The vagaries of sport, of officiating, of the life of a defence coach, of players and of supporters were shoehorned into a moment at the Stade Felix Mayol on Sunday. Karl Dickson awarded Toulon a penalty which fullback Marius Domon kicked to break Munster hearts.
It doesn’t define what went before, because there are countless moments that both teams would love to do over, but it was pivotal to the outcome. A couple of days later, sitting in the HPC centre at the University of Limerick, the first question asked of Munster defence coach Denis Leamy is whether he’s any the wiser as to why the penalty was awarded.
It was harsh; other words may be chosen or added. Leamy’s short answer is no. That explanation is working its way through the system from Dickson to EPCR head of match officials Tony Spreadbury to Munster head coach Clayton McMillan. The pigeon hasn’t yet arrived in Limerick. There is always an element of contention when sifting through the post-match runes.
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Leamy isn’t complaining, but quite reasonably points out that the official clarification is important. Munster players have approached him seeking an answer, but he admitted: “Look, hands up, I don’t know what the penalty was for. Karl Dickson is a world-class referee, and I’m sure he’ll be able to indicate what the penalty is for.”
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However, it’s far from a pity party. There’s honesty in reflecting on the defeat. Leamy said their discipline in Toulon wasn’t good enough and Munster must first look to themselves before allowing focus to alight elsewhere. It was discussed first thing on Tuesday morning.
“It’s something that we have to be better at,” Leamy explained. “It’s not acceptable at this level. And that said, I thought some of our play and some of our defence was heroic the other day, incredibly proud of the boys, but just having calm heads in those moments is really important.
“You’re always going to have to live on the edge in the south of France; it’s been like that for 30 years, but there were patches the other day where we could be an awful lot better. Tadhg’s sin bin and obviously Alex Nankivell’s one come to mind where we just can be far better there.
“The boys are well aware of that. They’re experienced players, you don’t have to tell them more than once and I expect that we’ll have higher standards going forward.”
Leamy also praised his charges for their attitude, application and work-rate when operating with just 30 per cent possession and 35 per cent territory which stressed the defence to a huge degree.
“I thought our contact area was really good, by and large, we shut down their edges, one or two balls bouncing in the backfield that we just need to have a little bit of a look at, but I couldn’t be prouder of the boys.
“I thought they were fantastic from a defensive point of view and in attack as well. Our scrum was brilliant as well, but we scored three excellent tries, which was so pleasing. It’s just a pity we didn’t get down there more because in the second half.”
The review has been completed, the focus squarely on Saturday’s final pool match against Castres – a record-breaking 20th European match between the clubs. And there’s good and bad news. Craig Casey’s shoulder injury is not as bad as first feared but he suffered a “significant” blow to his A/C joint.
He won’t play, nor will Paddy Patterson, so Ethan Coughlan will make his first European start while Academy scrumhalf Jake O’Riordan will be on the bench.
“It feels like Ethan’s been here forever,” smiled Leamy. “It’s not as if we’d be treating Ethan any different, maybe just giving him a little bit of support around certain aspects of the game. But Ethan is an experienced player, and he won’t be fazed by something like that. He really relishes big games. That’s where he’s at his best, when there’s big games. That sort of stuff really excites him.
“Jake’s been in with us for the last six months as well and has done a lot of training with the senior squad. It’s not as if we’re bringing in someone like Jake from the cold, and he has to learn a load of detail and a load of defensive patterns and exits and stuff like that. That’s not the case.”
Jean Kleyn’s departure for Gloucester in the summer was officially confirmed during the briefing. “We obviously would have liked JK (Kleyn) to stay, but JK must do what’s best for his family and for his future,” said Leamy.
“JK has been an incredible servant to Munster over the last 10 years. I think his legacy in the jersey is very clear for people to see. He’s left the jersey in a much better place. He’s been a phenomenal player for Munster.”
Kleyn and Oli Jager are available for the Castres match, decisions will be made on Tom Ahern, Diarmuid Barron and Casey’s availability later in the week, while Patterson and Calvin Nash (shoulder/head) will both miss the game.
