AS A POWERFUL wind buffeted the makeshift media tent at Northampton’s ground earlier this month, Graham Rowntree spoke confidently about his belief that Munster would bounce back and have better days in the near future.
Just three weeks on from that Champions Cup exit, the Munster head coach was rightly thrilled to leave South Africa after his team had earned a maximum haul of 10 match points from their games against the Bulls and Lions.
The past fortnight has been invigorating for Munster. They’ve been boosted by the return of some important players from injury and illness, ensuring their matchday 23 has been much stronger than was the case against Northampton and during a luckless spell in the winter.
Heading away on tour came at exactly the right time after the disappointment and frustration of their Champions Cup campaign. Every rugby team enjoys touring and Munster have made the most of it, returning home with a sense that they have further tightened the bonds forged during last season’s run to the URC title.
The strategy of playing the Bulls at altitude in Pretoria and then flying for two hours back down to sea level for a week of training in Cape Town before returning to the Highveld just before the game against Lions in Johannesburg worked.
Munster had an excellent week in Cape Town. There was a powerful moment as the squad laid a wreath at the seafront in memory of Greig Oliver, the Munster academy coach who died in Cape Town last year.
Lots of Munster’s plans worked out perfectly on this tour. Rowntree and his coaching staff were able to pick a much better bench due to those returning players but they rejigged their 23 in a fascinating way to ensure maximum impact in the challenging warm weather up at altitude.
The use of number eight Gavin Coombes off the bench in both games is the obvious example. He’s always a starter for Munster but he was a punchy replacement against the Bulls and Lions, with Jack O’Donoghue impressing in the number eight shirt before making way.
In the Lions game, Coombes came off the bench early in the second half and delivered a try-scoring offload to Shane Daly with his first touch. Coombes covered lots of ground at pace from an attacking scrum to pop up wide on the left on second phase of a cleverly conceived set-piece play, showing his energy immediately. Against the Bulls, he came on to deliver some huge contributions on both sides of the ball.
Others such as John Hodnett, Oli Jager, Tom Ahern, Craig Casey, and Joey Carbery had a big impact off the bench on this tour too.
Munster’s tweaking of their game plan worked nicely. They’re generally a side who focus on retaining possession and keeping the ball in play as much as possible. Only Glasgow have had more possession than Munster in this season’s URC.
But in South Africa, they kicked more than usual, particularly against the Lions when they had 32 kicks in play – a big jump on their average of 22. When they weren’t contesting kicks in the air or attacking breakdowns off the back of them, Rowntree’s men were happy to kick the ball off the pitch, ensuring they maintained as much physical energy as possible at altitude.
Against the Lions, their contestable kicking was important while Jack Crowley’s cross-field kicking yielded a try in the Bulls game. It must have been highly satisfying for the coaches and players to get such rewards from tailoring their style of play in South Africa.
Crowley was immense on the Highveld, bouncing back from a tough game against Northampton to show his class with the boot and ball in hand. Other key players like Tadhg Beirne and the fit-again RG Snyman delivered huge performances too.
It was notable how big an impact senior players had for Munster. Scrum-half Conor Murray was superb against the Bulls, Simon Zebo continued to roll back the years at fullback, while Stephen Archer had an excellent tour.
36-year-old Archer is an incredible servant to Munster and even went the full 80 minutes against Northampton. His first-half scrum penalty win in the Lions game was an important moment, then he delivered at the ensuing maul to help create a try.
Meanwhile, some of the younger players continued their growth. 23-year-old openside Alex Kendellen enjoyed his starting role and was immense in defence in the Lions game. He made all 24 of his tackle attempts and there were some vicious shots in there as he earned key turnovers for Munster.
First-choice wings Daly and Calvin Nash were back in harness having missed the Saints game, with their attacking touches and work-rate also making a difference.
So it must have been a happy flight home for Munster as they looked into a week-long break. Of course they would rather be preparing for a Champions Cup semi-final but they will take this chance to recharge before the last push in the URC.
Rowntree’s side have Connacht at home, Edinburgh away, and Ulster at home in their three remaining regular season fixtures. They’re third in the table as things stand, just a point behind Leinster. There’s no doubt that a top-two finish is the target now, which would ensure home advantage in the play-offs.
It’s clear that Munster are more than happy to go on the road and they won their URC title with three away wins last season, but it would be a thrill for their fans to watch play-off games at Thomond Park.
There’s still lots of important work ahead but Munster have put themselves in a nice spot as they look to retain that URC title.
