LOSE AND IT’S difficult to see Munster going through from Pool 4.
Win against Leicester tomorrow and they will become the number one hope for Ireland to have at least one province in the Champions Cup quarter-finals.
It’s not over the top to suggest that tomorrow is the biggest day in Anthony Foley’s tenure as Munster head coach so far. With a sense of negativity swirling around the province after consecutive Pro12 defeats to Connacht and the Dragons, Foley needs his players to deliver.
When he’s asked if tomorrow will be season defining, Foley immediately recalls last year’s home pool defeat to Clermont as a means for replying in the affirmative.
“Look, the same game last year was against Clermont at home and we lost that and when we got to round six that was the game that cost us getting out of our group.”
Succinct and telling. Foley understands the weight of this clash against an in-form Leicester side that appears to have benefited hugely from the addition of Aaron Mauger as their coach this season.
The Tigers’ longstanding set-piece strength has been augmented by an increased focus on Canterbury-esque passing and width. Tongan signing Telusa Veainu has been a revelation in the back three, while the injury-enforced absences of Manu Tuilagi and Jean de Villiers haven’t been felt too heavily yet.
“They do have a lot of strings to their bow,” says Foley. “They have a huge pack that will scrummage you, will win their line-out, will maul you if you allow them. And (Ben) Youngs at half back is good, (Owen) Williams, (Tommy) Bell, they put the forwards around the pitch but when they get the ball, they can go through the middle of you.
“If they want to play with width, they can do that too. They have a back three that can cut anyone open. It is important for us to make sure we look after our ball and play in the right areas of the pitch which we haven’t done in the last couple of weeks.”
Indeed, Munster have utterly failed to impress in the last fortnight after a relatively satisfying opening stanza to the season.
The defeats to Connacht and the Dragons saw Munster look uncertain in attack, lethargic and unaggressive in defence and generally unmotivated.
Foley reflects upon the postponed Stade Français fixture last month as a hindrance to Munster, disturbing the confidence they had taken from a bonus-point win at home to Treviso in dire conditions the previous week.
The former number eight points to three glaring missed try chances against the Welsh region as potentially having changed the game, while stating his belief that Munster “are not a million miles away.”
Foley’s feeling is that Munster can rebound for a momentous European occasion, as they have done so often in the past.
“I would like to think so,” says Foley. “There was not a lot of talking done (before training this week). Talking was done beforehand. Players and coaches understand what we need to do this week.”
If that understanding doesn’t turn into a performance and a result, Foley could find himself facing some heavy criticism. He knows better than most that the buck stops with the head coach.
