Attitude, Discipline, Possession - these words were printed on sheets of A4 paper on the walls of the Munster dressing-room at Stade Les Septs Deniers in Toulouse on Saturday. Coach Declan Kidney asked his players to focus on those three attributes: the players responded magnificently to become the first Irish province to win a European Cup match on French soil.
Victory was thoroughly merited, a triumph hewn from self-belief, pro-active defence and several exhilarating passages of rugby that culminated in four tries. Two spanned 60 metres plus.
Munster forged an 8-0 advantage through a try from Jason Holland and a Ronan O'Gara penalty. Alan Quinlan drove into the Colomiers 22, Holland made a half-break, Mike Mullins continued the move and his pass was tipped by John Kelly into the hands of the supporting Holland for a try in the corner. Colomiers' best period of the match was in the closing 20 minutes of the first half.
A blindside break culminated in Jean Luc Sadourny eluding both Peter Stringer and Jeremy Staunton to score and the second try came from centre Jerome Sieurac following a fine run from David Skrela, who converted the first try. Two O'Gara penalties and Keith Wood's try shortly after the re-start, re-established the visitors' dominance and they applied the coup de grace with further tries from Holland and Marcus Horan. Colomiers' only response was a Skrela penalty.
Munster dealt with Colomiers's sporadic and surprisingly lacklustre challenge with an authority that now permeates the team - this despite conceding two soft first-half tries where the home side exploited the blindside to telling effect. It was a corridor that proved a fertile breeding ground as Munster responded in kind, claiming a brace from long range.
Their work ethic and mental fortitude suggest that they will be limited in this competition primarily by the parameters they impose on themselves. They are an Irish team that does not look apologetic in victory. Singling out individuals is invidious given the collective contribution but the performances of Horan, John Langford, Holland and Wood merit elaboration.
The young Shannon prop, Horan, produced a masterful performance embellished by a try that encapsulates his ability. Holland made a half-break, Munster won four rucks in quick succession and O'Gara sought the blindside on the Colomiers 22. Horan thundered onto his pass, shaped to link with Kelly, dummied and then cantered the final 15 metres. His general work-rate was every bit as productive as the scoring cameo.
Former Australian international Langford was a colossus out of touch, pinching six line-outs on French hooker Marc Dal Maso's throw. Holland, a late replacement for Killian Keane, helped himself to a brace of tries as well as supporting intelligently and always willing to test the tackle.
Wood applied a trademark finish in scoring Munster's second try, tearing through the tackle of a nervous looking Sadourny but it was his tackling on the fringes and covering that deserved the plaudits. These players were exceptional in a fine team performance.
Kidney did not dwell on the individual but offered collective praise for his team. "I am lucky to have players willing to take on responsibility for themselves. Too much is made of the coaches; this was down to the players. We are going to be a dangerous side if we ever play for 80 minutes. We scored four tries all of them good enough to win any match. There was good confidence, good skills, a good performance."
Ten tries for Munster in three matches - eight in their two away games - brooks no argument with regard to their ability both to create and convert opportunities. In the midst of the post-match euphoria captain Mick Galwey offered a mild critique, pointing out that for 40 minutes (the first half) the players were far from happy with their performance.
"At half-time we knew we hadn't played well. We had conceded two soft tries. We knew we could play much better and did. I thought our defence in the second half was very good. The try after half-time gave us a bit of breathing space. At the start of the season we set targets, knew that we had to win away to Ulster and also in France. We have now achieved both."
Kidney refused to be drawn on how far his charges can go in the tournament, adamant that this victory will be rendered meaningless unless Munster repeat their success over Colomiers at Musgrave Park next Saturday. For all the pragmatism, the Irish province are now in pole position to top the group and earn a home draw in the quarterfinals.
On the day Colomiers represented a pale imitation of the team that had marched to the European Cup final at Lansdowne Road last season before succumbing to Ulster, largely attributable to Munster's performance but also to their own ineptitude: they were treading water long before the final whistle. Coach Henry Auriol admitted that the European Cup is now a sideshow for his team and that the French Championship - they are second - is the priority.
For Kidney it was a marvellous return visit, having coached Ireland to an 18-0 victory over France in the Under-19 World Cup in 1998; for Munster rugby it is another prized scalp and hopefully not the last in the coming months.
Scoring sequence: 8 mins: Holland try, 0-5; 14: O'Gara penalty, 0-8; 24: Sadourny try, Skrela conversion, 7-8; 28: Sieurac try, 12-8; 31: O'Gara penalty, 12-11; 42: O'Gara penalty, 12-14. Half-time: 12-14. 44: Wood try, O'Gara conversion, 12-21; 48: Skrela penalty, 15-21; 58: Holland try, 15-26; 74: Horan try, 15-31.
COLOMIERS: JL Sadourny; M Biboulet, S Roque, J Sieurac, D Skrela; M Carre, F Culinat; JP Beyssen, M Dal Maso, P Pages; G Moro, JM Lorenzi; B de Giusti (capt), S Peysson, P Tabacco. Replacements: JP Revallier for Lorenzi (63 mins); B Lhande for Carre (63 mins); H Manent for Moro (70 mins).
MUNSTER: J Staunton; J Kelly, M Mullins, J Holland, A Horgan; R O'Gara, P Stringer; M Horan, K Wood, J Hayes; M Galwey (capt), J Langford; A Quinlan, A Foley, D Wallace. Replacements: I Murray for Hayes (half-time); F Sheahan for Murray (74 mins); T Tierney for Stringer (82 mins); D Crotty for Staunton (82 mins).
Referee: C Rees (England).
