THERE WERE THREE television cameras, half a dozen radio microphones, a couple of photographers and 15 pressmen staring at Johann Van Graan when he walked through the door and out of his comfort zone.

It was October 2017 and until that moment, save for a one-year stint at amateur level in South Africa, he had been known solely as an assistant coach. Now, all of a sudden, he was learning very quickly what the difference is between offering advice and calling the shots. “I’ve got no ego,” he said at one stage of his unveiling.

You thought it was time he found one as modest men, it is often said in sport, are that way inclined because they usually have plenty to be modest about.

Van Graan seemed to be different. Already in his young life he had survived accusations of nepotism, proving to be his own man by working his way up from video analyst at the Bulls — where his father worked as the club’s chief executive officer — to become Heyneke Meyer’s assistant coach.

By the time Meyer graduated to the South Africa job, Van Graan was on the move again, spending five years in various roles within the Springbok setup, before he approached Meyer’s successor, Allister Coetzee, and told him that if the right offer came up, he would like to move abroad.

Twelve months later Munster called and Van Graan wasn’t slow to answer. “This is a new journey for me,” the 40-year-old said at his opening press conference. “I know there will be some tough times and when they come, I’ll take them. At the end of the day you have got to produce as a coach. That’s the pressure, and I guess the nature, of pro sport. I’m a calm enough person to deal with that, though.”

Now more than ever, he needs to be. Certainly Saturday’s defeat puts his composure to the test.

Saturday's defeat will test Van Graan. Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO

Again Munster lost to Leinster. They’ve beaten them only once under Van Graan’s stewardship. Five defeats on the spin to the crowd from across the fence is an unwelcome statistic and while Van Graan tried to find positives, saying the team had taken strides, the fact remains that the final step is proving to be the hardest.

“The disappointing thing about this defeat was the fact we were 10-0 in front,” Van Graan said after Saturday’s game. “Then, after 39 minutes it was 10-3; we kicked the penalty against the post; Leinster recovered the ball to get their own penalty and we turn around 10-6 at half-time. Then just after half-time we got the penalty in their ’22 again which we didn’t convert and then they score that try with the grubber that hits one of our lads, one guy slips and they score.”

That’s one way of looking at things. Another is to look at the players he selected and some of those on the bench, in particular, Ben Healy and Dave Kilcoyne. 

You could go back further. When Munster lost to Racing in the 2018 Champions Cup semi-final, Simon Zebo and Gerbrandt Grobler were among the replacements. As a head coach, your legacy depends on getting these decisions right.

Zebo came on as a sub against Racing in the 2018 semi. Billy Stickland / INPHO Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO

That’s the case for the prosecution over. In his defence, Munster have been consistently making semi-finals under his watch, getting to the penultimate stage in three successive Pro14 championships and two out of the last three Champions Cup tournaments.

The sides who have blocked their way – Leinster, Racing and Saracens – have eight European Cup final appearances between them in the last five years. In other words, Munster under Van Graan have been a good team; the others have just been better.

There’s no shame in that, nor was their performance on Saturday without its merits. For the most part, they were the better team but when it came to the crunch, Leinster carved Munster open when they needed to. Asked to respond in the final 10 minutes, Munster’s attack couldn’t. That’s a question for Steve Larkham as much as for Van Graan to ponder.

“I thought we did some really good stuff on attack,” Van Graan said afterwards. “I am very disappointed in the result but very happy in the fact that we are definitely getting better.”

The long walk back to the dressing room after the final whistle. James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO

So what’s key to taking the next step and being more ruthless against Leinster and this calibre of opposition? “There’s no excuses from my side,” Van Graan said. “We’re improving. Unfortunately we’re playing a team that’s won the Pro14 three times in a row and if you look at the current set-up in the national side, they are the dominant team.

“So what we need to do better is keep on improving week in and week out and actually beat them in a big game.”

Yet they haven’t done so for a long time, Leinster’s five wins in a row backed up by the fact they have won nine of the last 10 meetings between these sides.

“Look, I’m not going to sugar coat it,” said Van Graan. “We obviously haven’t beaten them consistently. But I think you’ve got to look at the bigger picture as well, there’s no team in Europe has beaten them consistently. 

“If you look at their last 12 games we are the only side that they don’t score bonus-point wins against, it’s literally one-score games so you know, they are currently better than us but it’s literally a moment away.

“So if they had beaten us by four tries to one tonight I would have said yes, that might have been a psychological edge but the fact we lost the game by three points and we didn’t use our opportunities, and it wasn’t wishy-washy opportunities. By no means do I think it’s a psychological thing.

“We know and they know that it’s two top teams and currently they get the 50-50 wins.

“It hurts incredibly. It not only hurts me, it hurts everybody inside, and unfortunately we feel the 50/50s didn’t go our way. Losing to Leinster is never good enough for Munster.”