HISTORY IS WRITTEN by the winners and in rugby, it’s written by the most recent winners.
What the Irish rugby public considered a rivalry with the Springboks can, since November, be described by their South African equivalents as having been little more than a mild irritation. The Boks have done it at World Cups where we’ve hurled from the ditch. As Mad Men supporting character Michael Ginsberg once told the show’s victory-obsessed protagonist, Don Draper, “I feel sorry for you”, to which Draper responded, “I don’t think about you at all.”
John Hamm’s immortal line from the elevator at Sterling Cooper has become a well-worn internet meme; the ultimate put-down to those who complain about us online without really knowing us.
In reality, though, Draper was as obsessed with Ginsberg as was true of the reverse: that Ginsberg’s innovation and self-assuredness had allowed him to so quickly pull up a seat at the big-boy table threatened Don’s entire sense of identity, one which he had been curating since this little Ginsberg bollocks was in nappies. Don suitably moved swiftly to crush his potential challenger.
Off the field, though, the dynamic between Irish rugby and that of South Africa has become more akin to the ubiquitous ‘Spider-Man pointing’ meme, in which Peter Parker and an identically-uniformed imposter direct the finger of blame at each other following a series of crimes.
There are many stakeholders in South African rugby who truly believe the world game — its governing body based in Dublin — has become Irish-influenced to the extent that it has become biased against South Africa. That Bulls and Springbok hooker Jan-Hendrik Wessels’ was suspended for grabbing Josh Murphy’s testicles without explicit video evidence was considered proof enough that there exists an anti-South African agenda. Franco Mostert’s red card — later rescinded — for a high tackle on Italy’s Paolo Garbisi in November only poured petrol on the braai. The idea that ‘the Irish run the game’ is not only a sentiment shared online by South African fans but one expressed privately by South African coaches and, occasionally, even players.
There are plenty of Irish stakeholders, meanwhile, who genuinely believe that the sport’s ideals have been massaged to support South African interests at the top of the game.
Adaptations to the breakdown and kick-escorting laws incentivise more kicking, they’ll tell you, and more kicking can lead only to more scrums, and more scrums can lead only to teams like South Africa gaining dominance as they did at the Aviva Stadium last month.
The idea that ‘the South Africans run the game’ is not yet a sentiment shared online by too many Irish fans but privately, it’s expressed by Irish people at the top end of the sport routinely.
It must be stressed that when ex-Leinster out-half Ross Byrne gave his blunt thoughts on the state of his sport earlier this week, he did not refer to South Africa even remotely. His sentiments, though, have been endorsed all week — on the record and off it — by Irish coaches with an eye on the bigger picture.
“Unfortunately I think it’s changed how everybody plays,” Byrne said of rugby’s recent law tweaks. “Everybody knows the stats: because of the new rules whoever kicks the ball is most likely to get it back. If those are the stats, which the top teams generally tend to follow, why would you not kick the ball?
“If I was a head coach of a country right now and the World Cup’s in two years, you’re going: ‘Okay, is there anyone who’s 19, 20, a second-row or back-row who’s a really good athlete? Can we make him into a winger in two years? Go chase some kicks?’ Genuinely, why would you not do that?”
“The way the ball carrier can no longer roll or move [at the ruck] – it’s made it harder to hold on to the ball, I would argue. That’s even more reason to kick. I think pretty much everybody’s gone that way.”
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The irony ahead of Munster’s Champions Cup meeting with Gloucester at Páirc Uí Chaoimh this evening is that the hosts have acted in accordance with the thoughts of with the opposition out-half, albeit Ross Byrne won’t have the opportunity to apply pressure on Munster under the high ball. Indeed, the pressure may wind up being registered the other way.
Byrne, who would have relished the trip to Cork, finds himself one of the frontliners rested by Gloucester for their second pool game: the Cherries are second-bottom in the Premiership, they have a win in the can at home to Castres in Europe, and they have a trip to Edinburgh and a home tie with Toulon to come after the Páirc. This evening’s game on Leeside is low on their list of priorities.
