MUNSTER FELT THEIR attack wasn’t good enough, that it didn’t have the top-level quality to beat the very best teams – Saracens, Racing 92, Leinster.
And so they went out and hired Stephen Larkham, with the Australian arriving as ‘senior coach’ last summer.
The fact that 12 Munster players went to the 2019 World Cup with Ireland, meaning they missed the opening months of the new Larkham attack era, didn’t help and Munster came up short against Racing and Saracens in the 2018/19 Champions Cup pool stages.
Covid-19 disruption could have been another hindrance to Larkham’s work but Munster’s players have actually spoken positively about how the former Wallabies out-half was able to lead the development of the province’s attacking understanding even in lockdown.
And while injuries to Joey Carbery and RG Snyman mean the team is now deprived of key operators, we’re getting close to the point where we can make more accurate judgements about whether or not Larkham has made a difference with Munster’s attack.
The signs in last weekend’s 27-25 defeat to Leinster were promising in certain patches, with some of the subtlety and work-rate to finish off their three tries offering Munster genuine encouragement. Two of those scores came with Leinster down to 14 players after Devin Toner’s sin-binning but they were fluid nonetheless.
As should be expected after more than five months without a game, it wasn’t all slick and there were rusty moments, but Larkham was encouraged as Andrew Conway bagged a brace and Keith Earls also dotted down.
‘I think we had really good continuity on a number of passages,” said Larkham ahead of Sunday afternoon’s meeting with Connacht at the Aviva Stadium.
“Like every team, we try and play as quickly as possible before the defence is set and I think they were a number of of those passages that occurred throughout the game.
“In particular, I think the last passage, the last 20 minutes of the game, there were some really good phases that we put together there.
“There were some really good recycles of the ball, JJ [Hanrahan] getting on the front front, having time and making the right decision. I think that’s what was pleasing for me, the ability to hold the ball and to play with the relative speed that we had.”
Prominent in the best attacking moments for Munster was their centre pairing of Damian de Allende, the high-profile new signing, and Chris Farrell.
“I thought Damian was very good,” said Larkham. “He just has time on the ball, good players generally have time. He has the ability to buy time, so if the rushing defence comes at him, he knows how to control his feet. He had very good hands on the weekend.
“From a defensive point of view, we got opened up a couple of times but if you look at Damian’s defensive involvement in the breakdown particularly, it was exceptional – he put a lot of pressure on the opposition breakdown, so he adds a number of elements to our game.
“In terms of Chris, it was definitely one of the best games I’ve seen Chris play. Getting his hands on the ball was key, trying to give him time on the ball as well.
“He’s obviously a big man but he’s got really good footwork and good power through contact as well. It was the number of touches he got as well.
“You try to plan for getting your best players ball-in-hand throughout the game but sometimes it doesn’t eventuate. It eventuated for Chris on the weekend and I think that’s how we saw the quality of player he is.
“It’s about finding that balance between the two, Damian with his silky skills and Chris with his good ball-carrying skills.”
Attempting to get the very best out of that midfield pair and the rest of Munster’s attack out on the pitch is out-half JJ Hanrahan, who is more important than ever to the province in Carbery’s absence.
Though Larkham didn’t know of Hanrahan before he arrived from Australia last year, he has been impressed with the 28-year-old.
“Firstly, the understanding of the game plan, the work that he does off the field to get himself right and to understand what he needs to move team around the paddock but also to make sure he’s making the right decisions on the field,” said Larkham of the Kerry man.
“He’s got a very good skllset. His catch-pass, kick is very good – he’s got a very good turn of speed and he’s an extremely accurate goal-kicker.
“I think he’s one of the best goal-kickers, the way that he trains with his goal-kicking and then the way that he handles pressure on the field is something that I don’t see in a lot of players.”
