A GLANCE AT the post-match stats often paints a different picture to what a scoreline might suggest. Against Leinster on Saturday, Munster created six clean breaks and finished the 80 minutes with a total of 27 defenders beaten.
On another day, such numbers could lead to a try-fest but instead, Munster found themselves denied by a mix of their own inaccuracies and Leinster’s fierce defensive effort as Graham Rowntree’s men fell to a 26-12 defeat at Croke Park.
The damage was done across Leinster’s ruthless opening to the game, with Leo Cullen’s team taking just 15 minutes to race into a 21-0 lead. Munster were left facing an uphill battle and while they put their shoulder to the wheel, the results were limited. Sean O’Brien finished an excellent strike-play from a first-half lineout before Mike Haley scored their second try after half time, racing on to an opportunistic kick-through from Gavin Coombes.
Munster did piece together plenty of promising attacking passages, but Leinster’s scramble defence and aggression in contact ensured the comeback never looked likely.
“I thought their goal-line defence was particularly good in the first-half,” said Rowntree.
“Their scramble defence is always good, their line speed and scramble defence and goal-line defence. They’re a quality team aren’t they, with a squad stacked full of quality players, and they got the better of us.
But I thought we did the occasion justice. We came here to play, we fired shots, we let ourselves down on occasion with our accuracy but I thought we did the occasion justice. We were ready for this game.”
Calvin Nash thought he had put Munster’s first points on the board in the 25th minute when he stepped Jamison Gibson-Park out wide, only for the score to be crossed off due to a forward pass from Alex Nankivell.
“When I saw that he [referee Chris Busby] said it was forward I couldn’t believe it,” Nash said. “I thought it was a definitely a try but look, it is what it is.”
The winger admitted it was a frustrating experience as Munster’s attacks repeatedly broke down against a stubborn Leinster defensive effort.
“I think we just need to be better there and see what Leinster are going to do. We probably need to scan a bit better and develop our understanding of what defences need to do and where they’re going to be weaker when we make those busts. More of a collective rather than some individuals I suppose.”
Leinster also did a good job of spoiling Munster’s setpiece plans. James Ryan stole two Munster lineouts before Max Deegan added another steal, while Tadhg Furlong got some big shoves going at scrum time.
“You play against the top teams, they make life hard,” Rowntree said.
“That frustrates me, and you go back to the lineout defence, they’ve a very good lineout defence going up in the air. It’s the moments when no-one goes up, or we don’t attend a breakdown when we should be or there’s a pass, a poor pass. They’re the things we need to iron out. That’s all we can get on with.”
Munster’s case wasn’t helped by a damaging early injury toll. As Leinster were busy putting points on the scoreboard, Rowntree lost hooker Niall Scannell and his replacement, Diarmuid Barron, to HIAs, while Jeremy Loughman also had to depart to clean up a blood injury. Replacement prop John Ryan and John Hodnett were also called ashore for HIAs across a bruising encounter.
“You’ve got to roll with the punches. We’re used to that. Lads come off when their mouthguard sensor gets pinged, I can’t change that. You’ve got to deal with that and it’s right that we’re looking after our players like that.
But there was a point in the first half where I had to run down to the side of the field to help manage substitutions because we’d lost two hookers in a matter of minutes, that’s a new one, and Jeremy’s walking off as well.
“We’ll get on with it. We’ve never shied away from poor performances or lack of effort but I was happy with our effort tonight, got to be more accurate.”
Munster will count the bodies and await further updates today as they plan for a two-game tour to South Africa. Aside from the HIAs, Rowntree said the province had no “grave concerns” from the Leinster game ahead of ties against the Stormers and Sharks across the next two weekends.
I find this controversy about the forward pass hilarious. The ref was right in line with it and made the call clearly. There’s so much whining about over reliance on the TMO until and wanting refs to make calls until it doesn’t suit the narrative it seems. Never mind that the replay clearly shows the ball being caught well forward of where it was thrown from and the passer having zero momentum to justify it. The mark is another one, people clearly wrong but still bleating about it. Serious sour grapes after this one.
@PJ Smith: to be fair, Frank Murphy or Andrew Brace would have given it to them.
