Reproduced with permission from Whiff Of Cordite
THIS SUMMER, WHEN Axel Foley started his reign as Munster coach, there was a lot of talk about (brace yourself) a “return to traditional Munster values”.
To be fair none of it came from Axel himself, but a meeja who had never really bought into the Rob Penney thing defaulted to assuming it would happen. Those traditional Munster values, as we understand them, are something like an emphasis on the set piece, attacking by forwards around the fringes, and a game plan strong on half backs kicking for territory.
But if pulled pork was among the most annoying phrases of 2014, ‘a return to traditional Munster values’ should be at least in the top five. It’s become a sort of off the shelf commodity. Get your return to traditional Munster values for just €29.99 at Argos. Simply plug into the wall, and you automatically have a winning rugby team.
In recent weeks, Foley’s game plan has been pretty effective, with wins in Sale (including an extra bonus traditional value of a late drop goal) and the Palindrome by a relative cricket score, and a satisfying slap-down of Globo Gym in Thomond.
They have played a fairly narrow game, with CJ Stander carrying and big centres used to try and bash holes. Foley’s one creative midfield outlet, JJ Hanrahan, has gone largely unused, when he’s a full deck to choose from at least.
There is, however, one traditional value not mentioned above, and it was best articulated by Axel himself – “we’re better when we are bitter”. Too right – a large portion of the Munster mythology is built on proving someone wrong – playing a big English or French team, taking a “they don’t rate us” mentality on to the field – and showing them who is boss.
There are many classics of the genre, but our favourite was in Leicester in 2006 when Rog announced the week before the game that he could not accept the English players were any better than Irish ones (at a time when this was a controversial line), won with a last minute penalty into the rain from the halfway line.
The perfect riposte – the arrogant English Tigers didn’t rate Munster, and they were shown up in their own house. Munster still love the underdog tag.
In the build-up to this game last week, the talk was about how the Munster tight five would be dominant and Clermont would naturally wilt in the cauldron that was Thomond on a Saturday night.
No-one was under-rating Munster, and Clermont were painted as a powerhouse, but ultimately a mentally frail team who always give you a chance no matter how good they are. Everyone felt Munster would win.
If there was one team playing like they had a point to prove, one team that felt disregarded, it was Clermont. And they played like a Deccie-era Munster team facing the arrogant English.
Munster looked a bit shell-shocked by the intensity Clermont were bringing, by the magnitude of the hits, by the un-Brock James like fortitude of Camille Lopez and by the refusal to bow down before the waves of passion from the stands. Lopez missed three early kicks but all were difficult and none were especially badly struck.
Any suspicion that he had been Thomond-ed fell apart once he nailed a drop goal from the 10m line.
Clermont had the Munster scrum in trouble – how BJ Botha lasted 80 minutes is beyond us. The lineout malfunctioned – Duncan Casey’s hot arm is cooling at just the wrong time – and one-out rumbles were stopped on, or behind, the gain line every time.
Of the forwards, only Tommy O’Donnell carried effectively (and he was superb, carrying for 44m, compared to 47m for the rest of the pack) and the general, Conor Murray, was under pressure and mis-firing, for once.
Has Paul O’Connell ever been shunted backwards so often in a match? CJ Stander had been Munster’s best forward in the early season, but he had a poor match; had Robin Copeland been available he might have been called ashore.
The most disappointing thing was the absence of a Plan B – in the last 10, Munster went through 20 phases in the Clermont half when Clermont took them behind the gain line every time they attacked the fringes of the ruck.
If you were one of those punters looking for a return to traditional Munster values – you had your wish granted. Suggestions that Hanrahan would have made a difference in this match are miles off; he wouldn’t have seen the ball.
It felt like Munster simply did not rate Clermont and couldn’t get their heads around the fact that they were still unable to bash through the middle; that Clermont would eventually ‘give them a chance’ if they kept doing the same thing.
The expected choke never happened, but this isn’t the time of year for it anyway – since the last time they played Munster in the pool stages, Clermont have qualified for five quarter finals in succession, topping the pool four times.
In recent years, they have cruised through the pool stages and a succession of tough draws, including Leinster twice, Ulster, Leicester twice and the Ospreys – the tailspins are saved for the spring. In fact Clermont deserve a huge amount of praise for the manner in which they won it.
Very few teams contest opposition lineouts in their own 22 these days, the vast majority prefering to set the maul defence, but Clermont were brave enough to put a man in the air and only went and stole the ball. Chouly said they knew O’Connell would call it on himself.
Simply put – Munster weren’t braced for this kind of contest, and have likely paid with their participation in the tournament. Peter O’Mahony said straight after the game that Munster owed their fans a big performance in the return leg – problem is, the Marcel Michelin isn’t a very hospitable place for a last stand – however well Munster come out, they are unlikely to get the win they need.
Going to Saracens and winning offers a better chance, but still less than probable. Saracens are still in the competition and will need the result just as badly as Munster. Munster needed the bitter attitude going in on Saturday, but somehow misplaced their indignation.