George Skivington will field an entirely different pack to that which featured in Gloucester’s last Prem game — a 26-15 win over Harlequins last month — or to that which featured in their 34-14 victory over Castres in their European opener last weekend.
Frontliner and number eight Jack Clement will make his competitive return following the ankle injury but, other than that, Gloucester will field a second-string pack against Ireland’s southern province.
As such, the fact that Gloucester rank in the Premiership’s top three for scrums won (34), with an 85% success rate, is of little concern for Munster on paper: the Gloucester pack that has garnered such admiration, at least for the most part, won’t start at the Páirc.
Munster, though, have plainly made their selection with the new laws in mind — be it under the presumption that they might be able to gain the upper hand on a weakened Gloucester scrum, or that they might have to hold fort against the third-best scrum in England.
And while the respective returns to Munster’s starting lineup of Michael Milne, Niall Scannell and Jean Kleyn will certainly shore up that particular set-piece for this evening’s hosts, it could be argued that Clayton McMillan’s back-three selection is equally scrum-oriented: the Kiwi has effectively selected three fullbacks in his backfield.
Combined with the return from injury of out-half Jack Crowley, an 11-14-15 combo of Ben O’Connor, Shane Daly and Mike Haley is a clear indication that Munster intend to protect themselves on both sides of the high ball in Blackrock. (Thaakir Abrahams — arguably Munster’s best back in the air against Bath despite his relatively diminutive stature — would appear to have been rested having started six of seven games this term).
“Probably the most significant changes have been in the back three,” McMillan said on Friday. “Anticipating that the weather’s not going to be great in Cork and the guys that have been given an opportunity have probably demonstrated a real strength around their movement in the backfield, high-ball catch, so that’s why we’ve got them there.”
More interesting, though, were the thoughts of Munster attack coach Mike Prendergast earlier in the week when he was asked about Ross Byrne’s interpretation of rugby union in 2025.
“If you’re receiving a kick and you get tackled and there’s a breakdown there”, Prendergast said, “it’s very hard to play against that because you generally have 13 players.
“What teams are generally doing: the trend is two, three phases, you’re not really going anywhere and a kick goes in the air. It’s a knock-on, it’s a scrum.
“The game, for me, it’s becoming quite long. I would feel very, very strongly about it, to be honest with you.
“I think it was probably something that, when the rules were being changed, they probably felt that it would help the attacking aspect of it. For me, it’s gone the other way around.
“There’s so many stoppages through it and there’s knock-ons in the air. That’s a reality.
“What we’re looking at is teams are looking to tap the ball back. Knock-ons can happen there or it becomes a bit of a shit-fight for that ball, I suppose, putting it in best terms.”
Haley, sound under aerial bombardment, and Daly, aggressive in the contest and more effective than most, will be expected to do their usual thing. If you were either Gloucester scrum-half Mike Austin or out-half Charlie Atkinson, you’d be kicking, where possible, towards the right, on top of Munster left wing Ben O’Connor, who has never before started a competitive game on the left of a backfield.
Welshman Josh Hathaway, only 22, will surely be licking his lips at the prospect of taking to the air against O’Connor. Ross Byrne, though, will also surely have informed his teammate that O’Connor, a year Hathaway’s junior, was an exceptionally gifted GAA player. The former Presentation Brothers College/St Finbarr’s man will equally relish the opportunity to perform at Páirc Uí Chaoimh in his chosen code and force his way into McMillan’s chosen 23 on a more regular basis.
This writer can attest to the fact that O’Connor did things for Pres in the Munster Schools Senior Cup not seen since the days of Keith Earls or Simon Zebo; he is an immensely talented athlete with superb attacking dexterity and instincts, but his bread and butter will be tested at the home of Cork GAA.
These are the games that will make a youngfella or break him — not definitively, but for a while. Ben O’Connor has the chance to become a main player or fall back into the developmental category. McMillan’s selection of the former Cork underage hurling star would suggest that Munster are confident he can seize the chance and announce himself slightly ahead of schedule.