@PJ Smith: look again ,the linesman called it not Busby. The mark was a clearly a wrong call, read up on the rules. Nobody is arguing with the result, just the standard of officiating
@PJ Smith: Looked forward from the TV angle anyway (granted a terrible angle). Not a great day for Nash, could miss November tests unless he scores a brace of tries in the coming games. Don’t see the ‘controversy’ you refer to, but maybe a different article than this one, unless Ciaran is a Massive Munster supporter!
@PJ Smith: clearly wrong call by ref as was one of leinster s tries clear kniok on hometown ref
@PJ Smith: no question in my mind, better team won, and better refereeing wouldn’t change that, but that was not a good refereeing performance.
@PJ Smith: Keenan was standing outside his 22 when he caught the ball then stepped into the 22, saw the recording, so there’s no doubt about that.
@Daithi Ó Seachnasaigh: Sorry but you may look again. Murray actually posted both the wording of the law and a clip of the action. Clearly shows Keenan catches the ball off the ground and when he lands, his foot is touching the line. Therefore the mark call was correct. There is absolutely no doubt about it.
@Chris Tobin: The officials were directly in line with it, the footage clearly shows it forward if you apply any reasonable concept of the laws of physics. The mark call was correct as I explained above and as per Murrays post on this. Accept it and move on.
@PJ Smith: For those who can’t (or won’t) look it up:
Law 17.1 To claim a mark, a player must:
a Have at least one foot on or behind their own 22-metre line when catching the ball or when landing having caught it in the air; and
b Catch a ball that has reached the plane of the 22-metre line directly from an opponent’s kick before it touches the ground or another player; and
c Simultaneously call “mark”.
If Keenan lands on the line, its a mark. Also, it is an insignificant decision in the greater scheme of things.
21-0 down within 15 minutes and all Munster can do is moan over a disallowed try, which was actually a forward pass in any case. It was a really pathetic, gutless and embarrassing first half from Munster, that has nothing to do with the referee. Leinster totally slackened off after the bonus point was secured and yet they still were never threatened. There isn’t a more overrated player in Irish rugby than Gavin Coombes. The Munster front row is still AIL standard in parts, while Jack Crowley again showed he isn’t good enough. If he’s starting for us at RWC 2027 then God help us.
@Aidan Farrell: To be fair that kick through from Coombes was a thing of beauty.
@Aidan Farrell: happy Monday morning to you too
@Aidan Farrell: as a munster fan I had massive hopes for Coombes as he has ridiculous power and a nose for the tryline, however I think he lacks the speed to be an international quality no 8. Totally agree re the quality of munsters front row options. Our front row offer no carry treat and are hit and miss with their set piece. Re jack, he was playing behind a beaten pack who couldn’t get him front foot ball with their carries or set piece play so as the game went on he put more responsibility on his own shoulders and tried individual things like a few chips over the top that were not really on. I’d rather see him take more responsibility rather than hiding away from the challenge
@Scott: Be more worried about our international front row than Munsters auld lads, not like the Irish pack (with RG) dominated the scrum until well into the second half when Healy was on, massive prop problems we have on this island. JC played well as did Casey, not worried about our halfbacks, Crowley was the best performing 10 of the weekend (iq)… Aiden suffers a torrid existence as a sensationalist, so every undone shoelace is national disaster, must be hard like.
@Scott: If you are camped on the try line, looking for someone to make the score happen, there are few better than Coombes. He is so hard to stop at that range. However, his performance relative to Doris’s at the weekend I think illustrated what level is needed for an international 8, and he just doesn’t meet it. Even when he played for the emerging Ireland team a while back, his defensive contributions were limited, and you can’t justify being on a team for short range scoring alone. I had thought that his being used as a sort of utility forward who could cover both second and back row would possibly make him more valuable in the international set up, but even last season in an injury depleted Munster he still wasn’t guaranteed a starting position.
@Aidan Farrell: ‘Glass-houses’ there Aidan with your criticism of Munster’s scrum – it was Munster who got 3 penalties and also free kicks awarded against Leinster’s front row.