Now some caution needs to be thrown to the wind. Foley talked about using both Keatley and Hanrahan together in the team earlier this season, but he has stuck with Hurley as a hole-punching inside centre.
Hanrahan’s scarcity of game time in the important matches has been one of the season’s curiosities, because it’s not as if he hasn’t played well when he’s been on. Foley needs to embrace the possibilites he offers, because they will not beat Clermont by trucking it up for another 80 minutes. But at least they’ll be underdogs and largely written off this time. That always helps.
I couldent believe when i saw Munster walking out at the start nearly holding hands with Clermont. Small things count. Traditionally Munster leave their opponents waiting in the baying crowd and arrive to an incredible roar. We gave that away and it was costly. Whatever goul initiated that choreography should stick to dance lessons . It’s the small things count on days like this and we gave it away
It’s a Directive from above. I agree with you though…
It’s a pile of BS! Stupid football pansey influence! Enemies until 80 and gentlemen after.
nobody seemed to tell the announcer about it, such confusion from the outset, crowd never got going and that was definitely part of it, everybody was confused!
Leicester, who beat Toulon didn’t do it.
Yeah! It wasn’t that yee were outplayed; it was the small things like the TUNNEL that made the difference
All the managerial geniuses are out in force on here I see. Foley is in his first year and has a pile of injuries in a savage group of a now savage competition. They are top of the Rabo and in time I think Foley will be a success there. Centre is weak but If they can sort that out for next year and Earls stays fit then they will be in a good place. Problem is that sugar daddies are now throwing money at English clubs as well as French ones, making things even harder for the provinces. I am not a Munster man so just trying to add some balance. They lost to a team who on their day can be the best in Europe, hardly a crisis.
Clermont are a seriously tough team, Munster tried everything, to suggest that delaying their arrival on the pitch would have made any difference is delusional. All these players are hardened professionals who are well coached in the psychological aspects of the game and would have known exactly what to expect in the famous Thomand Park. Love to see them upset the odds next week but cannot see it happening.
Ye just don’t get it do ye…and it’s THOMOND
What is there to get? Thomand Park hasn’t been a “fortress” for years now. It’s not intimidating. Clermont play week in week out in France, that is where the intimidating crowds are. Not in Limerick. They can easily handle whatever the red faced munster men manage to blurt out in between gulps of their pint.
Ooooh james you,re in for it now.The red faced munster men are very sensitive when their support is questioned.
James, Clermont are the most mentally week of all French sides. How many finals have they botched at this stage.
1 final
@James Connolly – You are 100% correct. The support at Thomond Park on Satuday evening was pitiful, 1500 Mont-Ferrandaise managed to out roar 25000 Munster fans. I’ve been getting the impression since Thomond has been redeveloped that a lot of the people at games are there to be entertained rather than support. It’s a pity as the fortress mentality used to be great.
Hey paul did u forget to log in as Robsonkeane or was this intentional?
They are professional. They dont get scared if left 30secs in a middle of the pitch in front of a noisy crowd. we have to stop with this marketing nonsense. And as I said before, the atmosphere is better in some stadium in France than in Ireland (watch a game played in Bayonne, Toulouse, Toulon and of course Clermont).
Munster are just a poor team really ,built on hype… They were out muscled,out played,and bullied off the park, their park !! Someone seams to think they lost it because they arrived on the pitch at the same time?? Madness…zeebo is a flash Harry,definitely not a Munster type ethos player…can’t defend to save his left…Denis Hurley is NOT a centre !!! In fact 12-13 …big problems there,no gain breakers or someone with the X factor…
It’s esoteric pg…. and you’re lost there.
Ahhh that old “Zebo can’t defend” bitter bile from (usually) Leinster but sometimes Ulster fans – the same Zebo who had 10 tackles and 0 missed tackles in the Australia and and only missed 2 in 3 Autumn International games … which is one less that D’Arcy missed against Australia … in 1 game. As for Munster being a “poor team” … that’s the same team at the top of the Pro12 so? You obviously did heaps of research before posting this ground-breaking analysis …. ya complete Goon ;-)
Dave, there is such a thing as rugby hating commenters as well. Pg could be your next door neighbour, unless of course you are using him as an excuse to Leinster bash.
I personally feel deep down that munster just ain’t good enough! with munster of old you would expect a backlash on Sunday but will this current team give it?
You can not win a european cup without a top class outhalf. You cannot it without a plan B. You cannot win it without specialists…ie. centres. (Lopez, Fofana Rougerie vs Keatly Hurley and Whoard.) you must win your own setpieces and you must earn the right to go wide. You must not cough up the ball cheaply and you must not rely on the same 3 calls in sucession in the lineout. Accounting for the above, we still kept the second best team in europe to 7 of a gap. Better team won.
The buck stops with Foley.
Anyone else cringe at the ‘stand up and fight chant’
It ain’t over till the fat lady sings. It’s games like Clermont away that bring out the best in Munster. It will be a balls to the wall, nothing to lose Munster team in Clermont which is a very dangerous prospect for them. We need to get the finger out like ye lads do and hopefully have two big wins next time around.
