1. Munster at their lowest ebb
It has been 21 years since Munster were last shut out in European rugby but on Saturday they were the closest that they have been for many a year. A late Conor Murray try meant that they didn’t have to suffer the ignominy of ending this record but their performance suggested that they probably deserved it. It was, however, the first time that they have lost three in a row in Europe’s grandest of competitions.
Munster have lost their fight, and it seems their identity, this season as one lacklustre performance is followed by another too regularly. To make this worse, they played a full half against 14 men after Josaia Raisuqe‘s unforgivable eye gouge on CJ Stander.
The scoreline didn’t actually reflect the game. Stade Francais should have a lot more points on the board but take the score line out of the equation and you are left with one of the worse Munster performances for more than a generation.
The fans are rightly disgruntled and with the salary cap in England widening coupled with the French spending power it is difficult to see a way out for Munster through buying players.
Anthony Foley and his Munster men have some serious soul searching to do if they are to turn this around.
2. Form is temporary but class is permanent
Two of Europe’s most prominent fly halves have come in for some widespread criticism recently but over the weekend we saw a return to form for Johnny Sexton and George Ford.
Sexton’s match up with Dan Biggar was billed as a straight shootout between himself and the current Welsh first choice fly-half, but in reality there was only one winner.
Sexton showed touches of class throughout the game but it was his kicking game and ability to manoeuvre his team into the right areas of the field at vital moments that really aided Leinster in coming away victorious. There was also one moment of pure world class play when his cross field kick landed straight in Dave Kearney’s bread basket without him needing to break stride for the first try.
Ford had a very similar return to form just in time for Six Nations selection. He has struggled this season with ‘over-playing’ situations and not sticking with his natural game but down in the South of France on Sunday evening Ford almost steered his Bath team to a very famous victory.
Most impressive though was the maturity that Ford showed to read the game and take opportunities at the right time. Let’s not forget that He is still only 22.
Two drop goals and the use of the kick pass for Semesa Rokoduguni and Matt Banahan demonstrated how the fly-half can vary his game according to the game situation, whilst keeping his opposition guessing through counter attacking from his own 22.
Joe Schmidt and Eddie Jones would have been watching on with glee.
3. Ulster gamble almost costs them dear
There’s a lot of rugby to be played this season, so it’s understandable when you see teams resting and rotating key players – but the decision by Ulster to leave Paddy Jackson and Ruan Pienaar on the bench for their must win trip to Oyonnax almost came back to haunt them.
A lack of direction and execution of key skills led to them coming in at half time shell-shocked and with a 23 point deficit. Then entered Pienaar and Jackson.
Straight from the off, the two talismanic half backs took the game by the scruff of the neck and started to turn Northern Irish fortunes around.
As the pace of the game increased so did Ulster’s backline’s involvement. Jackson brought his big runners into the game thanks to Pienaar’s snappy service and damaging running lines of emerging talents Stuart Mccloskey and Rory Scholes.
His final penalty from half way was nerveless but there was no doubt that Ulster survived what would have been a major upset to set up a juicy showdown with Saracens in the battle for top of the group.
4. You don’t get matches like those on a 4G pitch
As the weather has worsened over the past weeks, so have the pitches, leading to debates on whether teams should be contemplating changing their playing surfaces to 4G as Saracens and Cardiff Blues have.
The counter argument was made all the stronger by the two best games of the weekend ending in torrential rain and on muddy, slow ground.
The rugby purist’s dreams came true not once but twice on Saturday as Welford Road and The Stoop hosted matches that went down to the final play of the game in the worsening conditions.
The hosts prevailed in both matches but the attritional way that all four teams had to fight for every inch of turf is something that surely makes rugby the game that it is today?
Take these elements away and what are you left with? A fast, skiddy surface that is the same everywhere without causing teams and players to adapt to the elements that they have grown up playing in.
We all love running rugby but a muddy scrap between 30 players is always welcome now and again.
5. You can’t keep a good Scarlet down
Whilst some of the Pro12 were playing their re-arranged European fixtures the Scarlets were still going about their domestic business with aplomb as they leapfrogged Leinster to regain the top spot in the table.
After two narrow derby losses over the Christmas period this was the perfect opportunity for Steven Shingler to have a shot at redemption as well.
