JOHANN VAN GRAAN said he was “pretty happy” and Joey Carbery is likely to have felt much the same after his Munster debut against the Cheetahs at Thomond Park.
The Ireland international out-half played the closing 27 minutes of Munster’s bonus-point Guinness Pro14 win on Saturday and must have enjoyed the excellent reception he received from the crowd as he replaced Shane Daly.
With Munster 17-0 up at that point and the Cheetahs already looking beaten, Carbery didn’t need to light up the Limerick venue but his first outing in red gave the province’s supporters a glimpse of what the future might look like.
There were signs of Carbery’s creativity and strong basic skills, as well as an encouraging link with fellow playmakers Rory Scannell and JJ Hanrahan, who moved from out-half to fullback when Carbery was introduced.
A try-assisting pass for Dave O’Callaghan was a highlight for Carbery and had real echoes of the score Johnny Sexton created for James Lowe in Leinster’s Pro14 final win over Scarlets last season.
As we join play in the 71st minute below, Munster have had an initial mauling effort repelled and worked one phase infield through Stephen Archer’s carry.
In the shot below, Rhys Marshall has just picked to carry to the left of the ruck [yellow].
We can see that O’Callaghan [white] is holding the width on the right-hand side, with Darren Sweetnam having moved infield to work with Carbery [blue].
Munster’s forwards held the width particularly well against the Cheetahs and it’s a trend that will be worth following this season.
Carbery is scanning the Cheetahs defence as these forward phases are being played out and just as Billy Holland makes the next pick-and-go for Munster, Carbery identifies the opportunity back down the short side.
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As we can see above, Carbery and Sweetnam are already moving off to the right as Holland carries the ball.
While the Cheetahs do have another defender out of shot on the right of the shot above, Carbery feels himself and Sweetnam can create an overload on that side of the ruck as they team up with the lingering O’Callaghan.
And that’s exactly what happens as they sweep right and Carbery throws a well-judged skip pass to the flanker.
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One of the main issues for the Cheetahs here is that number eight Jasper Wiese is still getting up off the ground as James Hart is reacting to Carbery’s switch and firing a pass to him.
As we can see below, Weise [white] is the third defender out from the ruck for the Cheetahs.
In an ideal scenario, this third defender would mark up on the opposition first receiver – Wiese on Carbery in this case.
We can see on the left of the shot that Cheetahs lock Walt Steenkamp is calling and pointing for Wiese to fulfil that role, but Wiese is unable to react in time.
We can also see Cheetahs wing Sibahle Maxwane moving to sweep in behind the defence [yellow] but he too has moved too late to prevent O’Callaghan scoring.
Carbery’s running line is simple and effective. He gets outside Wiese and targets Steenkamp’s inside shoulder, forcing the big lock to turn his shoulders in and tackle the Munster out-half [white below].
That, in turn, invites final defender Tian Meyer to bite in on Sweetnam, leaving O’Callaghan free on the edge.
Carbery makes a fine read of the situation and opts for a powerful pass to O’Callaghan, across the face of Sweetnam.
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As we can see, Sweetnam’s right hand does make brief contact with the ball and while the official match stats might give the Munster wing an assist in this case, it’s quite clear that Carbery is the creator.
Carbery had 14 passes overall against the Cheetahs and they were largely accurate after his very first pass on a screen play was slightly behind Scannell.
The example below again underlines a simple execution of the basics from Carbery in phase play.
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Carbery is at first receiver and the work outside him makes his decision easier.
As we can see below, Scannell [white] is a viable option to receive the ball, running a hard line back against the grain and to the inside shoulder of Meyer.
Meanwhile, Sweetnam [yellow] is bouncing out the back of Scannell to provide an apparent option for Carbery to pull his pass back.
Meyer sits down on the threat posed by Scannell, opening up the space for Carbery to pass out the back.
The sharpest part of the play, though, is that Hanrahan [red above] is also working out behind Scannell and arrives from a slightly hidden starting position onto the ball.
