MORE OF THE SAME AND REDS WILL PAY PENALTY
BOOST FOR JOE Rory Best and Sexton make timely returns
Leinster also remain adamant Seán O’Brien is on the cusp of a return even though lingering effects of his recent calf issue meant he was not included in the side to face Glasgow away today.
‘He is getting close to being involved,’ confirmed Leinster boss Leo Cullen.
Sexton, who suffered a dead leg following the league derby win a fortnight ago over Munster, returns not only as the Leinster out-half but as skipper for the third time this season, with Isa Nacewa missing the next six weeks.
The New Zealander has had an operation to repair the syndesmosis his ankle suffered during the first half of last weekend’s European win over Montpellier. Cullen and his players know a Leinster victory today at Scotstoun would likely irreparably IRELAND boss Joe Schmidt received a welcome boost ahead of next week’s November Series squad announcement with Johnny Sexton and Rory Best declared fit for Champions Cup duty this weekend.
ENOUGH of the easy talk, it’s time for the repeatedly undisciplined Munster to do the walk and clean up their act.
Otherwise, Rassie Erasmus’ European exit in Limerick this evening might not be the impressive fond farewell the natives hope it will be at the end of a week that has marked the first anniversary of the death of Anthony Foley.
The Reds admittedly weren’t the only Champions Cup miscreants in last weekend’s round one. Eleven of the 20 participating teams suffered penalty counts against them that went into double digit territory, 12 teams even seeing yellow at some stage in the opening round.
However, in this Joe Schmidt influenced era where the Ireland national team sets the bar for being squeaky clean in how they perform in the eyes of a referee, Munster certainly occupy the provincial naughty step at the moment.
In four of their past five outings this term, their indiscipline has been way too excessive. Ten penalties coughed up at Ospreys, 11 at Glasgow where they also suffered red and yellow cards, another 11 at Leinster where there was another sin-binning, and it was the exact same at Castres last Sunday — 11 penalties and a card given away in a fractious 17-all draw.
Eleven penalties was four more than Leinster’s seven (they did have a card, mind) in their win against Montpellier and Ulster’s mere six in their success over Wasps, stats way more to Schmidt’s liking ahead of his November Test series squad announcement next week.
When a beaten Munster slouched away from the Aviva Stadium a fortnight ago after league derby defeat to Leinster, they vehemently highlighted their need to get back on the right side of the law. No more than six penalties was the desired benchmark, but just once this season had they managed this, the facile Thomond Park league rout of Cardiff.
‘Discipline is a big thing for me,’ insisted skipper Peter O’Mahony at the time. ‘At some stage you have to stop the rot.’
‘It was poor by us. Sloppy,’ added forwards coach Jerry Flannery, referencing how the Dublin penalty count was weighted 11-1 against Munster after 55 minutes, whistler Ben Whitehouse constantly on their case.
The tally was never that lopsided in a more evenly contested game in France, Munster 0-4 and 1-5 down in the opening quarter before they gained traction from referee Matthew Carley. The interval count became 8-5 against the hosts before it evened out in the second half, both teams ultimately conceding a total of 11 apiece and each dealing with a sin bin.
Honours even, you can say, but the type of errors Munster made were infuriating. Too many of their wounds were again self-inflicted in a clear and obvious fashion that mirrored the Leinster derby, leaving those watching wondering what had happened to the Aviva pledge that they would be much better behaved eight days later.
Five of the eight individual penalty culprits at Castres — Dave Kilcoyne, John Ryan, Niall Scannell, Chris Farrell and Stephen Archer — had also featured on the rap sheet at Leinster, but even usual saints became sinners, Conor Murray accounting for three infringements in France.
It started in a torpor, five penalties and a yellow all given away inside the opening 16 minutes. Scannell was blown for holding on at the ruck, Murray carded for a try-preventing off-the-ball trip, Archer collapsed a maul, Simon Zebo deliberately knocked on to prevent a try and was fortunate not to be carded, and then CJ Stander’s knock on at a scrum was played by Murray in an offside position. So much for the stated desired improvement.
In the second half, Murray infringed defending a Castres scrum, Farrell ruined a threatening O’Mahony carry by causing obstruction, Rhys Marshall collapsed a maul, Ryan tackled high, Marshall held on too long at a ruck and the 11th concession then stemmed from Kilcoyne unnecessarily coming in at the side. They got very lucky quickly after. Robin Copeland could have been penalised for slapping the ball away at a final minute ruck, an intervention that would have denied them their draw if sanctioned.
But the sense of relief they had exiting Stade Pierre Fabre must now be tempered by the fact they are again heading into an important match tasked with curbing a persistent hot topic that must be nipped in the bud before it causes a headache that can’t be rectified.
Last term, their consistency was excellent as just once in eight European matches did their count spiral out of control.
Thirteen penalties were given away at Leicester last December, the issue costing them a win as Tigers struck with a last-minute Owen Williams kick, but their counts elsewhere were encouraging — just six at home to Glasgow despite Keith Earls’ red card the day after they had emotionally buried head coach Foley, five at home to Leicester, four at Racing, eight at Glasgow, seven at home to Racing and then just eight in each of their knockout games against Toulouse and Saracens.
Those numbers illustrate how Munster have it within themselves to pull up their socks and not have today’s official JP Doyle, the referee when Toulouse were beaten in last April’s quarter-final, pointing admonishing fingers in their direction.
Skipper O’Mahony will have an important role to play in striking that chord. The crankiness he can exhibit towards referees was criticised when he twice captained the Lions last June, Jaco Peyper steadfast in ensuring his pernickety decision-making wasn’t going to be swayed by a vocal Irishman.
Star-studded Racing conceded just six penalties (and a yellow) in their decent home win over Leicester and with so many English speakers in a selection featuring wholesale changes that have strengthened their XV, nothing will be lost in translation when they plead for a fair hand to be dealt to them by Doyle.
With that in mind, it’s high time the hosts were on their best behaviour instead of giving another opposition a leg-up through unnecessary indiscipline.