Munster make mugs of a few people again

ON RUGBY:If Munster weren't regularly up against it, we wouldn't have had the drama and fun and games which we've had in the past, writes GERRY THORNLEY

THE ACCOMPANYING soundtrack is always the best yardstick of Munster’s well being on their Euro forays. Initial attempts at chants of “Mun-ster’ were drowned out by boos and counter chants of ‘UuuuSAP’, but by the end there was only one side playing and only one set of supporters singing.

When Ronan O’Gara grubbered through delightfully for Doug Howlett to apply the coup de grace the home crowd started emptying the Stade Aime Giral.

The Red Army had the joint to themselves.

By then, too, Perpignan had emptied their entire bench, a process symbolised by taking off their captain and spiritual leader Nicolas Mas with a full six minutes remaining. No Mas indeed.

Having re-emerged from the dressing room to the far corner of the ground where most of the red flags were waving, Paul O’Connell made special mention of the Red Army, having dug deep into their pockets yet again for another foreign excursion in these current dismal climes, and on the last Sunday before Christmas.

Not even the orchestrated and risible attempt by home stewards to insist that all Munster fans break their flag poles in half as they constituted ‘weapons’ could dim their colours.

Although even some of the faithful had begun to doubt, they can enjoy Christmas a little more easily now. There’s something comforting about Munster being back in the groove. For even if, as O’Connell repeatedly conceded, Leinster have usurped them in 2009, Munster’s well-being is usually a barometer of Irish rugby’s health as well.

In the process, Munster have gone and made mugs of a few people again. History has taught us never to write Munster off, and never to be surprised, much less shocked, by what they are capable of.

Michael Cheika has been leading that chant more than anybody. Eventually, of course, even the tie eaters and those forecasting the end of an era might be proved right if they keep saying it, but those who ignore the mistakes of history are apt to repeat them.

Munster are regularly coming up against it prior to the January pool finales. It was the same in ’06 and ’08. In fact, it’s when they appear to be serenely sailing along that they slip up – with five wins from five, it was the round six defeats to Castres in ’01 and Leicester in ’07 which cost them home quarter-finals.

If they weren’t regularly up against it we wouldn’t have had the drama and fun and games which we’ve had in the past.

All week Munster had been telling us that their performance at home to Perpignan actually hadn’t been that bad. That the two soft first-half tries had distorted their dominance. We didn’t listen. It still required one of those fairly complete and compelling squad efforts over 80 minutes to seal the deal in Catalonia, but they were obviously closer than we realized.

The news for Munster and Ireland is nearly all positive as several of them found their form. First off, as always in southern French fortresses, it’s a fight and no one took the fight to Perpignan more than Denis Leamy. From the first minute it was the old Denis. He went looking for them, in their neck of the woods, and was ferocious. That took cojones. Big hits, constantly in Perpignan faces, good carries and steals on the deck with those big paws of his.

Credit as well to Denis Fogarty and Lifeimi Mafi. Few players came into this game under more pressure than these two. The scrum held up well, despite a couple of harsh penalties against the Munster frontrow, and Fogarty’s darts and understanding with O’Connell particularly helped solve another of Munster’s undermining flaws in recent times. It seemed as if Fogarty was throwing the ball flatter, while for his part Mafi simply threw himself with abandon into the fray. Admittedly, he did sail close to the wind a couple of times. He’d be advised to make more use of his arms sometimes and maybe bring the point of contact down a smidgen.

O’Connell gradually made inroads into the Perpignan throw also, but the scale of the destruction at the breakdown, as is now the norm in the modern game, was the real deal clincher.

There was something in the region of 13 Perpignan turnovers in contact, with every single Munster forward (including Donncha Ryan, Tony Buckley and Niall Ronan off the bench) contributing to the haul and both the third and fourth tries emanating from steals on the deck by Leamy and Ronan.

There’s clearly something wrong with the game when a flying headbutt is punished the same as a fractionally early tackle. But that said, Paul Warwick was simply majestic when slotting in at outhalf – a pinpoint up-and-under, a lovely left footer into the corner, a gorgeous flat pass which Denis Hurley finished off sharply and a touchline conversion!

With Marcus Horan (due to appear off the bench in one of the festive derbies) and Jerry Flannery due back sooner rather than later, Munster now look almost as well positioned as Leinster, who themselves will have Jonathan Sexton back for rounds five and six, and at least have more cover than most if CJ van der Linde is sidelined.

In the heel of the hunt, both Leinster and Munster will know full well that they’ve won nothing yet, that you don’t win trophies in December, or even January for that matter. But they have given themselves every chance, and effectively have their destinies in their own hands.

Victories for both in their two remaining matches will ensure their participation in the April quarter-finals.

Then, of course, the old rivalries will intensify and, spoiled ridiculously as we have been, perhaps we envisage too much of a good thing. But after all, following the first instalment at Madison Square Garden, simply billed The Fight, and the rematch at the same venue, Ali and Smokin’ Joe went at it one more time.

Dare we consider the possibility of a Thrilla in Manila?