MUNSTER FEEL THEY are putting the pieces in place, but as that process continues, there’s going to be some sore nights.
Saturday was one of those, a game where the province could point to some bright signs, but could only acknowledge them alongside painful shortcomings.
The start was excellent, the middle part less so, and the end decent. Not for the first time this season, Munster simply didn’t score enough points in the second half. Against both Glasgow and Ulster, Clayton McMillan’s side held half-time leads but failed to build on their advantage as they saw wins slip from their grasp. Against Leinster, they were eight up at the break but didn’t score again until the clock was in the red, losing their scoring touch as the hosts notched up 26 points without reply.
Seventeen penalties were also damaging, not just the total, but the timing, with a wave arriving as Leinster turned the screw in the second period. Munster captain Tadhg Beirne lamented the ill-discipline as “something we need to work on”, accepting a trend in the second-half of games, but McMillan was more bullish when pressed on the same issue.
“Yeah, look it hurt us today, but I think in the previous two URC games, we gave four penalties away in the whole game and five in the whole game.
Ireland's Ben O'Connor dejected after the game. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
“So it’s distorted to think that we’re an ill-disciplined team. We’re the least penalised team heading into the game today, but as Tadhg said, pressure makes people do silly things, and we gave away a couple of silly penalties that we didn’t need to.
“We lost a couple of collisions where if you lose a collision around a breakdown, you end up on the wrong side of the ruck, people will trap you in there, and you give away a penalty and just all of those things when it was at sort of 14-13, that was an arm wrestle and if we could keep them there for a little bit longer and take it down the home straight, then both teams would have been getting a little bit antsy and those penalties just gifted them more territory and when we went down to 14, eventually that was just going to take its toll.”
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That’s now one win, one draw and two defeats from four in the URC. They didn’t get the result again in Aviva Stadium, but a crucial difference was that this time, Munster didn’t fold, Ben O’Connor’s late try providing a losing bonus point.
“It didn’t blow out,” McMillan continued. “We’ve been guilty, at least last year, of in those moments, the game going from a tight arm wrestle to a 20/30 point loss.
Munster's Brian Gleeson at the bottom of a ruck. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
“So the fact that we didn’t capitulate and we actually found a way to get a bonus point at the end of the game for me is better evidence that we’re trending in the right direction, but we also don’t want to be the team that keeps talking about trending in the right direction.
“We want to start winning some games.”
In the build-up, Andy Farrell’s Ireland squad announcement was identified as a potential motivator for this Munster group. There was no surprise to see Leinster lead the way with 17 of the 36 selected, but with Ulster supplying nine and Connacht eight, Munster trailed well behind as only Tadhg Beirne and Craig Casey made the cut.
“I don’t think it was mentioned once,” said McMillan.
“It’s out of our hands. The (Ireland) team is selected, it’s a quality side, and as I said last week, it’s a hard team to get into, and we’ve got to be better, nights like tonight are opportunities to put your hand up and we didn’t get the job done, so there’s still growth to be had.”
Munster left Dublin hurting, but there’s no great shame in losing to this Leinster side. The home team fielded a starting XV stacked with internationals, while McMillan’s matchday 23 contained eight players aged 23 or younger.
“Yeah, look, if you compare the experience between the two teams, they’re significantly a more cohesive and experienced side, and we know that if you want to get a win down here you’ve got to come and throw your best shot, and patches of games is not going to be good enough and there’ll be some great learnings for our young squad out of the game tonight.
“So it is what it is. We’re happy with our cattle, we know we need to get better. There’s lots of young guys that are getting thrown into some pretty big occasions and from where I’m sitting a lot of them are doing a bloody good job.”
Out-half Charlie O’Shea (20), winger Shay McCarthy (23) and fullback Ben O’Connor (22) were among the young backs in the starting side.
Leinster's Jamison Gibson-Park is tackled by Munster's Jack O'Donoghue. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
“Yeah, look, there’s a big step up from playing AIL to URC and they’ve fit right in, they’ve shown it on the training field week in week out, so there’s no surprise in terms of the quality they’ve been showing,” said Munster captain Tadhg Beirne.
“There are plenty guys who are getting more opportunities than they probably had in the past, so I think performance wise on an individual basis there are a lot of lads playing really well and putting their hands up.
“But I think as a team, we’re getting better, we just have to get a little bit better again, particularly in those second halves where we’re kind of just dropping off a little bit.
“So I think that’s one thing I’ll certainly be trying to drive with this group in terms of going after an 80-minute performance. Every time you’re in one of these games, especially for those younger lads, it’s a huge learning, it’s a huge opportunity to get better.
“So we’ll certainly take it from today and hopefully bring it into next week.”