With Sweetnam sliding wider to accommodate Hanrahan, Cheetahs centre Nico Lee is left in the exposed position below.
He has to bite in on ball-carrier Hanrahan [white], allowing the Kerryman to slip Sweetnam into space.
Cheetahs wing Maxwane adjusts in from the outside late and tackles Sweetnam, but his footwork gives him time to offload to O’Callaghan – who is again providing the width on the right.
With Neil Cronin’s positive support play meaning he’s the first arriving player to the breakdown after O’Callaghan beats Meyer with a nice step, it’s interesting to see Carbery stepping in as the halfback.
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Van Graan spoke post-match about how he wants all of his backline playmakers to be comfortable stepping in as makeshift scrum-halves when Munster are pursuing tempo in their attack.
Carbery certainly fits the bill, having played much of his underage rugby as a scrum-half, and his pass here is accurate and released with the minimum delay.
Carbery follows up by playing scrum-half at the next ruck too, underlining Munster’s desire to keep the tempo high with their foot on the Cheetahs’ throat.
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We can see a glance over the shoulder from Carbery as he approaches the ruck – just checking where Cronin is – and then there is no hesitation as he heads for the ball and fires off another excellent pass from the ground.
Hooker Rhys Marshall is the receiver and he plays a sharp screen pass behind academy back row Gavin Coombes to Scannell, who in turn shifts it to Hanrahan, with the fullback exposing more poor defensive work-rate and decision-making from the Cheetahs to step back inside and cross under the posts untouched.
It was intriguing to see Munster using lots of pull-back passes like this one from Marshall throughout their win on Saturday, particularly from forwards.
Van Graan has stated his ambition to make Munster a better passing team and the early signs this season are positive, even if the province will understand that far greater tests of their skills lie ahead.
It was also promising to see Carbery creating in tandem with Scannell and Hanrahan, as was the case on a couple of other occasions.
The fact that Scannell has history as an out-half means he provides playmaking quality – three passes for linebreaks against the Cheetahs underlines that again – and he will be an important foil for Carbery or whoever plays in Munster’s 10 shirt this season.
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As we see above, Scannell is a willing ball-carrier when Carbery opts for the front-door option and the Cork midfielder is likely to be a vital cog for the province again this season.
All in all, it was a positive first outing for Carbery at Thomond Park, although he is likely to be self-critical about losing possession in contact inside the Cheetahs 22 in the 62nd minute.
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There was the excellent linekick above from one Munster penalty – providing the platform for O’Callaghan’s try – and he made three basic tackles without fuss.
It will be fascinating to see how Carbery builds on his debut and also how he handles goal-kicking duties this season.
With Munster travelling to Glasgow on Friday to take on Dave Rennie’s Warriors, Carbery will be hopeful of taking over in the 10 shirt to lead his new team from the start.
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Good article Murray. Carbery certainly brings something different to the munster backline. His ability to take it to the line is what makes him so special I think. Can’t wait to see him with a full strength backline outside him.
@Jim Demps: Is Keats still an option for selection or are his chances basically dead and gone since carbery’s arrival?
@Greg Cavey: I have no idea. I’d imagine he’ll be used a good bit this season. It’s unlikely bleyendaal will feature so that leaves hanrahan and Keatley for when carbery is away.
@Jim Demps: I heard his partner who is a teacher has applied for a career break and told colleagues they are moving to France next season
@Arry Ryan: that’s interesting. Do they pay water boys well in France? I can’t see him being able to get another contract unless he gets 15-20 odd games under his belt this year which is unlikely
@Greg Cavey: what about Chapman ( alongside Keats ) ?
@Jim Demps: a certain Irish outhalf played no games last year and got a contract in the Top 14, so I’m sure Keatley could pull something put of the bag, even of he isn’t starting for Racing.
@Paddington C.: I think I misread Ryan’s post. I thought he was talking about bleyendaals partner as opposed to keatleys. My water boy comment was referring to bleyendaal because I don’t think he’ll get the games under his belt. Keatley would be well worth a contract in France although I think Connacht probably would benefit the most from him if he was to leave. They showed last weekend that they could use a back up 10.
