Boys in blue a different proposition

RUGBY: GERRY THORNLEYfinds the Munster head coach and veteran prop Marcus Horan all too aware of the need to raise their game for the Grand Final

MUNSTER AND their fans have a fortnight to contemplate the visit of Leinster for what would be an aptly named Grand Final. Ending a five-match losing streak in the head-to-head here early last month will encourage optimism, less so the failure to score a single try in those half dozen clashes.

“We will certainly need to raise the stakes, there is no doubt about that,” coach Tony McGahan admitted. “They are playing with a lot of confidence, they are very dynamic in the breakdown area, dynamic in the carry, they have got a really settled side that has been playing excellent rugby. They have come through a really tough group and they have certainly been the most consistent and probably the best side in Europe, no doubt.”

“They are the top team at the moment,” admitted Marcus Horan. “Their defence is fantastic and they are playing good rugby. If they do come down here as European Champions it’s a great way of gauging ourselves as to where we’re at after the disappointment of falling out of the competition.

“We’ll enjoy today and what it is, but we’ll start preparing for that. It will be another big occasion at Thomond Park, but we’ve got to come out fighting the way we did today, and maybe with a bit more.”

Horan is making a strong end-of-season push for inclusion in the World Cup and, along with fellow warrior John Hayes and the rest of the Munster pack, could take particular encouragement from the way they reversed scrum trends in this season’s previous meetings with the Ospreys.

“We worked really hard at it. We were under no illusions. The previous games in the season we struggled a bit. But I don’t think those games reflected the work we have done. A lot of it was upstairs. I think we’re well capable of taking on teams like that. Mainly it is upstairs in our heads. But our heads were right today. I think you could see that right across the field. We took them on in the forwards right from the start, and that was reflected in the scrums as well.”

Munster’s only injury concern from Saturday’s game, Denis Leamy, was given the all-clear after a scan yesterday.

“It was a better balance of what we’re trying to do,” said McGahan of the performance. “We had a lot more patience, intensity and purpose; we were more direct and when the opportunities presented themselves we were able to take them. We would have liked to take a few more but that’s the pressure of semi-finals.”

McGahan could feel especially vindicated in his selection of Danny Barnes, who he praised for his defensive solidity, ball-carrying and enthusiasm in Munster’s kick-chase game. As to whether he will play the 21-year-old against Brian O’Driscoll, we’ll waits and see.

“We made a lot of tough calls this week and there were a lot of quality players who were not even in the 23. We haven’t been afraid to make big calls before and we will have to wait and see. Just because there were 23 out there today doesn’t mean they will be in the 23 in two weeks’ time.

McGahan admitted the five minutes’ overtime defending a one-score lead was “certainly not good for the heart rate or for my hairline” and as to whether he asked Ronan O’Gara about his decision to kick to the corner two minutes after the 80, responded dryly: “I did, but he didn’t have an answer.”