Next up it’s the Lions, and while Munster remain light on backs – Shane Daly facing time out after leaving Saturday’s game on a stretcher – the province hope to have Edwin Edogbo and Will Harrisson available for Saturday’s meeting in Thomond Park.
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Munster see progress, but 'want to start winning some games'
MUNSTER FEEL THEY are putting the pieces in place, but as that process continues, there’s going to be some sore nights.
Saturday was one of those, a game where the province could point to some bright signs, but could only acknowledge them alongside painful shortcomings.
The start was excellent, the middle part less so, and the end decent. Not for the first time this season, Munster simply didn’t score enough points in the second half. Against both Glasgow and Ulster, Clayton McMillan’s side held half-time leads but failed to build on their advantage as they saw wins slip from their grasp. Against Leinster, they were eight up at the break but didn’t score again until the clock was in the red, losing their scoring touch as the hosts notched up 26 points without reply.
Seventeen penalties were also damaging, not just the total, but the timing, with a wave arriving as Leinster turned the screw in the second period. Munster captain Tadhg Beirne lamented the ill-discipline as “something we need to work on”, accepting a trend in the second-half of games, but McMillan was more bullish when pressed on the same issue.
“Yeah, look it hurt us today, but I think in the previous two URC games, we gave four penalties away in the whole game and five in the whole game.
“So it’s distorted to think that we’re an ill-disciplined team. We’re the least penalised team heading into the game today, but as Tadhg said, pressure makes people do silly things, and we gave away a couple of silly penalties that we didn’t need to.
“We lost a couple of collisions where if you lose a collision around a breakdown, you end up on the wrong side of the ruck, people will trap you in there, and you give away a penalty and just all of those things when it was at sort of 14-13, that was an arm wrestle and if we could keep them there for a little bit longer and take it down the home straight, then both teams would have been getting a little bit antsy and those penalties just gifted them more territory and when we went down to 14, eventually that was just going to take its toll.”
That’s now one win, one draw and two defeats from four in the URC. They didn’t get the result again in Aviva Stadium, but a crucial difference was that this time, Munster didn’t fold, Ben O’Connor’s late try providing a losing bonus point.
“It didn’t blow out,” McMillan continued. “We’ve been guilty, at least last year, of in those moments, the game going from a tight arm wrestle to a 20/30 point loss.
“So the fact that we didn’t capitulate and we actually found a way to get a bonus point at the end of the game for me is better evidence that we’re trending in the right direction, but we also don’t want to be the team that keeps talking about trending in the right direction.
“We want to start winning some games.”
In the build-up, Andy Farrell’s Ireland squad announcement was identified as a potential motivator for this Munster group. There was no surprise to see Leinster lead the way with 17 of the 36 selected, but with Ulster supplying nine and Connacht eight, Munster trailed well behind as only Tadhg Beirne and Craig Casey made the cut.
“I don’t think it was mentioned once,” said McMillan.
Munster left Dublin hurting, but there’s no great shame in losing to this Leinster side. The home team fielded a starting XV stacked with internationals, while McMillan’s matchday 23 contained eight players aged 23 or younger.
“Yeah, look, if you compare the experience between the two teams, they’re significantly a more cohesive and experienced side, and we know that if you want to get a win down here you’ve got to come and throw your best shot, and patches of games is not going to be good enough and there’ll be some great learnings for our young squad out of the game tonight.
“So it is what it is. We’re happy with our cattle, we know we need to get better. There’s lots of young guys that are getting thrown into some pretty big occasions and from where I’m sitting a lot of them are doing a bloody good job.”
Out-half Charlie O’Shea (20), winger Shay McCarthy (23) and fullback Ben O’Connor (22) were among the young backs in the starting side.
“Yeah, look, there’s a big step up from playing AIL to URC and they’ve fit right in, they’ve shown it on the training field week in week out, so there’s no surprise in terms of the quality they’ve been showing,” said Munster captain Tadhg Beirne.
“There are plenty guys who are getting more opportunities than they probably had in the past, so I think performance wise on an individual basis there are a lot of lads playing really well and putting their hands up.
“But I think as a team, we’re getting better, we just have to get a little bit better again, particularly in those second halves where we’re kind of just dropping off a little bit.
“So I think that’s one thing I’ll certainly be trying to drive with this group in terms of going after an 80-minute performance. Every time you’re in one of these games, especially for those younger lads, it’s a huge learning, it’s a huge opportunity to get better.
“So we’ll certainly take it from today and hopefully bring it into next week.”
Next up it’s the Lions, and while Munster remain light on backs – Shane Daly facing time out after leaving Saturday’s game on a stretcher – the province hope to have Edwin Edogbo and Will Harrisson available for Saturday’s meeting in Thomond Park.
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Clayton McMillan Munster Rugby SUAF URC