Nobody embodied Munster's composure in the wild and wacky Welford Road whirlpool on Sunday more than Ian Keatley. As was the case for the team in general, he overcame an edgy start, as Leicester came storming out of the blocks, to calmly steer Munster over the winning line.
It wasn't just his seven from eight, 20-point haul with that increasingly trusty right boot. In tandem with Conor Murray and the back three, Keatley ensured Munster generally played in the right areas, he extracted maximum distance from his penalties to touch, varied his game nicely and was strong in defence, notably with one important tackle from behind on Manu Tuilagi's ankles when the centre threatened to break clear. Comparisons are odious it's true, but it was almost vintage Ronan O'Gara.
As with O’Gara, he has developed an ability to put mistakes quickly behind him and refocus. Save for a restart, Keatley’s first two touches were knock-ons, the first, admittedly, when hit blindside and the second when Murray’s pass had him stretching low down for the wet ball. His response, reassuringly, was to smile.
“Those conditions were tough. When you watch on TV and you look at it you’re like ‘what’s going on?’ but it was greasy out there and I remember, I was laughing to Pete (O’Mahony). He said: ‘It’s alright Keats, stay calm.’ And I was like: ‘It was actually a rubbish pass from Murray’,” revealed Keatley with a chuckle.
“That’s what we were laughing about. In those games, it’s going to be high intensity and things aren’t going to go right. I don’t think I’ve ever played a perfect game. I don’t know anyone who has played a perfect game. Things are going to go wrong and it’s how you bounce back from it.”
It wasn't always thus for Keatley, but marriage, fatherhood and Anthony Foley's passing, after effectively becoming second choice to Tyler Bleyendaal for the last two seasons and very nearly moving on, has contributed to him putting things in perspective.
Experience
It is easy to forget how much experience the 30-year-old has built up. Last Sunday was his 36th game in the European Cup and he has amassed 239 caps at provincial level, as well as seven for Ireland.
Nor would Keatley be the first Irish outhalf to produce some of his best rugby in his 30s; witness Eric Elwood, David Humphreys, O'Gara and Johnny Sexton. Having landed his first five kicks, Keatley showed the same mental strength after missing his sixth shot at goal, to land the two which sealed the deal.
“I was very happy but a bit annoyed with the one I missed. I expect myself to get that but [I’m] really happy with the way things are going with my placekicking. In fairness to the forwards they were unbelievable and we played them [Leicester] in the right areas and the forwards got penalties for us and that’s how we broke them down.”
Addressing his penultimate penalty which made the score 22-16, Keatley admitted feeling more pressure. “A player knows when he’s done a bad kick or done something wrong. All he wants to do is do well for the team and that’s what I wanted to do and make sure that we kept them at bay, going from three points to six points. That means they’ve to go for a try and push for more things, and that last kick to bring it out to nine points was pretty satisfying.”
He allowed himself a little punch to the air after that one, and the reaction of the Munster players demonstrated how much the win meant to them after losing the corresponding fixture last year.
“Johann [van Graan] was saying we were back to zero, we had to start again. We knew where we fell down last year and we worked on that this week. In fairness to Leicester they came at us hard and those first 20 minutes. Jesus, it was a frantic first 20 minutes. There were mistakes everywhere and then we got our composure. That was the difference. We kept our composure well at times and came away with the win.”
Keatley also believes that the win showed “a bit of growth and a bit of maturity. I think a lot of lads are getting experience and we’ve got that nice blend now where lads who are experienced and young lads coming in and adding their x-factor and their flair.”
“I think this period is the time you set up your season, you set yourself up for going for trophies. We did a really good job and I think we just need to take confidence from that. I think we need to start believing in ourselves a bit more.”
Interprovincial
Like the other provinces, that win has to be parked now for the first of three interprovincial matches, against Leinster at home on St Stephen’s Day (kick-off 3.15pm), before returning to European competition. Munster will train on Christmas Eve before taking Christmas Day off.
“Yeah, what is it like, three games in 11 days? I’d say most of the teams will chop and change. After Europe two weeks in a row you go into interpros which are just like European games. There’s an intensity around them. Leinster and Ulster are up there, and Connacht.”
Smiling again, he quips: “We’re looking forward to a quiet Christmas!”
