Van Graan will have Munster tactically primed for Leinster showdown
After recent tactical failures against Leinster, getting the balance right will be key for Munster’s head coach
ANOTHER semi-final, another failure. When Munster trudged off the field last September following their 13-3 defeat at the hands of Leinster, it was a familiar sinking feeling. For the tenth time in as many years, they had failed to progress to a final – either on the domestic or European front.
And this latest loss at the hands of their arch rivals – their third consecutive defeat at this juncture to the same opposition for good measure – was arguably the most dispiriting. In truth, Munster didn’t fire a shot all evening.
Both sides had played out a six-try thriller the previous month at the same venue. It finished 27-25 in Leinster’s favour, but their opponents had given them an almighty fright thanks to a final-quarter fightback.
Another blockbuster interprovincial battle was on the cards in the Pro14 semi-final the next month, but a turgid, disjointed encounter would play out at the Aviva Stadium. For all the attacking evolution since Stephen Larkham had arrived in Limerick, Munster rocked up to the capital and proceeded to park the bus in Ballsbridge.
It wasn’t pretty, but it was pretty effective on the day. Leinster could only muster 10 points via the boot of Johnny Sexton and a Ronan Kelleher try – secured through a rolling lineout maul – with 20 minutes left. Had JJ Hanrahan managed to guide two resulting penalties through the posts, it may have got interesting. Sexton would make the result safe in the dying minutes with another three-pointer.
Leinster’s win was one for the purists. Leo Cullen, for one, was certainly not impressed with Munster’s one-dimensional approach, as they launched an endless barrage of aerial bombs. ‘You’ve got to be very accurate against a team that all they want is to box kick and apply that pressure game,’ the Leinster head coach reflected. Felipe Contepomi would double down on the gaffer’s comments a few days later when the Leinster backs coach fronted a media gathering in UCD. Those observations were relatively tame compared to the criticism which arrived at Munster’s door from fans, pundits and former players alike, much of it warranted. It was a hugely dispiriting, if effective, tactical approach. Fast forward to later that month when Saracens arrived in Dublin for their European Champions Cup quarter-final meeting with Leinster. The under-fire Londoners would deploy virtually identical tactics and take the Blues to the cleaners on their home turf. Munster head coach Johann Van Graan thought as much when he spoke to the media the following week. ‘We, as a group, reviewed the game. There were some things we could have done better. We didn’t go to lose the game. We missed some crucial opportunities between minutes 50 and 65. ‘Had we taken that, it might have been a different result. We learned a lot from the Pro14 final and then the European quarter-final.’ A lot has changed since then. Munster have since cut a swathe through the
Pro14 and Europe. For the third time in six months, they will face Leinster next Saturday. Their rivals from the capital have been the acid test for quite some time and this looming contest in Thomond Park will offer the latest progress report on Van Graan’s everimproving squad.
The big question is how the hosts will approach this? Certainly, that Saracens display in the Aviva and Connacht’s historic win at the RDS will provide useful case studies in derailing this juggernaut Leinster outfit.
Both of those games had similar themes running throughout: upset Leinster’s rhythm by making the breakdown a war zone, target their scrum and bring line-speed and ferocity to the defensive effort. That’s all easier said
‘Rivals from capital
have been the acid test for some time’
than done, but Munster have a template for beating Leinster now.
A repeat of the stone-age tactics from the Pro14 semi-final would be a step back after all the recent improvements. Nor will Munster start playing like Fiji from the opening whistle. They will look to strike a balance.
That mixture of traditional, hardnosed forward play and new-age attacking verve was fully on display during that epic victory in Clermont last month. The forwards looked particularly sharp in the Sportsground recently, with their lineout maul causing havoc against Connacht.
A fascinating tactical battle awaits. Munster finally have the smarts, the personnel and the motivation to upset the power balance in this fixture. It’s up to Van Graan to put it all together.