“IF YOU COME and play a boring game then the crowd isn’t interested. They want to see breaks, they want to see tries and we need to do that, we need to do more of what we did tonight and really get them on our side. That’s the easiest way to do it.”
It’s October 2014 and Munster are leaving the Aviva Stadium feeling good about themselves. Not only have they beaten Leinster in Dublin – they’ve battered them 34-23, the scoreline not reflecting Munster’s dominance. Speaking after the game Munster’s Tommy O’Donnell describes it as the type of performance that can galvanise not only a squad, but supporters too.
Two months later Munster backed that win up at Thomond Park, beating Leinster back-to-back for the first time in three years.
They haven’t done it since. In fact, in the 18 meetings that have come and gone Munster have only won three.
Any way you look at it, this is a rivalry in need of a spark. Munster’s defeat of the Bulls last weekend suggested the current crop may just hold the jump leads but they are missing a number of key men as they make the trip to Dublin to take on Leinster at Aviva Stadium this evening [5.15pm, RTÉ 2/Premier Sports 2/URC TV].
For a Munster team still in the early days of a new chapter under Graham Rowntree, today’s game is something of a free shot against a stacked Leinster team who are clear favourites to keep their winning run intact.
The Bulls win was the first real sign of progress for Munster this season. Although the South Africans were poor on the day and all four Munster tries came from the forward pack, they also showed glimpses of what attack coach Mike Prendergast is trying to instill.
Munster out-half Joey Carbery energised the backline, looking more like his decisive, confident best, and the head-to-head battle with his opposite number, Leinster captain Johnny Sexton, is one of the most fascinating sub-plots of today’s encounter.
Remarkably, it’s the first time both Sexton and Carbery start a Leinster-Munster derby since the fiery Christmas 2018 meeting at Thomond Park, where Sexton became the pantomime villain as Carbery kicked 16-points in a memorable Munster win.
We’ve had nine derby meetings between the sides since, with Leinster winning eight, the exception a Rainbow Cup clash at the RDS. The most troubling aspect of this rivalry has not been Leinster’s dominance, but Munster’s tendency to not front up.
Last season’s 35-25 URC defeat to a Leinster side light on internationals was a particularly demoralising day at the tail-end of Johann van Graan’s tenure. Knowing a win would secure a home URC quarter-final, Munster folded against a Leinster team who had nothing tangible to play for. That result came a month after Leinster totally outplayed Munster at Thomond Park. The season beforehand, Munster registered just six points in a Pro14 final derby at the RDS. That marked Munster’s sixth straight loss to Leinster – the longest losing streak in the rivalry’s history.
The bulk of this Munster group must be sick of the sight of Leinster jerseys, but the young players starting to break into the senior side don’t carry the same baggage.
Across a difficult start to the season, they’ve injected some positivity into the early days of the Rowntree era, a project which will take some time to fully form.
His team have made the fewest clean breaks in the URC (11) this season, so it would be unrealistic to expect them to switch that side of their game on today, but youth could at least add energy to their approach.
The physicality and impact of 19-year-old Edwin Edogbo has been notable, while Tom Ahern and Jack Crowley both made encouraging cameos off the bench against the Bulls following their swift reintroduction after returning from Emerging Ireland duty.
Brimming with confidence, Rowntree has backed some of those players to step up against Leinster today. While Edogbo misses out with injury, Crowley starts at fullback and Ahern and John Hodnett are handed their first starts of the season, with Patrick Campbell and Ruadhan Quinn selected on the bench.
Yet even if Rowntree had been planning to back youth today, he’d certainly like more balance to his squad. Tadhg Beirne, Peter O’Mahony and Craig Casey will be missed, alongside longer-term absentees Simon Zebo, Andrew Conway and Keith Earls. Injuries to both Stephen Archer and Roman Salanoa mean tighthead James French is primed for just his second senior cap off the bench.
It’s likely to be a step too far for this youthful Munster side, but something needs to change in this rivalry so it will be fascinating to see how they step up.
As for Leinster, the most impressive part of their side of this argument has been an insatiable desire to stamp their authority on this fixture, no doubt reinforced by those couple of veterans still knocking about who remember when Munster held the upper hand in this tie, not least head coach Leo Cullen.
Leinster simply love beating Munster and always view this fixture as a chance to lay down a marker.
Five rounds into the new season, Cullen can be happy with what he’s seen from his side, who have had to win games in different ways but responded to the challenge each time; grinding it out against Ulster, taking a 13-try epic against the Sharks, shutting out Connacht in the wind and rain in Galway.
The midfield battle looks like a real area of strength for them today, with Ireland duo Garry Ringrose and Robbie Henshaw in the blue corner and Dan Goggin and Rory Scannell in red.
Summer signing Jason Jenkins has brought another level of aggression and power to the Leinster pack and Munster must make a concentrated effort to match the hosts in this department. If the visitors can make the breakdown a proper contest, keep solid at the set-piece, bring the bite and aggression of old and get in Leinster’s faces, it will take them a long way.
Only the most optimistic of Munster supporters think they can win, but a strong performance could put some life back into a rivalry that has grown increasingly one-sided. With the pressure off, they can afford to roll the dice.
Have walked away from so many demoralising defeats over the years, Munster supporters would be happy to see their team just have a go again.
LEINSTER: Ciarán Frawley; Jimmy O’Brien, Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, Jamie Osborne; Jonathan Sexton (captain), Luke McGrath; Cian Healy, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong; Jason Jenkins, James Ryan; Max Deegan, Scott Penny, Caelan Doris.
Replacements: John McKee, Andrew Porter, Michael Ala’alatoa, Ross Molony, Jack Conan, Nick McCarthy, Ross Byrne, Rob Russell.
MUNSTER: Jack Crowley; Shane Daly, Dan Goggin, Rory Scannell, Liam Coombes; Joey Carbery, Conor Murray; Jeremy Loughman, Diarmuid Barron, Keynan Knox; Jean Kleyn, Tom Ahern; Jack O’Donoghue (captain), John Hodnett, Gavin Coombes.
Replacements: Scott Buckley, Dave Kilcoyne, James French, Jack O’Sullivan, Ruadhan Quinn, Paddy Patterson, Ben Healy, Patrick Campbell.
Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU, 83rd league game)
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