Munster need David Wallace
Munster need guanazai, copeland, smith and Conway too start next Sunday and then they will have a fighting chance. But it’s all round a big ask.
Im a Munster fan but it has to be asked. Are we the mentally weak team? Lose to mickey mouse teams like edinburgh. Gear ourselves up for a big game (Leinster). Have to claw our way to a win v inferior opposition (Sale). Then another big game v Sarries. Crash back to earth with a dreadful performance v Ulster B. Talk up Clermont as the big team. And so on. In form Connacht will now be the big enemy we have to slay.
Even at our peak we never competed on two fronts. Munster needs a wake up call
While I’m sure much of the blame has to come to rest at Foleys feet; injuries have depleted an-already (and it’s tough to say) mediocre squad. Outside Murray from 10-15, who are you reliable game breakers?? In fairness, Keatley is performing to a decent standard however his standards are far below the last Munster 10. Hurley and Howard are too one dimensional and lack necessary footballing skills to unlock defenses. VDH is a fast direct runner but no gamechanger and Zebo, while initially a massive fan, seems to ghost through games; makes a shimmy, a roll and maybe a half-break – he doesn’t seem to be able to instigate attack like a true world class wing. Jones is a solid fullback who could possibly develop further with better creativity around him. The front 8 are solid but lightweight outside O Connell when compared to the great Munster packs. If Foley gets this team out of the group and pushing for a Pro12 title I would consider it a huge achievement, especially given the talent of talent coming through behind the senior squad.
Dammit – *lack of talent!! #SUAF
Leinster comment. Desperately shouting for Munster. Absolutely coaches fault. 100 per cent. Clermonts game v Toulon the week previously was all any coach needed to see to NOT play down the middle. A win thrown away in my book. Not to omit the Leinster win thrown away through similar ineptitude V Quins.
Yes! What this guy says ^ you can’t approach every game with an ideological preference of how YOU want to play; you’ve to look at your own players then at the opposition team to see what gameplan you’re capable of delivering and seeing what weaknesses you can exploit in your opponent.
Leinster and Munster both suffering from this r3tard3d mentality of sticking to this one ‘traditional’ (traditional?!?!) approach to all games.
You are living in the dark ages if you are playing against a more physical pack and adapt the old mantra of ” you need to earn the right to go wide”
You identify space and attack it with pace, if it’s out wide you go wide. Simple as.
Munster are long gone from stuff it up the jumper rugby. They have been very hard if not impossible to beat when they move the ball around the park, make contact going forward on their terms and then going to ground with fast and aggressive cleaning out over and beyond the ball creating fast secured ball to launch multi phases at pace. This is where you get your mis matches and opportunities to exploit defensive weaknesses as the attacking backs will find that they are attacking forwards who are out of position more often.
Munster are now one of the better conditioned teams in the EC and can play this oxygen draining attacking format for 80 mins.
Couple this with playing all your rugby higher up the park to cut out simple errors that keep costing us silly cheap points and a faster line press in defence to protect the gain line ensuring their back row have to constantly back up to come through the gate. This can be done against a bigger and less mobile pack far easier then fighting to a stand still in order to earn the right to go wide. All this archives is giving the opposition time to fill in a defensive wall thus insuring if you do win ball it’s as slow as 1st phase ball which is almost useless as it’s the easiest to defend.
Earls, Ryan, Varley, Sherry, Conway, Smith, Copeland, Kilcoyne, Butler, Bleyendaal, Sheridan (at I hope his non selection is due to injury). This is not a great Munster team, but they are good enough to compete. Munster’s strongest 23 fully fit and in form could on their day still beat anyone in Europe even Clermont and Toulon. But take a few important players with injuries, have a few more missing out to rob you of any depth and the your matchday begins to look very weak. The performance at the weekend was not good, but considering the depth of talent available on both sides it would take a ‘miracle match’ type performance to beat them. Munster’s real worry has to be trying to win in France with essentially the same players who failed in Thomond…
Such a negative game plan. Clermont face that type of rugby on a weekly basis down in he likes of La Rochelle and Bayonne. Did Munster really think they were gonna win playing like that? It’s sad for irish rugby really.
A poor result,yes. A seven point loss at home,no matter how you spin it, is way off what supporters and the team would expect. The alarming thing for me was the number of handling errors at the lineup/maul transition. Conditions?International hangover(see Leinster) ? Maybe .
It was odd to see us out-muscled. We were blown off rucks at times. I don’t think we were clever enough in choosing which rucks to contest though. A smack of desperation at times from some players.
We weren’t a million miles away though. There is the basis of a fine team. We’re short in a few spots,simple as that. We’ll improve, not out of it yet.
No matter how it’s spun,a loss at home is a disappointing result for supporters and the team.
The handling errors at the lineup/maul transitions are worrying,but fixable.
We are short in a few areas. Like everyone else at some stage,I suppose. But there is the basis of a fine team there.
As for the earlier commenter: cringe to hear “Stand up and fight”? Never. It’s neither a whistle in the dark or a song when we’re winning. It means so much more and it’ll cause me embarrassment.
A long way to go for this team, be it this year or next.