@Jim Demps: but at this stage in his career Kearney will follow the money. but why wouldn’t bleyendaal get signed by a club. he’s a very good player. he looked certain to get a irish cap until he got injuries
@Arry Ryan: he’s a great player but he can’t get fit. No one is going to invest in a player who may or may not miss a whole season. If he gets a shot of games under his belt this season then that changes it but if he doesn’t then I’d say any club would be taking a big chance on him.
@Jim Demps: that’s fair, I found the comment baffling in relation to Keatley. Poor old Tyler is another story. Serious nightmare for him.
@Paddington C.: it’s just the nature of the game I guess. Some guys bodies just aren’t up to it. It’s unfortunate but it’s just how it is.
@Paddington C.: pity. I liked Bleyandaal.
It’s going to be very difficult to pick that back line when everyone is back in. Sweetnam and JJ were also excellent, while Neil Cronin could be the surprise emergence of the season!
Hard to tell how good a performance this was with the Cheetahs being so poor all-round. As Kinsella alludes to, the game away to Glasgow will give us a clearer idea of where Munster are. Nevertheless, a very good Munster debut from Carbery.
It’s amazing to think that Carbery has played few full games at outhalf as a professional player but yet finds himself as Ireland’s back up 10.With regular game time at 10 I believe he will go on to be a world class outhalf with Leinster’s officials having some awkward questions to answer.
@Tom Reilly: What awkward questions?
@Tom Reilly: The IRFU are the ones with awkward questions to answer. And Leinster have been asking them. One year left on his contract etc etc.
@.: why would the IRFU have questions to answer? They are happy out with the current arrangement.
@Jim Demps: And the province who are supplying the bulk of the national team, supplying all the other provinces and keeping Munster financially afloat are certainly not happy with the arrangement. The IRFU are playing with fire.
@Joe Brennan: Leinster supporters will want to know how a crowd pulling,super out half who the best coach in world rugby recons to be the second best out half in Ireland was considered to be inferior to Ross Byrne.
@.: explain to me how Leinster are keeping munster financially afloat given that munster posted a profit last year. They have a structured loan in place but that hardly makes them insolvent.
Also please do tell me what would happen if one of our underling provinces or even dare I say the IRFU should anger our blue overlords?
@.: newsflash bud, the provinces aren’t independent entities. All the provinces are set up to balance player development for the national team which is the real cash cow
@.: Considering you have no home ground and are “bailed” out by the irfu everytime you use the Aviva and have DOB signing a few cheques for players I hope you tongue is firmly in your cheek there
@PScald: Good debate there
@PScald: But, but ,but, they have Donnybrook. A ground they couldn’t even fill before they finally got their act together.
@Paul O’Connor: But but but we can actually fill our team with homegrown players unlike Munster who have about 7 Munstermen in their starting XV.
@Paul O’Connor: still champions of Europe
@Martin Quinn: you’re no better than anyone else on here… remember that
I understand all the fuss about him, but I haven’t seen much about Arno Botha who I personally thought looked an absolute beast and will only get better with game time.
@Michael Glasheen: He was immense, on and off the ball.
@Michael Glasheen: he was the same when he played for the bulls, they were saying he was going to be the next schalk burger/Louw, but he had a terrible run of injuries so the talent got past him out I suppose. Serious player!
Think all these players need to be judged after half a dozen games and not one to give us a fully picture of where they are
Arno worked selflessly all day, Cronin was very cool and while the opposition was poor, his decision making, handling, passing an getting to the breakdown were all very good. Carbery looks every bit the player Leinster say he is. Makes time, draws the opposition, lovely hands and eager to keep the momentum up. Stiffer tests await.
What on earth are they feeding those South African fellas. They’re genetically enormous.
@Harry O’Callaghan: Meat. Lots of it.
@Harry O’Callaghan: I’d say they have the same diet plan as the rest of their Munster team mates.