Given Gloucester have sent, essentially, a second-string team, it would be shocking if Munster don’t win this game with a try-scoring bonus point. Anything less will feel like a failure and, given that their visit to Bath yielded zilch, it’s imperative that the home side takes maximum points this evening.
In a wider European context, Munster are probably closer to the Ginsbergs than they are the Drapers. Their baseline over the rest of the pool stage should be to ensure that their last-16 opponents have to think about them — a lot. And that starts at Páirc Uí Chaoimh this evening.
MUNSTER: 15. Mike Haley, 14. Shane Daly, 13. Dan Kelly, 12. Alex Nankivell, 11. Ben O’Connor, 10. Jack Crowley, 9. Craig Casey, 1. Michael Milne, 2. Niall Scannell, 3. Michael Ala’alatoa, 4. Jean Kleyn, 5. Tadhg Beirne (c), 6. Tom Ahern, 7. Jack O’Donoghue, 8. Gavin Coombes
Replacements:
GLOUCESTER: 15. George Barton, 14. Josh Hathaway, 13. Will Knight, 12. Max Knight, 11. Rob Russell, 10. Charlie Atkinson, 9. Mike Austin, 1. Dian Bleuler, 2. Jack Innard, 3. Jamal Ford-Robinson, 4. Cam Jordan, 5. Arthur Clark (c), 6. Josh Basham, 7. Harry Taylor, 8. Jack Clement
Replacements:
Replacements: 16. Kealan Freeman Price, 17. Ciaran Knight, 18. Afolabi Fasogbon, 19. Danny Eite, 20. Hugh Bokenham, 21. Caio James, 22. Rhys Price, 23. Jack Cotgreave
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Munster's backfield, the Spider-Man meme, and a former GAA star starting at the Páirc
HISTORY IS WRITTEN by the winners and in rugby, it’s written by the most recent winners.
What the Irish rugby public considered a rivalry with the Springboks can, since November, be described by their South African equivalents as having been little more than a mild irritation. The Boks have done it at World Cups where we’ve hurled from the ditch. As Mad Men supporting character Michael Ginsberg once told the show’s victory-obsessed protagonist, Don Draper, “I feel sorry for you”, to which Draper responded, “I don’t think about you at all.”
John Hamm’s immortal line from the elevator at Sterling Cooper has become a well-worn internet meme; the ultimate put-down to those who complain about us online without really knowing us.
In reality, though, Draper was as obsessed with Ginsberg as was true of the reverse: that Ginsberg’s innovation and self-assuredness had allowed him to so quickly pull up a seat at the big-boy table threatened Don’s entire sense of identity, one which he had been curating since this little Ginsberg bollocks was in nappies. Don suitably moved swiftly to crush his potential challenger.
Off the field, though, the dynamic between Irish rugby and that of South Africa has become more akin to the ubiquitous ‘Spider-Man pointing’ meme, in which Peter Parker and an identically-uniformed imposter direct the finger of blame at each other following a series of crimes.
There are many stakeholders in South African rugby who truly believe the world game — its governing body based in Dublin — has become Irish-influenced to the extent that it has become biased against South Africa. That Bulls and Springbok hooker Jan-Hendrik Wessels’ was suspended for grabbing Josh Murphy’s testicles without explicit video evidence was considered proof enough that there exists an anti-South African agenda. Franco Mostert’s red card — later rescinded — for a high tackle on Italy’s Paolo Garbisi in November only poured petrol on the braai. The idea that ‘the Irish run the game’ is not only a sentiment shared online by South African fans but one expressed privately by South African coaches and, occasionally, even players.
There are plenty of Irish stakeholders, meanwhile, who genuinely believe that the sport’s ideals have been massaged to support South African interests at the top of the game.
Adaptations to the breakdown and kick-escorting laws incentivise more kicking, they’ll tell you, and more kicking can lead only to more scrums, and more scrums can lead only to teams like South Africa gaining dominance as they did at the Aviva Stadium last month.
