Munster advance but fail to progress

Munster 26 Castres 10:THE SEQUENCE of report cards continues to bear the same message: "Can do better." That's not to denigrate the significance of the achievement in reaching the play-offs of this season's Heineken Cup with one match to spare in the pool phase but rather from delving into the minutiae of each contest.

There is progress in aspects of the team dynamic but frustratingly for coach Tony McGahan and the players blemishes that have become dog-eared by repetition.

There is a recurring theme that permeates each of the five matches and centres on Munster’s inability to emphatically exploit try-scoring opportunities.

The fact they have been creating them, as they did again on Saturday, is hugely positive but their life-expectancy for the remainder of the tournament as the standard climbs upwards appreciably is akin to dogs that chase cars: it’s only a matter of time before the biter will be bitten.

There are two issues in examining the paucity of conversion to the chances presented in the try-scoring stakes, one relating to skills and the other to the decision- making process. At times the execution was rank, principally in passing.

Keith Earls made several fine breaks with slashing footwork and possesses a keen appreciation of space; how to find it and exploit it. However, his distribution at outside centre wasn’t as accurate as it should be. He threw a number of wayward passes, missing the intended receiver on one occasion, while other times forcing the outside player to check as the pass drifted over head height.

This kills momentum in an instant. He was by no means alone but the very nature of the role within a team means the outside centre is often a secondary playmaker; a creative fulcrum in the outside channels.

The second issue pertains to making good decisions in possession. Munster number eight James Coughlan won’t want to watch the first 10 minutes of any video analysis having made a number of basic mistakes – he would recover to have a very positive influence – the most glaring of which was when he was struck down by a dose of white-line fever.

Denis Hurley and Johne Murphy waited expectantly for the pass that would have allowed either to cross unopposed only to watch Coughlan put his head down from 10 metres, embarking on a personal crusade. Unfortunately, he was imprisoned short, spilling possession and the ransom had to be paid on foot of poor option taking.

If this was an aberration it would have been disappointing but there was a surfeit of such instances from which to choose.

They weren’t identical, ranging from one pick-and-go too many, thereby slowing down what had been quick ball, to a failure to finish off good approach work, or simply transgressing needlessly.

McGahan admitted: “That’s the frustration for everyone, fans, coaches, supporters. We know that’s there and we just need to finish it off.”

Nobody’s harder on the group than the group itself. They know they have things to work on. It wasn’t a jubilant dressingroom afterwards.

“I’m sure we’re satisfied deep down, we’re just frustrated with what happened out there. When we reflect tomorrow and see where we are, it’s important we focus on the positives of where we are and where we want to get to.”

It is important to contextualise, though, and the Munster coach was right to point out what the squad had achieved to this point in the competition without a number of injured front-line players in a pool that would have been politely considered as “tricky”, from the outset.

There were aspects of the performance that reflect positively on the work being undertaken on the training paddock. The scrum was a lucrative source of penalties, the lineout an equally fertile font.

Some of the driving around the fringes, led by Peter O’Mahony, Damien Varley and Paul O’Connell, gave the home team impetus, while BJ Botha had arguably his best game for the province in all facets of the game.

Donncha O’Callaghan made a consistent and disciplined impact when coming on for Niall Ronan after 14 minutes.

The openside twisted his knee when trying to turn and will have a scan this morning to ascertain the extent of the damage.

It was another Donnacha though, Ryan, who was Munster’s outstanding performer on the day, manifest in his work-rate, skill set and the manner in which they impacted upon the match.

Once Munster stopped going wide at every opportunity as progress was more often lateral than forward, and returned to punching holes on the fringes or at the very least, the midfield channels, they caused their opponents far more problems.

Conor Murray was sharp and authoritative and might have celebrated a try but O’Connell ran an illegal blocking route that was picked up by the officials.

Munster’s tries came at either end of the contest, with Murphy cantering over following a cleverly worked lineout variation, while the excellent Wian du Preez burrowed over from close range after Lifeimi Mafi’s feet had made the initial breach in the Castres 22.

Ronan O’Gara tagged on two conversions and four penalties.

Castres, without 12 first-choice players for a variety of reasons, were orthodox if spirited in what they tried to do. They scored a try from flanker Yannick Caballero and could have managed one or two others; denied on one occasion by a brilliant O’Connell steal in the shadow of the Munster posts.

The result was never really up for debate but the frustration, was reflected in a sombre atmosphere, but one that should dissipate quickly as Munster prepare for what will be a considerably more difficult assignment at stadium:mk against a smarting Northampton Saints side next weekend.

That’s a higher level examination and only an A grade performance will suffice.

Scoring sequence:7 mins: Murphy try, O'Gara conversion, 7-0; 14: O'Gara penalty, 10-0; 18: Caballero try, Bernard con, 10-7; 22: O'Gara pen, 13-7; 25: O'Gara pen, 16-7. Half-time: 16-7. 42: Bernard pen, 16-10; 52: O'Gara pen, 19-10; 67: du Preez try, O'Gara con, 26-10.

MUNSTER:D Hurley; J Murphy, K Earls, L Mafi, S Zebo; R O'Gara, C Murray; W du Preez, D Varley, BJ Botha; D Ryan, P O'Connell (capt); P O'Mahony, N Ronan, J Coughlan. Replacements: D O'Callaghan for Ronan (13 mins); T O'Leary for Murray (65 mins); D Fogarty for Varley, M Horan for du Preez (both 72 mins); S Archer for Botha, I Keatley for O'Gara (both 73 mins); D Barnes for Mafi, B Holland for O'Mahony (both 76 mins).

CASTRES OLYMPIQUE: R Martial; V Inigo, P Bonnefond, P-M Garcia, PG Lakafia; P Bernard, T Lacrampe; S Taumoepeau, M-A Rallier, A Peikrishvili; M Rolland (capt), R Capo Ortega; Y Caballero, I Diarra, J Bornman. Replacements: M Coetzee for Taumoepeau, K Wihongi for Peikrishvili (both 55 mins); M Bonello for MA Railler (65 mins); M Nicholas for Inigo (72 mins); P Roussel for Diarra (75 mins). Yellow card: T Lacrampe (54 mins).

Referee: Andrew Small (England)