YOU DIDNâT HAVE to be in Kingsholm to see the early battle lines being drawn deep in the sand.
In fact, it may well have been best experience on a screen in the comfort of your own home. A safe distance combined with the close-up view of Peter OâMahonyâs early tangle with Franco Mostert had the feel of a cinematic epic as the opposite numbers engaged in a verbal joust from their respective positions on flank of a scrum.
After staring one another down, OâMahony celebrated the penalty win at the set-piece with a guttural roar and a clenched fist of intent aimed at the South African.
Before Joey Carbery could cut loose, the foundation for his work came thanks to Munsterâs pack hitting their mark and emotional pitch required for a very physical encounter.
Johann van Graan says OâMahony is 50-50 to line up against Exeter this weekend and the captain moved freely enough around Munsterâs UL base yesterday, but it will be a surprise if discomfort of his rib cartilage injury clears within eight days.
âWe have to decide that they are going to go there and stand up and not back down, physically or emotionally,â said Rob Baxter after his side beat Castres to set up a grand finale in Pool 2.
The Premiership leaders will have the intensity dialled all the way up in search of an unlikely pool win and a landmark European quarter-final. Munster will most likely have to get back to their peak passion without their fearless leader on the field, while also sustaining the clinical streak that served them so well in Galway and Gloucester.
âI think it comes from deep within,â says Van Graan, when asked where Munster dig their drive, an âemotional energyâ from.
âYou just have to drive around town, see boys in the street playing rugby and not football, and see the red flags.
If you walk into Thomond Park⌠I donât know what it is, but you walk through that tunnel and see âPrideâ (written) in front of your face, you drive on the bus and you see people and what this team means to the people. I think it comes from that.
âIt doesnât matter where youâre from, once you are a part of Munster you are always a part of Munster.
âGames like this are why we play this game. You might win or you might lose, but one thing I can guarantee is the effort is for the people of Munster is the most important thing.
âAnd that is why you have to improve your game because you canât always count on emotion. Thatâs why I say I would like to think we have improved our game so we are going to use the emotion but we also have to play well to beat a quality team like Exeter.â
Van Graan was happy to reel off names of players who could fill the physical void on Saturday if OâMahony doesnât pull through in time. Fineen Wycherley played blindside in a win over Leinster that was nothing if not fiery and has been in terrific form this season. Tadhg Beirne, Tommy OâDonnell, Chris Cloete, Arno Botha and of course CJ Stander are also options to wear the number 6 jersey if Van Graan shuffles the pack around.
âWe have a lot of options. The most important thing is to find out how Pete is first and then look at our options and weâll make a call on Thursday.Â
âI know we thrive on the big occasion and big games. We love to play at Thomond Park and weâve got a quality squad.
âPeteâs been involved in most of the big games for the last two years. He wasnât involved, starting against Leinster â he was involved as a water carrier.
âIf it comes to that over the weekend, weâre a team who believes in the squad. Iâve said from day one, in all competitions youâre going to gain some guys and youâll lose some guys.
âIf he doesnât play it will be a loss for the team, but I thought CJ did really well as captain against Leinster and I thought Fineen Wycherley had an excellent day.â
Stander is a talismanic figure no matter what role or position he is given. His carrying style means he will always lead by example, but Van Graan backed his captaincy yesterday while highlighting his work off the ball in defence and attack.
âI think where he has improved is, he is not only in his carrying from nine, not only carrying in channel one, there is width in his game and the decisions that he makes, one of the things that he doesnât get a lot of credit for is his defence.
âIn the lead up to some of our tries you have just got to look what he does off the ball. He is a true professional and it is great to have him at Munster.â
Aside from OâMahony, Van Graanâs medical team have no major injury worries ahead of the Pool 2 decider. Chris Farrell came through another 80 minutes despite concerns over his knee last week and his formidable presence will again be an important part of Munsterâs attacking game. In defence, OâMahonyâs breakdown threat would be a huge miss as Exeter revel in extended periods of possession, sets which so often sap energy from teams.
âI can tell you, they are the best at that. Statistically, they do keep the ball the best in Europe and they do keep it for the longest,â says the South African.
âSo your discipline has got to be key and youâve got to adapt to the referee and weâve got the same referee we had the previous time against Exeter, Jerome Garces, one of the best referees in the world and both teams will have to adapt to him.
âI think all the games that Iâve seen against Exeter, you get your opportunities and youâve got to use them. I think weâve used our opportunities in the last three weeks and I think weâve converted.â
After three tough weeks with frontliners rarely far from the field, those sapping bouts of pressure could prove telling. Van Graan is not worried about fatigue in his ranks. That, he feels, will be warded off by the need for one last push before the current group disbands until after the Six Nations and also competition for places in a squad with a low injury toll.
âThereâs 47 guys who sat here this morning that all want to be picked for the weekend,â he says.
âI think we have planned well over the last four or five months to make sure that we peak for these last two games in Europe, because after this, I said to the team this morning, the next time we see each other together as a group is at the end of March and thatâs a long way down the line.
âSo whoever gets selected at the weekend will give it their all, and thatâs what you want, round six in Europe. As a player you want to play in games likes these.â
For games like these, watching from the couch doesnât quite cut it.
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