The idea that ‘the South Africans run the game’ is not yet a sentiment shared online by too many Irish fans but privately, it’s expressed by Irish people at the top end of the sport routinely.
It must be stressed that when ex-Leinster out-half Ross Byrne gave his blunt thoughts on the state of his sport earlier this week, he did not refer to South Africa even remotely. His sentiments, though, have been endorsed all week — on the record and off it — by Irish coaches with an eye on the bigger picture.
“Unfortunately I think it’s changed how everybody plays,” Byrne said of rugby’s recent law tweaks. “Everybody knows the stats: because of the new rules whoever kicks the ball is most likely to get it back. If those are the stats, which the top teams generally tend to follow, why would you not kick the ball?
“If I was a head coach of a country right now and the World Cup’s in two years, you’re going: ‘Okay, is there anyone who’s 19, 20, a second-row or back-row who’s a really good athlete? Can we make him into a winger in two years? Go chase some kicks?’ Genuinely, why would you not do that?”
“The way the ball carrier can no longer roll or move [at the ruck] – it’s made it harder to hold on to the ball, I would argue. That’s even more reason to kick. I think pretty much everybody’s gone that way.”
The irony ahead of Munster’s Champions Cup meeting with Gloucester at Páirc Uí Chaoimh this evening is that the hosts have acted in accordance with the thoughts of with the opposition out-half, albeit Ross Byrne won’t have the opportunity to apply pressure on Munster under the high ball. Indeed, the pressure may wind up being registered the other way.
Byrne, who would have relished the trip to Cork, finds himself one of the frontliners rested by Gloucester for their second pool game: the Cherries are second-bottom in the Premiership, they have a win in the can at home to Castres in Europe, and they have a trip to Edinburgh and a home tie with Toulon to come after the Páirc. This evening’s game on Leeside is low on their list of priorities.
George Skivington will field an entirely different pack to that which featured in Gloucester’s last Prem game — a 26-15 win over Harlequins last month — or to that which featured in their 34-14 victory over Castres in their European opener last weekend.
Frontliner and number eight Jack Clement will make his competitive return following the ankle injury but, other than that, Gloucester will field a second-string pack against Ireland’s southern province.
As such, the fact that Gloucester rank in the Premiership’s top three for scrums won (34), with an 85% success rate, is of little concern for Munster on paper: the Gloucester pack that has garnered such admiration, at least for the most part, won’t start at the Páirc.
Munster, though, have plainly made their selection with the new laws in mind — be it under the presumption that they might be able to gain the upper hand on a weakened Gloucester scrum, or that they might have to hold fort against the third-best scrum in England.
And while the respective returns to Munster’s starting lineup of Michael Milne, Niall Scannell and Jean Kleyn will certainly shore up that particular set-piece for this evening’s hosts, it could be argued that Clayton McMillan’s back-three selection is equally scrum-oriented: the Kiwi has effectively selected three fullbacks in his backfield.
Combined with the return from injury of out-half Jack Crowley, an 11-14-15 combo of Ben O’Connor, Shane Daly and Mike Haley is a clear indication that Munster intend to protect themselves on both sides of the high ball in Blackrock. (Thaakir Abrahams — arguably Munster’s best back in the air against Bath despite his relatively diminutive stature — would appear to have been rested having started six of seven games this term).
“Probably the most significant changes have been in the back three,” McMillan said on Friday. “Anticipating that the weather’s not going to be great in Cork and the guys that have been given an opportunity have probably demonstrated a real strength around their movement in the backfield, high-ball catch, so that’s why we’ve got them there.”
More interesting, though, were the thoughts of Munster attack coach Mike Prendergast earlier in the week when he was asked about Ross Byrne’s interpretation of rugby union in 2025.
“If you’re receiving a kick and you get tackled and there’s a breakdown there”, Prendergast said, “it’s very hard to play against that because you generally have 13 players.
