GET READY FOR WAR!
Misfiring Munster gearing up for Leinster as memories of fiery December derby linger
‘Munster have rare ability to get under their skins’
JOHANN van Graan was having none of it in t he post- match press conference.
Munster’s entire season was hanging in the balance when JJ Hanrahan was sizing up that late, long-range penalty. Hanrahan duly blasted over the 50-metre effort to snatch a slender lead for the hosts.
Munster still had to withstand a barrage of late pressure from Treviso, including two wayward dropgoal attempts from Antonio Rizzi and Jayden Hayward. There was nothing but relief when Nigel Owens blew his full-time whistle.
Van Graan’s men had dodged a major bullet at Thomond Park, but Munster’s head coach did not see it that way as the inquest began.
‘I wouldn’t say we got out of jail,’ he said. ‘We knew these guys were exceptional throughout the whole season, their last two visits to Ireland were draws with Leinster and Ulster.’
The South African doth protest too much. This was an escape of Alcatraz-like proportions. All the f amiliar f ailings were on f ull
display. Once again, Munster monopolised territory and possession but Treviso were happy to take all the punishment and hit them on the counter attack.
The Italians’ approach was best exemplified by Ratuva Tavuyara’s try late in the first half. Munster had utterly dominated, but Treviso, with a rare foray into Munster territory, easily created an overlap and t he Fi j i an try-machine did the rest with a spectacular one-handed finish in the corner. Tommaso Allan’s conversion made it 10- 3 as Munster, for all their toil, found themselves trailing at the break.
It was shaping up to be one of those afternoons in Limerick. Van Graan’s men had butchered a host of chances. CJ Stander, Tadhg Beirne and Darren Sweetnam all came agonisingly close to breaching the try-line, but unforced errors and s ome heroic l ast- ditch defending from Treviso kept them at bay.
Unable to build scoreboard pressure, Munster began to l ook twitchy. They rode their luck as well. Treviso gradually grew into the game and could and should have been further ahead but for Abraham Steyn and Toa Halafihi to drop passes with the try-line at their mercy.
Hayward, the veteran Italy fullback who hails from Taranaki in New Zealand, caused Ireland all manner of problems during that Six Nations dogfight in Rome back in February and he was in top form again last weekend.
Along with the electric Tavuyara and fellow wing Monty Ioane, they carved up Munster at will.
It was nothing but system failures on Munster’s side. Beirne and Tyler Bleyendaal were hooked after 48 minutes and Conor Murray f ollowed suit i n the f i nal quarter.
Not for the first time in recent weeks, Hanrahan produced a game-changing contribution from the bench. The Kerryman stole the headlines with his match-winning penalty, but he brought energy and invention to Munster’s attack when he came on.
He has given Van Graan and the rest of the Munster management much to ponder in the next few weeks. They now have two weeks to prepare for a seismic Pro14 semi-final meeting with Leinster on their home turf at the RDS.
Van Graan is ‘100 per cent confident’ that Joey Carbery and Keith Earls will be back for that one. Munster badly need their creative spark to stand any chance against their arch rivals.
If Carbery returns, there is still an argument for starting Hanrahan in a new-look midfield alongside Chris Farrell.
Rory Scannell has been a consistent performer at inside centre, but he has struggled to make an i mpact in r ecent months.
Following that difficult afternoon against Saracens, Mike Haley once again looked shaky and uncertain at full-back and the Munster management are surely weighing up the option of shifting Andrew Conway to the backfield to accommodate Earls and Sweetnam on the wings.
All of a sudden, that looks like a far more potent backline. There was little on offer from Munster that should worry Leo Cullen and Stuart Lancaster, but games between these two sides take on a life of their own.
Despite all of Munster’s issues, they have consistently saved their best performances of the season for Leinster. Witness their victory over the same opposition in a fiery derby encounter in Limerick back in December.
Leinster have a superior squad, a superior coaching team and far more advanced attacking game, but Munster possess a rare ability to get under their skins.
That proved to be the case in the previous meeting when Leinster suffered a complete meltdown in the first half.
Cian Healy and Tadhg Furlong were both sin-binned while James Lowe was sent off for a dangerous high tackle on Conway.
Sexton – the captain – looked fit to be tied before he left the action with a knee injury on the hour mark.
The net result was a 26-17 win for Munster; their first triumph over their bitter rivals since 2016.
That frenzied, niggly approach could very well be the template to beat them on May 18, but Van Graan is expecting a very different challenge in the capital.
‘No, I think it will be totally different,’ he reasoned.
‘ It was cold, i t was a game that was played at night. Totally different conditions, totally different part of the season. I think there is a good chance the weather will be exactly like it was out there, and the difference is it’s a knockout game. ‘I think it will be fierce.’ There is no doubt about that.