O’Connor calls on big guns as Reds look to silence Tigers’ roar
All eyes on ref Raynal and the breakdown battle as Toomua and Tuilagi add class to Leicester midfield
ALL week, Munster’s players have been repeating the fact that Leicester Tigers have never lost both games in a European back-to-back encounter.
Given the two-time champions were the ones who ended the Irish province’s long unbeaten spell at Thomond Park, Munster would take great pleasure in breaking their Tigers’ streak at Welford Road tomorrow. If they do, the quarterfinals are within reach.
Lose and Pool 4 will be wide open. Indeed, if Racing turn the tables on Castres in Paris and Leicester win this one, then there will be very little between the teams with two games remaining.
You sense that Munster will need to win one of their upcoming two away games and this would appear as good a shot as any.
Leicester may have strengthened since last week, but they are a familiar foe and far from an unbeatable one.
Having heaped pressure on referee Mathieu Raynal all week, Tigers coach Matt O’Connor made two significant changes to his team in recalling Wallaby Matt Toomua and England star Manu Tuilagi to his midfield.
INJURY
Both players are coming back from injury, but on paper it is as strong a centre partnership as there is in the competition.
Munster, meanwhile, have been forced into two changes of their own with Darren Sweetnam and Kevin O’Byrne coming in for concussion victims Andrew Conway and Rhys Marshall.
Intriguingly, Keith Earls and Niall Scannell are back on the bench after their recent injuries.
As soon as Raynal blows the starting whistle, all eyes will be on the first ruck.
The French official will be fully aware of how Tigers coach O’Connor has been castigating his compatriot Jerome Garces’s officiating at the breakdown at Thomond Park during last week’s 33-10 loss.
However, Munster are not intending to change much tomorrow evening.
“I thought our breakdown work was good, to be honest,” Conor Murray said yesterday at an event to promote Munster sponsors Pinergy in Dublin.
“It was a joy to play on the front foot like that, I think when you go away, in Europe, your discipline is top of the list of things to get right.
“If you’re indisciplined early in the game, give a team like that points, and get their fans into the game, it’s difficult.
“You have to be accurate, squeaky clean, because you’ll get away with less.
“It’s been highlighted, I’m sure we’ve sent in a few notes – that’s the way the game is.
“The breakdown is often the winning of the game, you can have your lineouts, your fancy back moves, but speaking about the two clubs, how much they relish the physical challenge, the breakdown was always going to be a massive fact. They were good, but we were clinical there. Chris Cloete was great for us, Pete (O’Mahony), Jean Kleyn, these massive lads did damage, it’s great to see.
“As a back it’s nice to have them doing so well, we probably look a lot better because of it.”
After under-performing to such a degree last week, it’s hard to see Leicester being as poor again – particularly in the physical stakes and on home soil.
LAPSES
When reviewing the footage, Munster have spotted defensive lapses that they are keen to shore up because the Tigers are unlikely to be as charitable this time around.
After eight days nursing bruised egos, the English Premiership side will be determined to right some wrongs and the collision zone will be hectic.
If Johann van Graan’s men can get on Raynal’s good side and dominate the contact, then they’ll be half-way there but they will need to be even better defensively given the much greater threat now lurking in the Leicester midfield.
A year ago, Munster couldn’t back their round-three win over the Tigers up when they went to Welford Road and the challenge 12 months on is just as great.
Victory would put them firmly in control of the pool, but it is hard to see the home side being as meek two weeks in a row.
The Irish province may just have to be content with a losing bonus point.