Your lot aren’t going to win a coin-toss this season with that front-row this season.
@Aidan Farrell: havent a clue
@PJ Smith: He had 2 beautiful assists in fact. It’s good going against an uncompromising Leinster defence. Lads are always looking for an opportunity to say “that’s why he’s not in the national team” but his game is really good.
@JoeVlogs: The defence thing is obviously wrong. 3rd for tackles in the URC last year, which considering he was first for carries is a heap of work. Joint 11th for turnovers which may not seem like a lot but its equal to Cian Prendergast and higher than Tadhg Beirne.
Played 25 times and started 20. Yes, the 5 when he came from the bench were at the end of the season but that was clearly a bomb squad tactic because Snyman was also benched. So the not guaranteed a start is bunk too; if they were starting their best players he was starting.
I’d have thought Rowntree would be asked about the leadership in the team with the no show for half an hour and Tadgh Beirne’s seeming inability to control himself when constantly screaming at Busby. Apparently leadership questions are only for other provinces though.
@teuO6nLS: Beirne wasn’t screaming at the ref, if he was busby wouldn’t have engaged with him and would have penalised him. Like any captain he questioned decisions in order to try to influence the ref decision making. Only two weeks ago, the e tire leadership structure of munster was questioned after the hammering we took ar Zebra. That game showed that munster have a very shallow leadership group. If u remove Beirne, POM and crowley lads like barron, Coombes and casey are not able to step up
@Scott: Not sure Barron should be near the team. Would have Clarke ahead of him.
@Scott: “please stop shouting at me” – Busby c.25 mins in
@Thesaltyurchin: the munster hookers (barron and scannell) are solid urc standar . However when compared to the hooker options at ulster, leinster and connacht they are a distant last. The back up hookers at ulster and connacht are better than what munster have at present unfortunately
@teuO6nLS: can you give a time stamp for his “screaming” please??
@Scott: Yea, it’s really becoming a problem, we consistently lose line-outs all over the park, especially from striking distance, it’s just not good enough, I think Clarke was solid in the set piece and a have hopes for Sheehan too, would throw him in at some point but he’s still very young. If Barron and Scannell were one player we’d be in the mix at 2, but agreed we’re a ways off the overspill of talented hookers, Heffernan and Barron (Leinster), we’re my picks from the weekend.
@Scott: i could hear it on the ref mic. Beirne wasn’t as composed as you need to be in the first 20 mins. He’s got a lot to learn in his ref interactions or we need a new on field captain.
@Scott: I don’t remember when but he did tell Beirne at some point not to shout, but speaking as a Leinster supporter I wouldn’t hold it against him. He’s usually respectful and measured and he always leads with his actions. One of my favorite players
@James Daly: in his defence the first 20 min was a complete sh*t show as leinster were destroying us and scoring more points than minutes on the clock. I didn’t realise he shouted at the ref as I was sitting at the other end of the stadium, so I’m surprised to hear this but he seemed to regather himself from then on and act accordingly for the rest of the game. I won’t judge beirnes leadership/captaincy based on one moment as I think he is the best option by far after POM stepped down
@James Daly: so you think Beirne didnt lead his team. Sauntered around the place in a passsive manner. What the f@ck are you expecting from a player that is miles the best you have…. J Sexton accosted a referee pre RWC and is still heralded as a messiah. Beirne is a warrior who leads by example with 100 % honesty.
The real cause of the rot in Munster has to be Roantree’s management. Injury chaos at the start of each of his seasons in charge; higher Iinury counts for munster than for other clubs, as the season progresses. Poor decision making in hiring and firing. Too great reliance on padding out team selection with academy players. He lost the URC semi final to Glasgow by his squad selection. Borrowing from what was vanGraan’s idea of putting out a starting fifteen to hold the opposition and then the replacements are supposed to come on and get the winning scores. It almost never works. It certainly didn’t against Glasgow. He was a good front row servant to Leicester and England but his coaching knowledge doesn’t seem to have grown at all since his playing days.
@Jim Wallace: This what our chatter was focused on at the weekend, benefit of the doubt and the new style is being cr@p for the start of the season. So we wait, mid–end will tell a tale.