THERE WILL BE improvements to be made and a few areas to fine-tune, but Munster have enough European rugby muscle memory to know that bonus points can be invaluable in this tournament.
Players will have been aware of the expectations around the opening round clash with a Pro14 struggler, but there was nobody lamenting the hard 84-minute shift needed to drive a fourth try over against Ospreys.
“They’re a very physical side and I think you saw from their maul attack is was very good. We found it difficult to stop,” said Peter O’Mahony, fresh from his 11 carries and nine tackles in the Liberty Stadium.
I said to the lads inside: you can never take for granted getting five points away from home in this competition.
“It’s a difficult, difficult thing to do.”
The difficulty arose for a variety of reasons. Pressure from a team putting its pride on the line in the midst of a horrible season, attacking errors as the visitors are still building cohesion through returning internationals and a third-choice out-half. Not to mention a penalty count from Karl Dickson that rose to 15 by the finish.
“Credit to the players who remained calm. It doesn’t matter when you score your tries as long as you get four,” said head coach Johann van Graan.
O’Mahony added:
“Parts were very good but we’ve a lot to work on. I thought they played quite well, they put us under a lot of pressure in the first half. We got very little attacking platform – certainly line-out wise – it didn’t feel like we had a huge amount of platform.
“I thought we defended quite well but one thing for me was the discipline – certainly away from home it’s something we’d hang our hat on but we were ill-disciplined if anything. But our attack shape was good at times.”
It will be better for this outing. And Munster’s pool chances will be all the better for the fifth point.
If any player can deal with the pressure of being captain it’s this guy!
He is one dangerous looking man in that photo. I’m not sure if he should be made captain yet. Have a 6 nations run first maybe.
…..there will be a ‘changing of the guard’ needed in Irish rugby soon with some brilliant players who have served the cause well put out to pasture. Rightly it should be sooner rather than later. . Can see AF giving himself a couple of games, even a full 6N, to position his squad for the inevitable heave that has to come.At that point putting young Ryan in charge should be considered.
@Michael Murray: Hopefully we will all recognise the necessary rebuilding process for what it is and accept a fee bad results in the 6 Nations along the way.
I have my doubts. These pages can make for harsh criticism at times.
@Paul Ennis: ….agree and ill-informed criticism at that.