Provinces know just 'what it takes'

RUGBY ANALYST:ON 52 minutes Jean de Villiers crashed over the Northampton line to put Munster ahead by two. Ronan O'Gara's conversion brought the gap to four. This was all the more momentous as Northampton Saints had closed out the first half with a three-point lead in Thomond Park.

Forty minutes into the quarter-final and serious questions were being asked by a Guinness Premiership side.

Two minutes after O’Gara’s conversion, the Saints were back within one of Munster with Steve Myler’s fifth penalty in a row. With 25 minutes left on the clock the score stood 20 points to 19.

So what happened in that 25-minute period to bring a 33 point to 19 victory to Munster? What separates Irish provinces from their English opponents?

First, Northampton failed to understand their position in the fixture. They were a long way from home, in Thomond Park, playing Munster for the third time and they were one point behind. Crucially, they forgot they were playing in the quarter-final of the Heineken Cup.

What would have been going through O’Gara’s head, if he were playing for the Saints, when Munster restarted?

He would have said, we were up by three at half-time, we just conceded a seven-pointer after the break, but the pendulum has swung back into our hands. Now it’s time to hammer the advantage home and get Munster back as close to their line as possible. Ask them the question, they’re at home, silence their crowd and let them panic.

But what did Northampton do? On receiving O’Gara’s kick-off, they tried to run the ball out of their half. The Saints number eight and Ulster man Roger Wilson got caught in possession, leaving referee Nigel Owens no option. O’Gara stepped up and smashed another penalty.

Within three minutes a one-point deficit became four, and soon became seven and finally 14.

We’ll never know what would have happened if the Saints pumped that 55th-minute Munster restart deep into the opposition 22. But we do know that O’Gara would have done exactly that, as he did throughout this enthralling fixture.

O’Gara was magnificent last Saturday and epitomises decades of Munster cup rugby that came to the fore. The intensity that Munster played with, along with their cup culture, blew Northampton away when it mattered most.

Many others supported O’Gara, such as Marcus Horan, who turned a tough Irish Wolfhounds v Scotland A meeting with Euan Murray into a brilliant one.

But at number eight, James Coughlan brought an understanding to the role much in the Anthony Foley mould.

We have grown to expect high standards from our match-winning drop-goal experts O’Gara, Sexton and now Miah Nikora, but we forget the core skill at the base of the scrum. Coughlan and David Wallace (who had swopped for Nick Williams) were instrumental in two of Munster’s tries. In both cases they put the bullet that is Tomás O’Leary wide of the scrum for Jean de Villiers and Doug Howlett to get over.

Ultimately Northampton have spent far too long out of “cup” competitions to understand the ebb and flow that Munster and Leinster can bring.

They had a great chance but couldn’t orchestrate it. The Guinness Premiership is primarily about survival: ask Mike Ruddock, and then the top four.

In the meantime, the Irish have qualified automatically for the Heineken Cup and have gained enormous experience to add to the famed provincial cup structures of old.

As predicted, ASM Clermont Auvergne brought a lot of sledge-hammer rugby and a certain amount of baggage to the RDS.

And the baggage sank them.

I was astonished Wednesday’s Lotto wasn’t won in Leinster.

Yes, they were lucky, but once again, when it mattered most, they didn’t concede a penalty when under enormous pressure, which forced a crumbling Brock James to the drop goal.

That Leinster win, like the one over Harlequins, was 15 years of Heineken Cup in the making. With such experience both Munster and Leinster have the jettisoned the baggage along the years, understanding “what it takes”.

Connacht, like their two big brothers, have established a cup-match-winning ability. On Sunday, for the first time in my memory, they will experience some parity in squad availability when a depleted Munster arrive to the Sportsground.

Typically, the Magners League fixture exposes Connacht to full-strength provincial teams, which makes it difficult for them. That said, they’re at full strength, bar Ray Ofisa. There’s too much traffic in the top six of the league to let it slip, so Munster must win, which will make for an excellent battle which will no doubt distract Ulster.

What a few weeks Connacht have: a potential Amlin Cup final and Heineken Cup rugby through the Magners League.

The challenges for all three provinces within the cup culture are obvious. All four semi-finalists have serious cup pedigree. Toulouse, more than Biarritz, still represent the toughest obstacle in the H-Cup. Put simply, if Toulouse were in the RDS last Friday with opportunities to score they would have.

But then they don’t have the same sledge-hammer style as Clermont, which will help Leinster as both combatants play a similar game.

It is a pity an Ospreys-Munster rematch was thwarted by Damien Traille’s three drop goals. But then Biarritz have a few Munster skeletons in their closet to exercise.

I imagine Zimbabwe-born US winger Takudzwa Ngwenya will attract the attention of Munster’s video nerd George Murray.

Cup-winning rugby is a culture that takes years to perfect. Due to their qualification, the Irish provinces have had the most experience. However, all three provinces now face serious hurdles where there remains very little oxygen.

O’Gara, Sexton, Traille and – especially – Nikora’s drop goal proved that winning is a mentality which could drive poor old Brock James mental.

liamtoland@yahoo.com