DAVID WALLACE
Van Graan’s hurt impressed me after loss
THE season has begun to heat up and there have been some fascinating results in the PRO14 already, with the likes of Benetton Rugby putting down a marker in Conference B. In Conference A, though, Munster suffered a tough defeat at Scotstoun last weekend. Johann van Graan’s side welcome Ospreys to the newly resurfaced Irish Independent Park this evening, and it’s a massive game. They will be striving to put right some of the errors of the 25-10 Round 2 defeat to Glasgow Warriors and put themselves back in contention. It was a disappointing result but Munster showed grit to come back in the second half. They outscored Glasgow there which is an important thing to take from the game but there are also some key work-ons. The previous week against Cheetahs wasn’t half as intense, and this was a big step up. There was still a bit of rustiness on show which will dissipate. A few uncharacteristic handling errors from Munster left Glasgow off the hook and the Scottish team also capitalised on some jittery defence. Glasgow were allowed to play at a high tempo on occasion which made it difficult for Munster to set the defensive line.
Easily
They were allowing them to play and off-load the ball too easily, rather than tackling the man and ball slowing down the attack. You have to do everything in your power to stop Glasgow’s flow like the French teams of old. You try and make them go to ground so they have to resource it. Munster lacked a bit of urgency in getting into position in the first half which can happen early in the season and this compounded matters. Glasgow, though, took their chances well. Stuart Hogg’s try was very difficult to defend, you just try and not let them get into those positions or their quality will hurt you. Munster could have done better in terms of snuffing out those chances but it’s still in the early part of the season and that should improve this week. Losing your captain Billy Holland and then the scrum-half Neil Cronin to injury probably upset Munster too. It was always going to be a difficult game and you don’t need that disruption on top of everything else. It’s never easy losing but you can take some positives. These things can happen at the start of the season. Over a long summer you can let slip all of those little things that it takes to win the big crunch matches and there are many new combinations and players of really high quality to return. You also learn a lot more from your losses. The errors come under a bit more of a microscope. It is great winning and creating that momentum but the learning curve is that bit greater when you lose. With the likes of Chris Cloete and a plethora of internationals coming back, it will certainly help the cohesion. There are guys there that wouldn’t be used to playing with each other in the current system. The internationals will help that urgency in defence, in particular. They will inevitably raise the standards. One player who certainly made an impact last weekend was Jaco Taute. He came back after a year out with injury and looked hungry for contact. I was wondering who he was at first because he looked more like a back-row forward bulldozing into the breakdown and putting in big hits. It’s still a young squad and guys haven’t played together often, so that is really tested when you play a team like Glasgow. Joey Carbery’s display was so important for both Munster and the Ireland and it’s satisfying to see him getting game-time at 10. It’s crucial that he can control the game and have the management skills to get the backline firing. If he can hone his control of the game and get Munster marching to the right areas of the pitch, it will be great for the province and country. Tadhg Beirne is going to add an awful lot too. No doubt he will get more of a chance against Ospreys and hopefully this time it will be capped with a victory. There is an awful lot of talent to come back, and last weekend Glasgow had near to their strongest team out. I was impressed by Van Graan’s hurt after the game. There is nothing worse than apathy and you can see that this team and their performance means a lot to him.
Hate
The great coaches and players hate losing. That’s a very positive sign. What’s most important this week though, will be getting their message across and fixing the wrongs. Munster are already at the coalface in terms of the season as a whole. Games will come thick and fast. The Cheetahs game was a settling fixture but it certainly got real all of a sudden. Ospreys have such a pedigree in this competition and they will be a tough challenge but Munster are playing at home and they’ll be expected to win. With Ospreys at the top of the conference, it will be crucial for Munster to stop their progress early. Munster need to stay around the top two positions to maintain good momentum. The competition will be getting even hotter now. Teams will develop and get stronger as the competition moves on and a win is even more important this weekend.
Games will come thick and fast. The Cheetahs game was a settling fixture, but it certainly got real all of a sudden