THIS ONE TICKS all the boxes when it comes to Munster in the Champions Cup.
Unfancied away from home? Check. Northampton are five-point favourites for this Round of 16 clash at Franklin’s Gardens [KO 12.30pm, TNT Sports/ITV].
A few injuries thrown in? Yes, absolutely. They’re missing their first-choice right wing Calvin Nash, left wing Shane Daly, tighthead prop Oli Jager, second row Jean Kleyn, hooker Diarmuid Barron, and a couple of others who might have featured.
It looked like their star player, RG Snyman, was going to be fit when they named him in their starting XV on Friday but, lo and behold, the two-time World Cup winner was withdrawn yesterday due to the same illness that kept him out of last weekend’s URC win over Cardiff.
Some off-pitch drama late in the week? Of course. The URC announced on Thursday that tighthead John Ryan was banned for three games. That seemingly ruled him out of this weekend but Ryan was on the bench when Munster named their matchday 23. It turned out Munster had appealed but by Friday evening, it was confirmed that the suspension was upheld. A big blow considering that Jager and Roman Salanoa were already out.
Academy loosehead prop Mark Donnelly – who played for the Ireland U20s at tighthead – was named on the bench in Ryan’s place. Starting loosehead Jeremy Loughman has shifted across for Munster in the past so it will be interesting to see what happens if 36-year-old starting tighthead Stephen Archer can’t go the distance. Archer has gone the full 80 for Munster before, doing so twice in April of last year.
A badly-timed story in the build-up? Yep. It was known that Antoine Frisch was weighing up whether to chase caps with France or Ireland but it was a surprise to read his declaration in favour of les Bleus so soon before this huge game. The news broke in L’Équipe this week and that complicated issue will rumble on as Munster fans worry Frisch will leave sooner rather than later. The timing was far from ideal.
Throw in the fact that Munster were poor in last weekend’s win over Cardiff, while Premiership leaders Northampton had an impressive win against Saracens, and you can understand the trepidation some of the travelling fans are feeling.
Even when you take a longer-term view of things, Munster have made life difficult for themselves. Their URC success last season meant they were finally top seeds coming into the Champions Cup pool stages but they botched the chance by giving up a strong winning position away to Exeter, drawing at home against a weakened Bayonne team, and losing at home to Northampton to limp into the knock-out stages thanks to a win away to Toulon.
As head coach Graham Rowntree said after the Exeter game, Munster are world leaders in making life tough for themselves.
It’s not all doom and gloom. Even without Snyman, a back five of Tom Ahern, Tadhg Beirne, Peter O’Mahony, John Hodnett, and Gavin Coombes is strong.
Northampton have had their own injury woes. Influential fullback George Furbank, who starred for England against Ireland in the Six Nations, is missing through injury, as is Scottish centre Rory Hutchinson. England scrum-half Alex Mitchell, such a creative influence, is back from injury but only on the bench.
Munster are taking encouragement from their impressive performance away to Toulon when the pressure was on, while they can also lean on their impressive run of away victories in the URC play-offs last season. They believe they can deliver on the road.
And they’re certain that if they hit the levels they’re capable of, they can win against what is a very good Northampton team. Mike Prendergast’s attack needs to be at its sharpest, but he needs the Munster ball-carriers to get over the gainline so out-half Jack Crowley can direct his team into their most irresistible flow.
Denis Leamy’s defence has to deal with the variety of Northampton’s play. As we saw in Thomond Park in January, the English side usually kick well, although Saracens got two blockdown tries last weekend with Furbank and Mitchell missing. Saints can be direct with ball in hand but also threaten with the razor-sharp set-piece strike plays that head coach Sam Vesty comes up with.
They have a physical edge led by the evergreen Courtney Lawes and captain Lewis Ludlam, while wing Ollie Sleightholme is tough to put on the ground. Leading it all is the impressive Fin Smith at out-half, whose mature kicking and classy decision-making belie the fact that he’s still only 21.
Northampton have been good at home, winning all their games in Franklin’s Gardens since a defeat to Bristol there in October, even if Munster hope their travelling horde of around 3,500 can make a racket as part of the the capacity crowd of 15,000.
12.30pm kick-offs aren’t usually the most appealing but the gravity of this game and the scope for it to be a real cracker mean there shouldn’t be much delay in supporters finding their voice.
Munster are the underdogs, for sure, and if they don’t turn up in convincing fashion, Northampton have the tools to make it a chastening afternoon for them. But equally, given the history and even more recent evidence of this Munster team on the road, it wouldn’t be a huge shock if Rowntree’s men bring this one down to the wire.
Their reward for winning would be a visit to the Bulls at altitude in Pretoria next weekend, with a flight out to South Africa on Tuesday. That would mean a three-week tour given that they already have URC clashes with the Bulls and Lions to follow.
It will take something special to earn a quarter-final, but Munster have given their fans exactly that many times before.
Northampton:
- 15. James Ramm
- 14. Tommy Freeman
- 13. Fraser Dingwall
- 12. Burger Odendaal
- 11. Ollie Sleightholme
- 10. Fin Smith
- 9. Tom James
- 1. Emmanuel Iyogun
- 2. Curtis Langdon
- 3. Trevor Davison
- 4. Alex Moon
- 5. Alex Coles
- 6. Courtney Lawes
- 7. Lewis Ludlam (captain)
- 8. Sam Graham
Replacements:
- 16. Sam Matavesi
- 17. Alex Waller
- 18. Paul Hill
- 19. Temo Mayanavanua
- 20. Angus Scott-Young
- 21. Juarno Augustus
- 22. Alex Mitchell
- 23. George Hendy
Munster:
- 15. Mike Haley
- 14. Seán O’Brien
- 13. Antoine Frisch
- 12. Alex Nankivell
- 11. Simon Zebo
- 10. Jack Crowley
- 9. Craig Casey
- 1. Jeremy Loughman
- 2. Niall Scannell
- 3. Stephen Archer
- 4. Tom Ahern
- 5. Tadhg Beirne (captain)
- 6. Peter O’Mahony
- 7. John Hodnett
- 8. Gavin Coombes
Replacements:
- 16. Eoghan Clarke
- 17. Josh Wycherley
- 18. Mark Donnelly
- 19. Jack O’Donoghue
- 20. Alex Kendellen
- 21. Conor Murray
- 22. Joey Carbery
- 23. Shay McCarthy
Referee: Mike Adamson [Scotland].
- This article was updated at 3.55pm to include Shay McCarthy on the Munster bench.
