MUNSTER rugby coach, Tony McGahan described watching 35 minutes of the Ospreys v Ulster match two weekends ago as “a waste of time”.
There’s no denying that last Sunday, in the hallowed grounds of Thomond Park and thus beamed to the many lucky homes that day or later that evening, people, punters and fans alike witnessed over 80 odd minutes of pure gold. Ospreys head coach Sean Holley described it as a “cup winning” and there isn’t too many out there that would disagree with him.
From one to 22, hands were put up for first team places like their lives depended on them. Of course they do, because borrowing that jersey and playing for Munster is something that means so much more than is quantifiable to the ordinary man on the street.
We know what it is like to follow the greats, we know what it is like to have a day to forget and days to remember, but for the players of the academy, the players on the development contracts and the players that linger around the fringes of the match day 22, they know what it’s like to be involved in a setup that is filled with desire, passion, pride and an exuberance to never “accept nothing less than perfection.”
Why would you when you are the best at it?
Last Sunday, many players showed they were the best and others showed that when leaders emerge from a passage of play, you do not stifle that fire-burning, chest thumping passion. You let them get on with it and guide them through while still taking their lead.
The players that showed true class last weekend were these very players.
O’Connell for his immense ball carrying skills, his mantra adopting passages of play to show that his Munster heart is firmly on sleeve, but his ability to see that players like Quinny, Hayes and Flannery were leading the charge full on. They were rousing the pack, they were rousing the crowd and still drawing from the unison heartbeat of the Munster 15.
Leaders like O’Gara and O’Connell could see that and would let them get on with it and only step in when a breather was needed.
O’Gara, for his part, could also see, and it was hard not to, that Paul Warwick was in the form of his life. A gifted out half himself, Warwick had a few jobs to do at 15 but still had world class on his side to slot a brace of drop goals on either side of the half and an opening try on 34 minutes. Pure class!
In the press conference that followed, the contrast of coaches and their respective players was all too apparent.
Ospreys boss, Sean Holley could only praise the “champions elect”, while Ryan Jones could only add that they were beaten in every facet of the game. Their press conference lasted four minutes. McGahan spoke for 12 and O’Gara, normally a little more reserved, sat comfortably and spoke for a further 10. A team at ease.
And so the date with destiny awaits in Dublin with the old foe. Champions elect, we’ll accept that just fine thanks very much.
Nothing less than perfection is too right ‘Paulie’.
