Munster can take flight against Ospreys
RUGBY Pages 54-55
This game is a glorious opportunity for the province
HE MAY have been decidedly cranky last weekend but Munster coach Johann van Graan could have been excused a whoop of joy when he saw the Ospreys team for tonight’s Pro14 clash at Musgrave Park.
With impressive home wins over Edinburgh and the Cheetahs, the Welsh outfit have made a roaring start to the season but rather than actively seeking to build on that momentum, head coach Allen Clarke (below) has made 12 changes for the trip to Cork.
All the big hitters are gone — including four Welsh Lions in George North, Alun-Wyn Jones, Dan Lydiate and Justin Tipuric — and, while there is still talent in the Ospreys ranks, they are nowhere near what they could have been had they travelled fully loaded.
Of course, careful control of resources is a policy that has worked well in Irish rugby for many years but the Welsh do not operate under the same player management scheme and Clarke’s decision is strange because Munster were vulnerable on the back of last week’s comprehensive defeat in Glasgow.
‘It’s been a great start to the campaign with two home wins.
‘Munster away presents a different challenge. Squad management is important but so is player opportunity, this is an opportunity to be tested against a quality team,’ said Clarke yesterday, as the gripes of Ospreys supporters began to swell in his ears.
Those fans believe that a full-strength Ospreys side was well capable of earning a valuable away win to continue a hugely encouraging start to the campaign, having not made the knockout stages last season.
Furthermore, the message sent out by Clarke to his squad (‘We don’t think you can win in Munster so you can have this week off’) is not one likely to inspire confidence or improve morale among players who you’d imagine would have relished a crack at the Irish province. Either way, it’s great news for Van Graan as he seeks to put a difficult week behind him where the focus was on Munster’s deficiencies in Glasgow along with their various issues with officialdom. And, while Clarke has omitted his frontline crew, Van Graan has the timely boost of the return of a clutch of his main men, led by captain Peter O’Mahony, who forms a well-balanced backrow with the South African duo of openside scavenger Chris Cloete and abrasive No8 Arno Botha. You can imagine O’Mahony looking on with gritted teeth as the Munster pack was bullied about in Scotstoun last week and, though they flexed their muscles more in the second half, the Corkman will demand, and ensure, extra edge from the start tonight.
Tadhg Beirne makes a welcome start in the second row, while Stephen Archer is rewarded for his strong scrummaging last weekend, getting the nod ahead of John Ryan.
Andrew Conway is also back on the wing and, as one of Munster’s most consistent performers over the past few seasons who has suffered his share of injury problems, he will be desperate to get his hand up for the November internationals.
Keep an eye also on James Cronin, another highly-talented player who has come through injury problems and has dropped down the loosehead prop pecking order. On the Musgrave Park pitch where he first sprang to prominence with Dolphin in the All-Ireland League, Cronin is now primed to produce a big performance.
However, the main focus will, predictably, fall on Joey Carbery getting his first start in the No10 shirt.
Having done well off the bench in the opening two games, this is Carbery’s chance to show what all the fuss has been about and justify his decision to leave Leinster.
That requires more than the flashes of footballing brilliance everyone knows the out-half is capable of, it calls for the type of decision-making and game direction that defined the career of his illustrious predecessor Ronan O’Gara, to the point where he was inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame a couple of days ago.
And if Carbery needs to make a statement, so does Van Graan — a declaration of focused forward intensity and backline brio that sends out a warning to Europe about Munster’s trophy inten- tions. That starts with the basics and Van Graan has rightly targeted a marked improvement at the set-piece, which he says will ensure ‘a different flow to the game’.
Having conceded 22 unanswered points in a nightmare first half in Glasgow, expect a much tighter defence and a Carbery-inspired ability to convert possession into scores — which they failed to do in the second half last week.
The new depth in this Munster squad is evident in a bench containing John Ryan, Jean Kleyn, Tommy O’Donnell, Jaco Taute and Ian Keatley, who gets his chance on the back of JJ Hanrahan’s struggles in Scotstoun.
The World Cup backdrop has added extra spice to what is an increasingly competitive league and there will be plenty of players mindful of the watching eyes of Ireland management.
Put it all together and, ahead of a tricky trip to Cardiff next week, this is a glorious opportunity for the province to get things back on track in front of a packed Cork attendance starved of meaningful Munster action.
A thank you text to Allen Clarke would not go amiss.