THERE WAS A lot going on during the build up to kick-off at Toulon’s Stade Felix Mayol on Saturday.
Champions Cup days in France always means plenty of noise and colour and the home support were particularly boisterous ahead of their round three meeting with fellow European royalty Munster. The band played loud in a far corner of the pitch as Toulon’s hype man spurred the crowd on before announcing the arrival of three parachuters who dropped out of the skies to deliver the match ball.
There was a lot to take in, so it would have been easy to miss a notable small detail as the teams finally emerged from the tunnel. On his first apperance since stepping down as captain, Peter O’Mahony was the last man out for Munster.
Having held the role for a decade, it must have been a strange experience for O’Mahony but the flanker delivered a typically influential performance as Munster pulled off a stunning away win to save their Champions Cup season.
His return was an important part of the story. O’Mahony hadn’t played since November after suffering a shoulder injury and his leadership and experience had been badly missed as Munster went on a run of just one win across six games in the Champions Cup and URC.
O’Mahony has stepped up time and again for Munster in Europe and Saturday was no different, with the 34-year-old making a notable impact across a challenging start to the game for the visitors. Crucially, Munster’s lineout ran smoother with O’Mahony back while the Cork man also carried hard and got through a huge amount of work defensively.
O’Mahony will likely step down from a central IRFU contract this season but he remains a vitally important player for his home province. Speaking after the 28-19 win, head coach Graham Rowntree admitted that just having O’Mahony back involved during the week had helped set the tone for what followed at the Mayol.
“Special. It feels different when Pete’s around,” Rowntree said. “He’s a proven warrior. Within the week he helps drive standards, helps Tadhg (Beirne) as the captain, driving standards on the field and again his actions demonstrate that.”
Rowntree has yet to name O’Mahony’s successor as captain but Beirne looks the most likely candidate having filled in over the last two months. On a day when many Munster players shone, Beirne was at the heart of an impressive team effort, chipping in with 10 tackles, eight carries and a trademark turnover.
Beirne explained how O’Mahony’s presence made his own duties as captain easier on the day.
“I think I’ll probably lean on him more than I realise,” Beirne said. “You know, the reality is he’s a born leader. Just, it comes naturally to him and he speaks incredibly well to the group.
“He leads by example on the field as well, so if ever there’s a moment I need to turn to someone, it’s him, you know?
And you know, you’ve seen it massively this week in terms of the whole week. I spoke with him many times privately, and I had him speaking quite a bit to the group as well, which took a lot of weight off my shoulders too.
“He’s done the role for the last 10-11 years and as he said, he wants to be there for whoever is the next captain here. And this week it was me and he certainly was.”
Munster’s senior stars were complemented by a strong supporting cast, with John Hodnett, Gavin Coombes, Alex Nankivell, Tom Ahern and Craig Casey all brilliant on the day. Some of those performances could prove timely as Andy Farrell prepares to name his Six Nations squad on Wednesday.
One man who is sure to be in is Jack Crowley, who is primed to step up as first-choice out-half as Ireland begin life without Johnny Sexton.
Crowley has enjoyed an outstanding year and was calm and composed as he celebrated his 24th birthday in style in Toulon. After a mixed start to the game, his decision making was excellent and he provided two wonderful try assists through his kicking – chipping over the top for Simon Zebo in the first half before finding Ahern with a pinpoint cross-field for Munster’s third try.
“He’s certainly maturing,” said Rowntree. “He’s not the finished article, he knows that. But no, he’s so important for the group. He drives us on. Another one who leads by his actions more than what he says. I thought he was quite composed tonight.
“Not perfect, and he’d agree with that. But no, he’s been important to us. I’m delighted for him. For him to come through a big game like that for his confidence would be very important. Whatever happens with him in Ireland in the next couple of weeks, he’ll be one of the first ones on Monday saying we’re going to drive standards again for this week and we’re going to drive on for Northampton.”
Rowntree made sure to spread the credit around, singling out a number of players for their contributions on the day.
Ahern, Hodnett, Nankivell and Joey Carbery all got mentions while Rowntree also highlighted the return of Niall Scannell as a key factor. The Toulon game was the hooker’s first apperance of the season after recovering from a groin injury yet there were no signs of rust, with Scannell’s setpiece work solid throughout.
Niall Scannell was very good tonight. We’ve got a new plan with Niall now – one game on five months off. I’ll have to look at his contract there… No, I was delighted with him.”
On what was a brilliant day for Rowntree and his coaching team, the former Leicester prop was asked about Munster’s determination to play an open attacking game – an approach they struggled to execute over the Christmas period but one which clicked into gear across an accurate, clinical performance in the south of France.
“We won a trophy last year doing it, keeping the ball on the field, firing shots, not kicking the ball off the field, sticking to our plan. No, we learned a lot in those games, particularly the Connacht game, we had a young 10 (Tony Butler) on the field (who) learned about game management. Just messy games where we couldn’t get our game on top of teams.
“Today we could, (with) good weather. We’re a possession team and we move teams around, find space and we showed that tonight.”
