As dead rubbers go, this may tell us how much life is left in this Munster team. Munster's pride is on the line. So too, perhaps is the future of Anthony Foley as head coach. And if the stakes weren't high enough for what is, technically, a dead rubber, then the one-time legend Ronan O'Gara has upped the ante further. Nothing less than Munster's identity in Europe, and their sense of retaining Thomond Park as a fortress, is on the line at lunchtime today.
Writing in his column with the Irish Examiner yesterday, O'Gara said: "For the players: If enough isn't enough after last Saturday, the thing is doomed. I would be confident there has to be a backlash. I have to see anger this week. I have to. Otherwise what we know and love, what we have identified with, what Munster almost trademarked, is no more."
The first litmus test will be of Munster’s supporters. In truth, since Ian Keatley’s treatment at the home Leicester game, Munster’s support rallied for the Leinster game over Christmas. Admittedly, the TV-dictated kick-off time of 1pm could be better disposed for their geographically spread out supporter base, especially those coming on icy roads from Cork and further.
Scoreless
Either way, the level of support will hinge on how much intensity the home team bring to the occasion and thereafter maintain it. They actually had a foothold in the game a week ago when keeping Stade scoreless for the first half-hour in Paris; their problem being, again, an inability to get the scoreboard ticking themselves.
Missed kicks and botched chances, coupled with an inability to re-align defensively off turnovers, have cost them dearly. So too did the scrum carnage of a week ago, and with BJ Botha out for the season, Foley and co have turned to Mario Sagario to fill the void.
One imagines O’Gara has to be proved right, and Munster’s performance will display the kind of anger that must come with their own frustration.
But this has to be reflected on the scoreboard when opportunity knocks. Then, who knows how liberated they might feel by actually leading from the front for a change, or at least have something to defend, as was the case away to Ulster.
Alternatively, were they to fall behind the palpable lack of confidence in their ranks – manifest in missed tackles, panicky catch-up rugby and hangdog body language – could return to the surface again.
This is not like the facile rout of a second-string Sale side on the final weekend of the pool stages a week ago, when there was nothing tangible at stake for either side. Stade have everything to play for, and a win could even give them an outside chance of winning the pool.
Gonzalo Quesada has strengthened his starting side and, not for the first time in a Munster match this season, their opponents also appear to have more impact off the bench. Verdict: Stade to win
MUNSTER: S Zebo; K Earls, F Saili, R Scannell, R O'Mahony; I Keatley, C Murray; D Kilcoyne, M Sherry, M Sagario, D Foley, M Chisholm, B Holland, T O'Donnell, CJ Stander (capt).
Replacements: K O'Byrne, L O'Connor, J Ryan, D Ryan, R Copeland, J O'Donoghue, T O'Leary, L Amorosino.
STADE FRANÇAIS: H Bonneval; W Vuidarvuwalu, J Danty, P Williams, J Arias; M Steyn, J Dupuy; Z Taulafo, L Panis, R Slimani, P Gabrillagues, P Papé, S Macalou, J Ross, S Parisse (capt).
Replacements: Z Zhvania, H van der Merwe, P Alo Emile, H Pyle, S Nicolas, J Tomas, J Plisson, J Sinzelle.
Referee: JP Doyle (England).
