ENDGAME IN SIGHT WITH MUCH TO PONDER
THAT halt-time speech by Tony D’Amato – the veteran coach played by Al Pacino in Oliver Stone’s NFL epic
Any Given Sunday - has been quoted to death, but its message still resonates with sports teams across the world.
‘The inches we need are everywhere around us,’ proclaims D’Amato as his players grow increasingly animated.
‘They are in every break of the game every minute, every second. On this team, we fight for that inch. On this team, we tear ourselves, and everyone around us to pieces for that inch.’
It’s a mantra that Ulster have adopted since Dan McFarland arrived through the doors of Kingspan Stadium in 2018. McFarland’s men embodied that attitude throughout their pulsating last-gasp victory over Edinburgh on Saturday night.
Ian Madigan stole the headlines, but there were heroes throughout the team who all played their part, winning those vital inches all over the pitch. Ulster’s reward is a Pro14 final meeting with Leinster, a team who have been winning all those little battles for a long, long time.
Munster, meanwhile, will spend the next month soul searching and recalibrating ahead of the new season in October. They have plenty to work on, but they might start with a simple question: what do we stand for? Taking a look at what Ulster have done in recent years might be a good place to start.
That is just one of the many fascinating sub-plots which unfolded across a fascinating weekend of Pro14 action…
LYTTLE AND LARGE COMBINE IN MURRAYFIELD
Not many people gave Ulster much of a chance in the days leading up to their last-four meeting with Edinburgh. When they went 19-7 down on the hour mark, even their most devout followers were having a crisis of faith.
Cue a final-quarter fightback of epic proportions, fuelled by brilliant cameos off the bench from Jack McGrath, Kieran Treadwell, Alby Mathewson, Mike Lowry and, of course, Madigan.
Stuart McCloskey and Marcell Coetzee – put in tireless shifts as well. Coetzee was quite simply a force of nature in Murrayfield while McCloskey showed that he is not just a bulldozing centre with some deft touches. It was a huge night for Ulster’s fleetfooted wing Rob Lyttle as well.
Leinster will be confident of securing a third successive title, but a win like this will galvanise this Ulster operation. Roll on next Saturday night.
CJ OFFERS SOLUTION TO MUNSTER WOES
Another season, another semi-final failure. Once again, Leinster derailed Munster’s charge to a Pro14 final with a ruthless 13-3 victory at the Aviva - for the third year in a row for good measure.
So, how can Munster get past their mental block and get to a final? CJ Stander offered a frank solution to Munster’s current ills.
‘Get to that top spot,’ said the No8 following Friday night’s defeat. ‘If you’re on top you don’t have to play the (quarter) final, that would be an easy one. It will be tough work to get there. Get a home semi-final, get back to our place and get the crowd behind us and there you go. ‘Easy as that.’ Stander has a point there. Munster have finished second in their Conference for the last three seasons, consigning them to a trip to
Dublin to take on Leinster in their backyard. Topping their Conference and getting a semifinal at Thomond Park will be a top priority.
BLUES BACKROWERS IMPRESS IRELAND BOSS
Andy Farrell was in attendance at the Aviva on Friday night and will have liked plenty about Leinster, particularly the performances of their backrow unit.
That Jack Conan is 28 and has just 17 caps to his name says everything about the injury and form issues which have plagued the talented No8.
Last year was arguably Conan’s most effective and he was primed for a big World Cup before he fractured his foot leading up to that ill-fated encounter with Japan - a game he was set to start. He’s now looking like a Test-standard forward again. Likewise, Caelan Doris who won his first cap in Conan’s absence on the opening weekend of the Six Nations against Scotland. An early head knock put Doris’ international ambitions on hold for the rest of the championship, but the 22-year-old should be nailed-on to start against Italy next month. Farrell will have been impressed with the blindside flanker’s physicality on both sides of the ball. One moment stood out and it occurred against Stander with. Doris getting his timing wrong as he took Luke McGrath’s pass high and static, but he still managed to power through Stander’s tackle to win some vital yards.
Farrell could well be tempted to make it an all-Leinster trio in the Irish backrow by selecting Will Connors as well. Josh van der Flier and Dan Leavy will have plenty to say about that in the coming weeks, but Connors offers that in-your-face aggression that Ireland sorely lacked last year.