I saw in Thomond Park concerns me. The opening from Clermont was very instructive in the methodology (and madness) of their game plan. Money may have finally taken over Europe’s premier competition, but I sense former Ireland-based players and coaches who are overseas now are doing equal damage.
Clermont's forward performance didn't surprise when you know Jono Gibbes is at the helm; ditto Conor O'Shea at The Stoop. O'Shea, unlike Gibbes learned the hard way, being hoodwinked by Munster. Thankfully, the Harelequins team of December 2014 is not where they were in losing to Munster in April 2013.
Clermont's opening blew Munster off the field. The first real engagement of the packs had Munster defending a lineout maul inside a minute; five metres from home. I remember back to Rhys Ruddock's score for Ireland against South Africa. It was an Irish lineout, which they won and the best secondrow operator Victor Matfield attacked the maul in the exact same way that David Foley attempted to halt Clermont.
Ball transfer
Paul O’Connell has been doing likewise for some time; stepping across the line targeting the ball transfer. O’Connell’s pod was in the middle, leaving Tommy O’Donnell at the tail with Foley inside him. Clermont hit the tail and had Matfield been where Foley was, the Clermont pod, like the Irish one, would have been spun out of control.
Julien Bonnaire caught with secondrow Sébastien Vahaamahina lifting and Fritz Lee ready to pounce. Munster knew what to do, had clearly practised it and Foley was ready. However, he was simply unable to make an impact.
Munster hooker Duncan Casey probed a hit but peeled away too quickly to find another target; Munster loosehead Dave Kilcoyne guided Bonnaire to the deck with the intention of bravely pulling him down on top of himself but instead desperately clung to the wing forward, who had long since offloaded to Lee. All the while Kilcoyne slid towards terra firma with Bonnaire as solid as ever.
Peter O’Mahony attempted to swivel Vahaamahina, Bonnaire’s lifter, but couldn’t budge him an inch; Vahaamahina circled back to the tail of the maul adding his considerable weight to the drive. Clearly there was a defensive strategy for such threats but Munster were individually incapable of imposing themselves in its implementation; this is of huge concern.
Two of the four secondrow jerseys were filled by internationals on their way up; but the physical difference between Vahaamahina and Foley of 17kg (nearly 3 stone) told immensely at the tail. Not one Munster forward could impact, nor the unit in totality, and this physical difference must be bridged on Sunday.
No amount of supplements will help, so whatever strength Munster have is all they have; so it’s what’s in their hearts that counts, allied to unity of effort. Munster simply don’t have the resources of their opposition and this is no fault of the Munster management. On Sunday it’s crucial they maximise the unit to cover the individual.
Waiting arms
The subsequent Munster kick off tennis from Lee’s opening try resulted in Clermont outhalf Camille Lopez garryowening from inside his 22 into the waiting arms of Conor Murray. Lopez followed up, with Murray pirouetting from his contact before Clermont tighthead Clément Ric absolutely smashed the Munster scrumhalf – turnover. Not many Irish tightheads smash like that. The subsequent crossfield kick landed in Simon Zebo’s patch but his opposite man, Noa Nakaitaci, beat him to it. A Munster scrum arrived from Zebo’s tireless endeavour at the breakdown, but worryingly it led to Clermont’s first scrum penalty. The clock stood 4 minutes 47 seconds.
For all of Leinster’s ability, they too lacked the physicality that Munster couldn’t muster at home. But for Leinster, the malaise goes deeper. Harlequins are no Clermont and in fact Leinster of yore would have put 40 points on Quins.
But rugby is played on the day and Leinster were most disappointing in their application. They lacked accuracy and invention, leaving Rob Kearney at fullback to counterattack with the ball tucked under his arm and no system supporting him.
Zane Kirchner, one of rugby union’s fastest men, did likewise, suffering the ignominy of being tackled by 36-year-old number eight Nick Easter. In fact, Easter was the key difference: full of football, stepping up to the plate and leading his team-mates. He pulled the strings and provided the fulcrum around which Leinster struggled.
Quins’ most impressive character trait was their patience, epitomised by fullback Mike Brown who curtailed his natural instinct to counterattack, electing for long-range green grass. Twice he couldn’t resist; the first a reasonable effort and second he got turned over in his own half, but Leinster were incapable of punishing on both occasions.
Violent physicality
Like Munster, Leinster were unable to expose their opposition, but they do have the capability. The gap this week will not be the strength one Munster face but combating a huge lack of accuracy and systems that is hindering their ability.
The starting point, however, is a violent physicality that was absent, bar some individual efforts from their maul, and from Ruddock and Mike McCarthy in the opening 20 and Sean Cronin throughout.
Being shorn of key men, especially the talismanic Nick Evans, makes Harlequins very vulnerable. Power, pace and accuracy of systematic approach should reap huge rewards for Leinster. liamtoland@yahoo.com
