DEFENSIVE heroics, brilliant box-kicking and a fine physical performance proved not enough as Munster fell to a 13-10 defeat to rivals Leinster on Saturday evening.
JJ Hanrahan will take the blame for missing two kickable attempts on goal, but Munster’s uncharacteristically shaky lineout made life a whole lot more difficult than it ever needed to be at Thomond Park.
Munster had been building nicely this season. An outstanding set-piece platform and an array of talented individuals helped the province to ten wins in eleven encounters.
The loss comes as a set-back but not a result to destabilize the season. Leinster are the standard bearers of the Pro14 and Munster will take some comfort in knowing how much the gap has closed since the last couple of times the two sides have met.
Though much criticism will understandably be directed at Munster’s lack of invention, the gameplan was essentially one that had all the ingredients to beat the champions.
Munster’s 28 kicks included some box-kicks that caused all sorts of trouble in the Leinster backfield with Conor Murray enjoying his greatest game in many months. In addition to Murray’s pin-point punts were magnificent touch finders from both Shane Daly and the excellent Mike Haley.
Against Clermont Auvergne in December, making the most out of such good territory was key. On that occasion the lineout functioned perfectly.
Secure lineout possession offered the opportunity for Munster to unleash their dangerous maul drive and it ultimately made the difference in pulling off the famous comeback win.
In the biggest fixture since then, Munster, despite getting so much right, could not reproduce that kind of set-piece accuracy.
Needless to say, up against Leinster, they paid the price for it too.
KICKING CLASS
In what was a cagey but fascinating affair, we saw Munster kick 28 times and Leinster put boot to ball a total of 33 times. Munster certainly came out on top in this particular battle, however.
Leinster’s back-three were regularly out-jumped to the high ball while probing kicks in behind Jordan Larmour and Jimmy O’Brien also reaped rewards for Munster. One of the stars of the night was Conor Murray and the 31 year-old saw as many as five box-kicks grant his side possession well down-field.
Murray has come under-fire in recent seasons. The Limerick man earned a place in the World Rugby Team of the Decade for his perfect kicking game, darting snipes and crisp passing but all three aspects seemed on the wane at late. Saturday night saw Murray back close to his best.
The two-time Lions tourist ensured significant aerial dominance for Munster just minutes into the game and Munster continued to get great joy from the tactic throughout. Shane Daly, Keith Earls and the Munster forwards competed valiantly for the eighty minutes to disrupt the Leinster oncoming catchers. Time and time again Munster enjoyed the territorial advantage and showed that although their game may be expanding, the core fundamentals of previous years still have an important place on the big occasions.
Mike Haley was a man who perhaps put in his finest Munster performance to date on Saturday evening with a top-tier display of kicking and catching from fullback. On two occasions Haley found sensational field position by directing his kicks into the corners and winger Shane Daly also got in on the act. JJ Hanrahan’s occasional cross-field kick-passes sprinkled even more flavour into Munster’s kicking game that left Leinster compromised and uncomfortable for periods of the game.
LINEOUT WOE
12 minutes into the game and Munster scored their one and only try of the night. Tadhg Beirne crashed over right under the sticks, Hanrahan converted and Munster took a 10-0 lead. What kick-started that phase of play? A successful Munster lineout inside the Leinster 22.
Munster have been ruthless whenever they have gotten a sniff of the opposition line this season. Munster’s lineout-maul has been instrumental in scoring an average of three tries a game this campaign and hooker Kevin O’Byrne scored four of them in nine appearances.
Unfortunately in the 29 year old’s absence on Saturday, Munster’s set-piece fell to pieces.
In what was a shock selection, O’Byrne was omitted entirely from the Munster 23 as Johann Van Graan instead opted to start Rhys Marshall at hooker with Niall Scannell taking a seat on the bench.
Although Marshall is a busy operator around the park and usually reliable at set-piece time, O’Byrne has been arguably one of Munster’s top performers this season and his soft handling skills around the park and excellent throwing surely earned him a start on the big stage.
The selection call proved a fatal one as Munster blundered five lineouts. It’s the kind of malfunction that would cost any team in any match but especially when lineouts are paramount to your attacking strategy. Munster had Leinster where they wanted them in many senses but these unforced errors left them off scot-free.
THE BEIRNE SUPREMACY
On the other side of the ball, Munster were largely brilliant. Leinster were defended very effectively in midfield and only created their best opportunities off the back of lineouts inside the Munster 22
Leinster knocked on the door repeatedly before half time. Johnny Sexton kicked for touch over and over and Leinster’s maul was halted emphatically by Munster on more than one occasion. As a result Leinster ploughed on towards goal with heavy carries from Cian Healy, James Ryan and Will Connors without making headway against the brutish resilience of the Munster defence.
Just like in the Connacht performance, Tadhg Beirne’s jackling performance was phenomenal and helped the Kildare man to another Man of the Match award. Beirne on two occasions dug in deep to win two vital turnovers while Munster were under immense pressure. His influence in Munster’s play is forever growing and he has easily been the standout player of the last month.
Munster have regrets from the fixture for sure, but the province’s excellent kicking from hand and dogged defence certainly makes them a team nobody will look forward to facing this season.
THE TAKE-AWAY
It goes without saying that had JJ Hanrahan converted his two attempts on goal Munster could have went away from Thomond Park feeling a whole lot better about life. Munster’s quality and potential is not swung by one result, however. One or two missed kicks does not suddenly mean Johann Van Graan and his coaches need to rip up the playbook.
Aiming to win trophies with an outhalf who has no international experience or track record of competing at the very top tier is always going to see Munster encounter stumbling blocks. This was one such match where Joey Carbery’s absence really hurt Munster but it is important to look at the fundamentals of the performance. It is important to identify the play that Munster can be pleased about, look to improve and work-on looking ahead to the future.
Aside from two individuals having performances that they would love to rectify, Munster did many things extremely well against the champions. Even with a misfiring outhalf and the worst lineout performance of the season, this Munster team still came within a score of defeating possibly the greatest team in Europe.
The forwards have been formidable, Conor Murray is returning to his old form and the young guns are only going to give Munster more firepower as the season progresses.
Make no mistake, this was a bump on the road. This team’s journey looks set to be a special one.
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