“What teams are generally doing: the trend is two, three phases, you’re not really going anywhere and a kick goes in the air. It’s a knock-on, it’s a scrum.
“The game, for me, it’s becoming quite long. I would feel very, very strongly about it, to be honest with you.
“I think it was probably something that, when the rules were being changed, they probably felt that it would help the attacking aspect of it. For me, it’s gone the other way around.
“There’s so many stoppages through it and there’s knock-ons in the air. That’s a reality.
“What we’re looking at is teams are looking to tap the ball back. Knock-ons can happen there or it becomes a bit of a shit-fight for that ball, I suppose, putting it in best terms.”
Haley, sound under aerial bombardment, and Daly, aggressive in the contest and more effective than most, will be expected to do their usual thing. If you were either Gloucester scrum-half Mike Austin or out-half Charlie Atkinson, you’d be kicking, where possible, towards the right, on top of Munster left wing Ben O’Connor, who has never before started a competitive game on the left of a backfield.
Welshman Josh Hathaway, only 22, will surely be licking his lips at the prospect of taking to the air against O’Connor. Ross Byrne, though, will also surely have informed his teammate that O’Connor, a year Hathaway’s junior, was an exceptionally gifted GAA player. The former Presentation Brothers College/St Finbarr’s man will equally relish the opportunity to perform at Páirc Uí Chaoimh in his chosen code and force his way into McMillan’s chosen 23 on a more regular basis.
This writer can attest to the fact that O’Connor did things for Pres in the Munster Schools Senior Cup not seen since the days of Keith Earls or Simon Zebo; he is an immensely talented athlete with superb attacking dexterity and instincts, but his bread and butter will be tested at the home of Cork GAA.
These are the games that will make a youngfella or break him — not definitively, but for a while. Ben O’Connor has the chance to become a main player or fall back into the developmental category. McMillan’s selection of the former Cork underage hurling star would suggest that Munster are confident he can seize the chance and announce himself slightly ahead of schedule.
Given Gloucester have sent, essentially, a second-string team, it would be shocking if Munster don’t win this game with a try-scoring bonus point. Anything less will feel like a failure and, given that their visit to Bath yielded zilch, it’s imperative that the home side takes maximum points this evening.
In a wider European context, Munster are probably closer to the Ginsbergs than they are the Drapers. Their baseline over the rest of the pool stage should be to ensure that their last-16 opponents have to think about them — a lot. And that starts at Páirc Uí Chaoimh this evening.
MUNSTER: 15. Mike Haley, 14. Shane Daly, 13. Dan Kelly, 12. Alex Nankivell, 11. Ben O’Connor, 10. Jack Crowley, 9. Craig Casey, 1. Michael Milne, 2. Niall Scannell, 3. Michael Ala’alatoa, 4. Jean Kleyn, 5. Tadhg Beirne (c), 6. Tom Ahern, 7. Jack O’Donoghue, 8. Gavin Coombes
Replacements:
Replacements: 16. Diarmuid Barron, 17. Josh Wycherley, 18. Conor Bartley, 19. Edwin Edogbo, 20. Ruadhan Quinn, 21. Paddy Patterson, 22. JJ Hanrahan, 23. Tom Farrell.
GLOUCESTER: 15. George Barton, 14. Josh Hathaway, 13. Will Knight, 12. Max Knight, 11. Rob Russell, 10. Charlie Atkinson, 9. Mike Austin, 1. Dian Bleuler, 2. Jack Innard, 3. Jamal Ford-Robinson, 4. Cam Jordan, 5. Arthur Clark (c), 6. Josh Basham, 7. Harry Taylor, 8. Jack Clement
Replacements:
Replacements: 16. Kealan Freeman Price, 17. Ciaran Knight, 18. Afolabi Fasogbon, 19. Danny Eite, 20. Hugh Bokenham, 21. Caio James, 22. Rhys Price, 23. Jack Cotgreave
Referee: Matthew Carley (Eng)
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