ONE OF THE more interesting stats from Munster’s win over Perpignan last weekend was the number of line-breaks the two teams managed to create.
There were eight in total, with an even split of four each at Thomond Park. In a game that appeared very open thanks to lots of loose kicking, that figure – courtesy of Opta – is surprisingly low. Every other game across the Heineken Cup weekend, excepting Zebre v Saracens, had a higher number of line breaks than we saw in Limerick.
So what? The total figure is meaningless, but the fact that the French side broke through Munster’s defence an equal number of times as vice versa has been cause for concern among Rob Penney’s squad. Perpignan also matched Munster in terms of defenders beaten [16] despite only having a 38% share of the possession.
The numbers would be unimportant if it were not for Munster’s own insistence that their defence had been weak last weekend. Penney and Peter O’Mahony both touched upon it post-match and wing Johne Murphy is the latest to admit that the southern province needs to greatly improve in that area.
It’s something that we’ve looked at this week. It’s something Axel [Anthony Foley] has spoken about in the defensive reviews; giving them a bit of a leg up towards the end. His exact words were: ‘Those little things count.’
“So we need to ensure that it doesn’t count come Saturday evening. We know that our defensive decision-making, at times, wasn’t where it should be. We’ve addressed that and fingers crossed we do it right this weekend.”
Shoring up their defensive system and individual tackling contributions are the priorities ahead of the return leg against Perpignan. Murphy is aware that despite Munster’s bonus point win last time out, they are still a long way from qualifying for the Heineken Cup knock-out stages.
O’Mahony’s line since the defeat to Edinburgh in round one has been that Munster are playing cup rugby in Europe now, where every game is a must-win. Murphy echoes his captain’s sentiments.
“Everyone’s spoken about it. Since the first game, we’ve put ourselves under pressure and everyone wants that carrot at the end of having a home quarter final. If we want that, we have to seriously be looking at winning these next two away games.
No better place to make a statement than down in the south of France.”
And what a venue it would be to pronounce Munster’s European credentials. The Stade Aimé Giral is renowned as home to one of the Top 14′s most smothering atmospheres, a place where the Catalan fervour creates a mental humidity for opposition players.
Murphy traveled there in 2008 with the Leicester Tigers, when he was a substitute in a 26-20 loss to Perpignan. Dan Carter kicked 16 points at the start of what was to be a brief but lucrative stint with the French side, but Murphy’s abiding memory is of the home crowd.
“I’ve been lucky enough to play there before with Leicester, when Carter was over there. It was enjoyable; they try to intimidate you. I remember kicking before the game under the goalposts and they were throwing things at myself and one of the other guys.
“It’s pretty intimidating, but that’s what you want.”
Audio courtesy of Limerick’s Live95FM.
