RUGBY:CONOR O'SHEA appreciates the virtues required to try to survive in the Limerick citadel. The Harlequins director of rugby will impart that knowledge to his charges but as a host of visiting teams have discovered in the past being forewarned does not guarantee being forearmed for a task that's as intimidating as there is in European rugby.
The fact this is the Amlin Challenge Cup won’t diminish Munster’s focus or desire one iota. They’ll muster the traditional virtues; passion, precision and ruthlessness that they frequently unearth for European contests, driven by pride and fuelled by the exhortations of the red swathes in the stands.
It is only when Romain Poite blows the first whistle that the Harlequins players will truly appreciate the magnitude of today’s remit and whether they have the aptitude to do more than simply try to tread water.
The survival techniques of playing away from home generally alight on the importance of the opening throes of the conflict in which the visitors must impose themselves physically and look to dampen the ardour of the home supporters. Harlequins’ captain and openside flanker Chris Robshaw verbally thumbed through the manual. “It is one of those ones that you really look forward to; it’s about the first 20 minutes. We need to go and impose ourselves, keep that belief in our game and try and lay down the foundations for a performance.
“It won’t be easy going to the heart of Munster (but) if we can get off to a good start. You never know what’s possible really.”
He’ll need to correct the balance between expectation and hope by lunch-time today.
Harlequins will target the Munster scrum, a task that Joe Marler, spiky of hair and temperament, will relish. They’ll look to send the considerable frame of Jordan Turner-Hall looking for soft shoulders in a Munster midfield where the ball-playing skills of Paul Warwick have been preferred over the more physically aggressive style of Sam Tuitupou.
The English club will want to generate a high tempo to proceedings, keeping the ball in hand, offloading in the tackle, sniping on the fringes through Danny Care and turning to the game management skills of former All Black outhalf Nick Evans. They’ll employ the dancing feet of the promising George Lowe and the latent pace in the back three.
To achieve all this will require a monumental performance from their pack.
Robshaw may be captain but England number eight Nick Easter is the hard-nosed focal point of the pack. If Harlequins are to win then he’ll cut a prominent figure.
Munster coach Tony McGahan deserves credit for the manner in which he has marshalled his resources through an eight-game winning streak; freshening the team without losing that winning culture. He’s invested in young players like Felix Jones and Conor Murray and they have repaid his faith handsomely.
Paul O’Connell’s expedited return from ankle ligament damage, which allows him to take a place on the bench, is a timely fillip. McGahan enthused: “We thought it prudent to omit Paul from the original squad until we saw how he came through what was only his second serious workout (on Thursday) since sustaining the injury.
“I think the Munster medical and fitness staff deserve huge credit for having him back in the match-day squad at this stage. But it also demonstrates Paul’s professionalism, dedication to his sport and commitment to Munster.”
In compiling a winning jigsaw, the set-piece is very much in the foreground of the image. Munster will need to be solid in the scrum and under the direction of Mick O’Driscoll will look to dominate the airways. The Munster backrow is neat in terms of skill set and all have been playing very well of late. Murray has played with a maturity that belies his tender years but the man whose influence Harlequins will look to diminish rather than negate is Munster captain and outhalf Ronan O’Gara.
His counterpart in the Harlequins team, the hugely accomplished Evans, offered a generously warm appraisal of the Irishman.
“Ronan has been a true warrior for Munster and his record speaks for itself. He’s obviously been a real driving force for Munster for a long time now, but looking at how he’s been playing lately, I’d say he’s probably more important to them now than ever.
“He’s just been that good: to perform as well as he has done at this level of the game for over 10 years is extraordinary. He’s scored over a thousand points in the Heineken Cup, which is absolutely crazy when you think about it. You always want to test yourself against the best players in the world and this is another opportunity for me to do that.”
Warwick’s presence suggests that he’ll alternate with O’Gara as first receiver. Lifeimi Mafi has rediscovered his form while the back three have oodles of pace and the ability to turn half chances into points.
Harlequins won’t be cowed by the occasion but in examining six defeats in the last 10 matches, they have a tendency to finish on the wrong side of tight games; it’s a trend that may continue in Limerick this afternoon.
MUNSTER: F Jones; D Howlett, L Mafi, P Warwick, K Earls; R O’Gara (capt), C Murray; W du Preez, D Varley, T Buckley; D O’Callaghan, M O’Driscoll; D Leamy, D Wallace, J Coughlan. Replacements: M Sherry, M Horan, J Hayes, P O’Connell, D Ryan, P Stringer, S Tuitupou, J Murphy.
HARLEQUINS: M Brown; G Camacho, G Lowe, J Turner-Hall, U Monye; N Evans, D Care; J Marler, J Gray, J Johnston; O Kohn, G Robson; M Fa’asavalu, C Robshaw (capt), N Easter. Replacements: M Cairns, C Jones, M Lambert, T Vallejos, W Skinner, D Moore, R Clegg, R Chisholm.
Referee: Romain Poite (France).
Previous meetings: HC January, 2002 – Munster 51 Harlequins 17. HC October, 2004 – Munster 15 Harlequins 9. HC January, 2005 – Harlequins 10 Munster 18.
Last time out: AC quarter-finals – Brive 37 Munster 42; Harlequins 32 Wasps 22.
Leading try scorers: Munster – Keith Earls 2. Harlequins – Sam Smith 4.
Leading points scorers: Munster – Ronan O’Gara 17. Harlequins – Nick Evans 78.
Verdict: Munster to win.
