In the fall-out of their 27-25 defeat by Leinster last Saturday week when they lost two locks in new signing RG Snyman and Jean Kleyn, there were no more uplifting sights for Munster than that of Tadhg Beirne making a man of the match return after eight months on the sidelines against Connacht. Talk about timely.
Already nursing an abductor problem arising from the World Cup, the 28-year-old lock needed all of the time out afforded by the lockdown to make a full recovery from the fractured ankle he suffered against Saracens last December. Even then his projected return, against Leinster, was delayed by a low grade leg injury in training.
Revelling in the bonus territory which the delayed finale to the Guinness Pro14 2019-20 season has given him, Beirne made an eye-catching comeback last Sunday. Good in the air and on the deck, none of his injury woes were evident, not least in the way he steamed onto Conor Murray’s skip pass for a try, albeit after he had, by his own admission, been refreshed by his 10 minutes in the sin bin.
"Tadhg had a dream game back, didn't he?" noted Munster forwards coach Graham Rowntree, albeit with the rider: "Apart from his yellow card, which you can't have."
In tandem with CJ Stander, who has been exceptional over the ball, and Peter O’Mahony, Beirne gives Munster another weapon at the breakdown on opposition ruck ball.
“Going back to the breakdown we’ve got to make good decisions there about when we’re challenging the ball. He was certainly putting himself around there and he’s shown everyone what Tadhg can do in terms of breakdown pressure,” added Rowntree.
“He’s quick, isn’t he? He’s quick. You saw that for his try. His work-rate was good. He’s an outstanding lineout forward. So it was good to get him back and it was a good combination with Fin,” said Rowntree of Beirne’s athletic and mobile partnership with Fineen Wycherley, which came about through necessity.
“Fin’s one for the future. Again, we’ve got good stocks in the secondrow, when they’re not all injured, at the club. But no, I’m impressed with Fin. He goes about his business quietly. Good work-rate. He’s got good little deft touches on him as well. He’s almost got the touches of a backrower with his handling. So they’ve proved a good combination. I’m delighted to see Tadhg back. I mean, it was Saracens in December when he got that horrible injury. So a dream game back for him.”
Despite the disruption and enforced changes, Munster’s renowned lineout has remained a solid source of possession, the 13 from 13 return against Leinster (whose desperate attempts to disrupt caused Devin Toner’s sinbinning) augmented by winning all 22 of their throws against Connacht.
“As a club I’ve been really impressed with how diligent we are around the lineout,” said Rowntree. “That’s from Johann [van Graan] and down to Billy [Holland] and Tadhg and the guys who run and push the lineout, and we’ve got some good jumpers in there. So it receives a good amount of training every week, as all set-piece should do. But we’re mindful that we’re going to be going up against a very good lineout on Friday, so it’s going to have to be good again.”
Munster also have a selection poser in choosing from Tommy O'Donnell, Chris Cloete and Jack O'Donoghue alongside O'Mahony and Stander in the backrow, with Cloete and O'Donoghue stating their cases against Connacht.
“Jack was good coming on the field. Crickey he’s athletic, and he’s energetic. Chris gives us that breakdown pressure. Like I keep saying, against this team we need to be very selective and very careful as to when we’re going in to challenge that breakdown because we can’t be numbers down elsewhere,” said Rowntree, possibly indicating that Cloete is set for that impact role.
Whereas Leinster could begin targeting this game from last week and have an additional day between games, Munster were confined to one session on Tuesday in their HPC in the UL, and after a rest day on Wednesday, will have a light run-out on Thursday before travelling back to Dublin.
“Does it have a different feel?” Rowntree said rhetorically of Munster’s first knockout tie since losing at the same juncture against the same opponents 15 months ago. “No, it’s knockout rugby, isn’t it? They had the luxury of resting guys at the weekend and they would have had a good hit-out yesterday which we weren’t able to do but we crack on with it. I’m happy with where we are physically and mentally at the moment going into this game.
“We’ve played against them and previous form means nothing. All I’m really stressing to the guys is how hardened we are going into this game given we’ve not played rugby for a long time. Very quickly we’re battle and match ready going into a huge game.”
It’s a pity the game is behind closed doors, and if there had been any need to promote the tie or sell tickets Rowntree could do so single-handedly.
Palpably chipper about Munster’s prospects, having their season on the line needn’t change their mindset.
“No, we are playing against our old foes. Why not us? Why shouldn’t it be us? We have got so much to go for. That’s our energy and belief going into this game. Why not us? There is no reason why we can’t win Friday night.”
Guinness Pro14 semi-finals
Friday: Leinster v Munster, Aviva Stadium,7.35pm – Live on Eir Sport and Premier Sports.
Saturday: Edinburgh v Ulster, Murrayfield, 7.35pm – Live on Eir Sport and Premier Sports.
