POOL ONE Munster 41 Treviso 10: DECIPHERING MUNSTER'S performance graph this season is a matter of perspective. Take, for example, their latest offering in the Heineken Cup. The funereal silence that descended on Thomond Park when Andrew Vilk scored Benetton Treviso's second try to put the Italian side 10-0 ahead after 24 minutes encapsulated the bemusement of the home supporters.
The plaintive wails of “Munster, Munster” that greeted Ronan O’Gara’s restart were offered both as an entreaty to the team and an antidote to the numbing disbelief that gripped the majority of the patrons.
Some 60 minutes, seven tries and a bonus point victory later, and armed with the 20/20 vision of hindsight, the consensus among players and management was that the result was never in doubt.
What might be more accurate is to point to the fact Munster never panicked. They cut down on the errors that had peppered their patterns in the opening quarter and took a more direct, hands-on approach; literally. The kicking game to that point had been largely nondescript and efforts to go wide from first phase poorly executed.
The home side needed a change of tack and captain Paul O’Connell decided his pack held the key. The blueprint started with the lineout, where Denis Fogarty religiously sought and found Donncha O’Callaghan. And as soon as the secondrow landed Munster sought to maul their opponents. It was hugely effective as the home eight chugged forward 20 or 30 metres at a time.
It also served to suck in Treviso defenders, and the knock-on effect was gaps on the fringes and more space out wide. David Wallace made several typically athletic, line-breaking forays that might have yielded more than one try.
But it was two players in particular, O’Callaghan and Paul Warwick, who were central to Munster’s rehabilitation.
The Irish lock had a colossal impact in discharging his duties. He was the primary target out of touch, and pilfered a few Treviso throws to boot, but it was his graft in the tight that helped shape his team’s victory.
Warwick’s facility to read the game intelligently invariably saw him choose the right option. This was especially evident when he occasionally slipped into the outhalf position.
He arced around Cornelius van Zyl to touch down on one occasion, on another it was his cross-kick to Ian Dowling that led to another try. He was a constant threat because he ran straight, attracting defenders, and this created space for others. He also brings vision to the pivot role, conspicuous in particular when play is less patterned.
Denis Leamy worked assiduously, carrying and chopping down, O’Connell was typically diligent, while a number of replacements made an impact. Julien Brugnaut helped to stifle a Treviso scrum which up to that point had been dominant, Dowling chipped in with a couple of tries, while Darragh Hurley also acquitted himself well.
Fogarty enjoyed an excellent afternoon while Jean de Villiers, quite apart from a straightforward run-in for a try, is becoming more prominent with every match.
Coach Tony McGahan enthused: “Jean is a world-class player and he comes in with nothing to prove to anyone in our set-up. He’s making his own road into the side and we’re certainly happy with where he is at this time. He’s a tremendous guy and he comes with a big history of playing well with good sides.”
McGahan added that the centre would stay with Munster when South Africa are in the Northern Hemisphere next month.
The coach elected to play down the fact Munster’s scrum was eviscerated early-on, the Treviso eight taking them for a tour of Thomond Park at will. That will have to be addressed, not least because of injury. Marcus Horan departed after just 16 minutes “feeling dizzy”, and was taken to hospital where he was kept in overnight.
Tony Buckley – John Hayes is still suspended – left the ground on crutches having been forced off after 57 minutes with a calf problem and will miss next weekend’s match, while Doug Howlett tweaked his hamstring just before the interval in saving a certain try.
In reflecting on the match, the Munster management must realise that Treviso pretty much downed tools after conceding two tries in the first 13 minutes of the second half. They took off their entire frontrow and then gradually withdrew their more important players with one eye on next week’s Italian championship.
They basically did not try to do anything other than hoof the ball away for the last 30 minutes.
It was a factor, maybe not the primary one, in the home side cutting loose towards the end. Munster’s defensive line speed was too slow at times and they still need to polish the interaction between outhalf and the centres.
The home side conceded those two tries, the first to Brendan Williams, the game’s most elusive runner, and then England Sevens captain Andrew Vilk won a foot race following Williams’ chip. The Italians might have had a third try but lost control as they walked forward in a scrum eight metres from the line.
Munster recalibrated their game plan and by half-time led 12-10 with a try from Warwick and the first of Dowling’s brace. O’Gara could only convert one on a day when he was untypically wayward, kicking just three from eight attempts.
Munster’s post-interval performance harvested another five tries, the pick of which involved a moment of wonderful skill and technique from Keith Earls and culminated in Wallace dotting down. McGahan admitted: “To be sitting last coming into this game after Friday night’s results and now to have six points, we’ve got to be happy with that.
“But we certainly know that come December Perpignan back-to-back is going to be a difficult proposition. But we’ve put ourselves in as good as a position as we could have hoped for given where we were two weeks ago.”
No argument there.
SCORING SEQUENCE: 14 mins: Williams try, 0-5; 24: Vilk try, 0-10; 29: Warwick try, O'Gara conversion, 7-10; 40(+1): Dowling try, 12-10. Half-time: 12-10. 41: Leamy try, 17-10; 53: Fogarty try, 22-10; 63: Wallace try, O'Gara conversion, 29-10; 67: Dowling try, O'Gara conversion, 36-10; 77: de Villiers try, 41-10.
MUNSTER: P Warwick; D Howlett, L Mafi, J de Villiers, K Earls; R O'Gara, T O'Leary; M Horan, D Fogarty, T Buckley; P O'Connell (capt), D O'Callaghan; A Quinlan, D Wallace, D Leamy. Replacements: J Brugnaut for Horan (16 mins); I Dowling for Howlett (36 mins); Darragh Hurley for Buckley (47 mins); D Varley for Fogarty (55 mins); N Ronan for Quinlan (58 mins); P Stringer for O'Leary (63 mins); M O'Driscoll for O'Callaghan (65 mins).
BENETTON TREVISO: L McLean; B Williams, A Sgarbi, G Garcia, A Vilk; M Goosen, F Semenzato; M Rizzo, L Ghiraldini, I Fernadez Rouyet; A Pavanello (capt), C van Zyl; B Vermaak, A Zanni, D Kingi. Replacements: T Botes for Goosen (23-36, 67 mins); D Vidal for Ghiraldini (49 mins); A Allori for Rizzo, P di Santo for Rouyet (both 49 mins); R Barbieri for van Zyl (57 mins); F Waters for Garcia (61 mins); E Pavanello for A Pavenello (67 mins).
Referee: J Garces(France).
