Munster must start well to win well

PREVIEW/Pool Five: So begins Munster's latest European Cup odyssey. They've come close to the mountain top, but they'll never rest easy until they get there.

It's been the abiding story of the tournament in many ways, and today we'll discover how much their desire still burns. We shouldn't have to wonder too long. The kick-off, most likely.

The visits of Harlequins to Thomond Park have been a handy reference point for Munster's increasingly lofty ambitions in this tournament. Six years ago, when Keith Wood led them out, they were a prized scalp. Three seasons ago, Munster ran up 50.

The Bald Wonder will merely be an interested spectator today, and given the mighty Quins are not sitting too loftily in the English Premiership after seven defeats in seven games, there'll be expectations of another half-century.

"A lot of people expect this to be an easy match for us," said Alan Gaffney apprehensively. "I know we should be favourites but they've fronted up in their last two games. Keeping Gloucester to 29-23 at Kingsholm is not a bad effort in anybody's book. Their forwards improved a lot in those two games, and competed very well, especially against a very strong Leicester pack."

Gaffney has had to make some tough choices, not least in perming three from five backrowers. He has rewarded form in opting for the young tyro Denis Leamy and the old warhorse Jim Williams on either side of Anthony Foley, with Alan Quinlan and David Wallace confined to a bench featuring five forwards and two backs. It's some bench, and Mike Mullins and James Storey don't even make it.

Ideally, Gaffney will be seeking to supplement an already dominant force as opposed to bailing them out of difficulties. With that in mind, Munster can ill-afford the kind of sleepy start that left them two tries and 12-3 down by the first quarter against Cardiff last week and has marked their season to date.

But that was the Celtic League, and this is the European Cup. There is unlikely to be the subdued mood of a week ago, on or around the pitch. Nor an overburdening sense of expectation.

Harlequins could be forgiven for having a sense of déjà vu, given their last European Cup away tie was that aforementioned day at this very venue.

But as so often happens when a struggling league side is given a day out in a cup, they could welcome the change of competition and environment, and their sizeable Irish contingent could revel in it.

One thinks particularly of Jeremy Staunton, returning to Thomond Park, facing Ronan O'Gara and Munster - this is a massive game for the former Garryowen and Munster man. On and off the pitch, there'll be many eyes on him. "He could be man of the match," admits Gaffney, knowing full well Staunton's talent.

At their stubborn best last season, when either punching their weight domestically or winning the Parker Pen Cup, Harlequins were more than adept at frustrating and stifling teams for long stretches. As Connacht also witnessed, Will Greenwood and George Harder can also give them a serious cutting edge.

Winning, and winning well, would be the perfect platform for Munster. Such is the threshold for advancing to the quarter-finals, and procuring a vital home tie, that as Munster discovered last season they required not only five wins out of six, but also four bonus points in those victories.

Nevertheless, as Gaffney concedes, Munster's mentality cannot be to put the cart before the horse. "It's a match in which we've got to build the phases and be patient. We can't go out and think we're going to score at every opportunity. We can score tight or wide out now, I know we've got that ability to play both, but we've got to be very structured. We can't be too loose."

The European Cup and Thomond Park usually brings that out in them, and though Shaun Payne is a loss, John Kelly is returning to his best position at outside centre, while Christian Cullen has undoubtedly given an extra dimension to their attacks in the opposition 22. Indeed, all but five of their 18 tries thus far have come from the backs, mostly out wide.

Patience may be required, but they should get there in the end. And it will hardly be dull. Hereabouts in the European Cup, it never is.

MUNSTER: C Cullen; M Lawlor, J Kelly, R Henderson, A Horgan; R O'Gara, P Stringer; M Horan, F Sheahan, J Hayes, T Hogan, P O'Connell, J Williams, A Foley, D Leamy. Replacements: J Flannery, G McIlwham, T Bowman, A Quinlan, D Wallace, M Prendergast, P Burke.

HARLEQUINS: G Duffy; G Harder, W Greenwood, D James, S Keogh; J Staunton, S So'oialo; C Jones, T Fuga, M FitzGerald, R Winters, S Miall, N Easter, T Diprose, A Vos. Replacements: A Tiatia, M Worsley, O Palepoi, L Sherriff, A Dunne, M Deane, T Williams.

Referee: Hugh Watkins (Wales).

Previous meetings: 1997-98: Harlequins 48 Munster 40; Munster 23 Harlequins 16. 2001-2: Harlequins 8 Munster 24; Munster 51 Harlequins 17. Odds (Paddy Powers): 1/20 Munster, 33/1 Draw, 7/1 Harlequins. Handicap betting (=Harlequins +22pts): 10/11 Munster, 16/1 Draw, 10/11 Harlequins.

Forecast: Munster to win.

Munster v NEC Harlequins, Thomond Park, today, 5.15. On TV: RTÉ, Sky Sports.