In 2010 when Munster rocked up to the newly minted Aviva Stadium, Leinster were at a point where external pressure and scrutiny was beginning to grow. The passing of time might have softened my recollection, but external glare did not seem that harsh, or maybe it was just less relevant within the narrow confines of the group.
Joe Schmidt had taken over from Michael Cheika and Jono Gibbes was the only surviving coach from the previous regime. We had spent the summer in one of the most physically brutal pre-seasons; perversely it was also one of the most enjoyable.
That may have been partially attributable to the requirement for everyone to try and win over the new coach, the chance to challenge the existing order. The traditional segmented focus of weights, fitness and rugby was redesigned with an element of rugby inserted into almost every area, key principles of high skill level and execution.
Instead of blocks of running, shuttles and Broncos, where the DNA of the endurance athlete shines through, we played fitness games of rugby; drop off touch, one touch and second pass games brought out the best and worst of the competitive nature that lurked within all of us.
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In theory there was no contact, in practice there was, and it regularly spilt over into physical clashes because lads who wanted to impress the new coach. Perhaps a little of it was down to Cheika’s legacy, one that had forged a mentally tough group that Joe tapped into and moulded into something else.
There was no evidence in the opening four games that something special was brewing, and to be honest even the Munster match in October 2010, wasn’t a particularly good performance. We snuck home 13-9, Brian O’Driscoll’s late try gave us a fifth consecutive win over Munster.
It’s well documented that Joe’s reign got off to a slow start in terms of results, but it shouldn’t be misconstrued that there was any reluctance to embrace his rugby philosophy. We loved the vision of how he wanted to play; high tempo, high skill and execution, with forensic attention to detail.
There was a bedding in process before training ground ambition translated successfully to the match environment. When that happened the rate of improvement in performance terms accelerated sharply.
Munster travel to the Aviva Stadium this weekend to face their old rivals having managed just two wins in the last 11 matches over four seasons. Graham Rowntree and his new-look coaching ticket have already put a focus on youth and as I mentioned last week are challenging their players to do more with the ball in hand.
Leinster are favourites to win, and Munster will be happy for their hosts to carry that expectation; for now. Performance values are of more import for the visitors and within that context, how they approach the match. The win-at-all-costs attitude may provide a short-term gain if they can upset the odds over 80 minutes, but it shouldn’t come as part of the collateral damage of undoing recent progress.
If you put everything into the win basket and temporarily suspend the patterns and values that you are trying to instil for those 80 minutes, then anything other than a victory is underwhelming. Munster need to have the courage to stick to the processes they are trying to adopt.
They might lose the match, but I have no doubt that those new performance virtues can stress Leinster and therefore infuse belief among the players into what they are trying to do. An important consideration is team selection as it reveals a wider agenda.
If Rowntree opts for Casey, his groin injury permitting, and perhaps Jack Crowley starting with Joey Carbery, it signals a clear intention that they are coming to play
I was really impressed with Craig Casey’s display the last day against the Bulls at Thomond Park. Jamison Gibson-Park represents the high watermark of speed to rucks but Casey bore favourable comparison and there were numerous occasions when he arrived in advance of the ruck being formed.
His link play with Gavin Coombes is first-rate, a little less so with some of the other forwards but that will take time. They need to get used to playing with him at scrumhalf and vice versa. Even if that connection is a little scrambled at times it is worth persevering with for all concerned. There is no way that Casey should be asked to cede that part of his game; it’s up to his forwards to upskill and be quicker to realign.
Tempo is everything, take it away and most teams start to look ordinary. A good illustration of this is what Connacht managed to do to Leinster for large parts of the match in the Sportsground, when they slowed down the visitors’ possession.
If Rowntree opts for Casey, his groin injury permitting, and perhaps Jack Crowley starting with Joey Carbery, it signals a clear intention that they are coming to play, regardless of the result I believe this will go a long way in the dressingroom.
Munster have been unable to match Leinster in the physical stakes in recent encounters and this is probably not the match to stand toe-to-toe with Leo Cullen’s team. That’s not to say they shouldn’t stand up and fight, but they’ll need more than that to prevail.
They need to have the courage to move away from those close-range carries in the opposition 22, to mix up the point of attack as they managed to do successfully against the Bulls. Leinster’s injury profile in back three players means it’s an area that Munster should look to stress test.
Connacht demonstrated, principally through Niall Murray and Gavin Thornbury, that it’s possible to get after Leinster’s lineout. In that respect are Munster brave enough to start Tom Ahern? Look at the damage he inflicted out of touch when playing for Emerging Ireland against the Cheetahs. Look at the impact he enjoyed off the bench against the Bulls in open play.
The Munster backrow led by Coombes will make inroads in carrying terms around the pitch but what has been lacking in the past has been those finer touches away from the breakdown. There were green shoots last Saturday in Thomond Park, but it is important to add the caveat that the Bulls were dire.
They were a long way off the superb quality from last season, brutally inaccurate with the ball in hand, linear in orientation in attack and just plain sloppy in defence.
From a Munster perspective the moments that caught the eye belonged to new patterns, a willingness to move the ball away quickly on turnover possession and look for mismatches in the wider channels.
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I think Casey brings out the best in Carbery by forcing him on to the ball, where I feel the outhalf is at his instinctive best, which in turns brings greater fluidity and nuance to Munster’s back play. That development under Mike Prendergast is in its infancy but as it grows it lifts the whole team.
Casey – I really hope he plays – Carbery, Tadhg Beirne and Coombes need to continue to lead this, and others will follow. They will certainly believe they can do it; the harder part initially is delivering it on the field for others to see.
Broadening out the focus briefly from the game at the Aviva Stadium to include the announcement of the Ireland squad for the November Test series – the Springboks match is a little over two weeks away – there is plenty up for grabs in terms of trying to influence Andy Farrell’s thinking when it comes to the pecking order for those that make the grade.
Casey’s is a case in point, especially if Gibson-Park is not fit. He is the closest Ireland have to maintaining a preferred high-tempo approach with the national side. The make-up of the squad is going to be very interesting as a lot of frontline players will be very short on game time, if they make it at all.
There is an injury crisis in the back three, where at last count there are nine Test players unavailable in the short-term, and not too many centres fit and healthy. Shane Daly and Jimmy O’Brien going head-to-head this week could be instructive, but Michael Lowry is surely the front-runner at this stage to build on his one cap in the 15 jersey.
There was a big deal made about strength in depth with the development tour, and a little like Rowntree this week, Andy Farrell will send out some clear messages. Picking on form or even just the ones with match minutes under their belts at this point in the season for the November series is a huge opportunity to test these guys in deeper waters.