On Boxing Day Shingler had a chance to beat the Ospreys with the last kick of the game but his shot at glory went awry. Not this time though. In the last minute of a game that had already seen the men from Wales stage one fight back, Shingler had the chance to take the Scarlets to the summit with a last minute penalty. And you can’t keep a good man down, as Shingler duly dissected the posts to keep the Scarlets on course for a play-off place.
6. How many Euros do you need to paper over the cracks?
In many different sports around the globe the owners of major teams and franchises have a different level of involvement with on pitch matters but in Mourad Boudjellal Toulon have an owner who takes the phrase ‘hands on’ to a different level.
After openly criticising two of his new super star recruits, Ma’a Nonu and Quade Cooper, during the week, Boudjellal ended the match on Sunday against Bath on the side-line as his worries that the three time champions may not advance through the group stage increased with each passing minute. His on pitch celebration at the end spoke volumes.
Toulon have struggled this year as they sit fourth in the Top 14 already with five losses to their name and a thumping away at Wasps in Europe also in the record books. It goes to show that buying yourself a fantasy rugby squad doesn’t always mean that they will play well together.
From the outside looking in, it seems that there are cracks appearing between the players and the owner that could lead to further friction should Boudjellal continue to interfere.
His parting comment from the weekend will surely not have helped Cooper’s confidence though. When asked to compare Cooper to Jonny Wilkinson, he stated on French television that: “It’s difficult to go from Foie Gras to Pate”.
Mourad the motivator.
Andy Daniel (@scrum5ive)
Photo by: Patrick Khachfe / Onside Images
Why did the posts need dissecting?
Cardiff’s 4G pitch has been great in some ways – no more cancelled games, more running rugby, but I do agree that there is something about the occasional mud bath that stirs the soul. The pitch at CAP always used to be damp (it’s built on the land the Taff used to meander across) but it became virtually unusable in Winter since the Mill Stade was built due to the foundations for that cutting off the drainage route. A big concern with our 4G pitch is whether it’s bad for the players over time – there are even rumours of some approached players turning us down partly because they don’t want to risk playing long term on the pitch.
It’s a disaster for Munster that needs some rapid surgery. From what I can see their crowds are plummeting along with their form which is bad news for the Pro12. I fear another round of musical chairs will be along soon if the Irish can’t work out how to compete again with Eng/Fra. We (Wales) are already out of that race in the short term, it’ll be bad for the Pro12 if it becomes the permanent home of the 3 worst (domestically speaking) countries out of the old 5 nations.
4 worst of the current 6 nations. Not sure why you felt the need to exclude Italy
Aye, I was clear I was only talking about the old 5 nations. I left out Italy because they have no track record of competing domestically with Eng/Fra – so I was trying to make the pt about the growing disparity between once competitive nations (club domestic) e.g. back in 90s Wal/Sco clubs competed successfully with Eng/Fra, Wal managed to hold their own in 00s, Ire dominant in 00s, etc.
I honestly feel this issue with the Irish provinces is just temporary, I feel the Irish getting knocked out in the world cup was a huge punch in the stomach which imo has lead to these poor performances ( Leinster and Ulster are starting to turn it around ) Whereas England did very…VERY badly in the RWC and feel they need to prove a point ( hence why Wasps and Sarries are doing so well) If you look at the Munster and Sarries back line there isn’t a lot difference in terms of quality as far as 11-15 go the big difference is Sarries have a quality ten ( people smack Farrell all they like but he is quality ) and a coach who gets them playing expansive + creative rugby (There coach is Irish so that shows its not all about SH coaches), Munster on the other hand have a fly half who even under the slightest bit of pressure cracks and IMO is AIB league standard ( Irish domestic league) and a coach who is to focused on the argie bargie side of the game. Look at Rob Penny, got Munster to the Semi’s 2 years in a row and then suddenly Foley takes over and they get knocked out twice with more or less identical squads…that to me says an awful lot!
The main Issue about the provinces is I feel that Ireland are starting to become Wales as in its all about the NT rather than the Provincial side of things.
I don’t think I follow your logic – Ireland’s response to a poor world cup is for their players to play badly in their provinces, England’s response is for the players to come out fighting? If I agreed then I’d say it doesn’t say much for the Irish players.
I’m as happy as the next non-Englishman that Eng didn’t make the knock-out cut, even happier because it meant we did. But as has been pointed out to me a million times here let’s not overegg the diffs – Ire and Wal got one match further than Eng. Subequently Ire then got mullered by the 4th best SH team. I fail to see, if I’m reading your email right, that Eng seem to have done VERY badly compared to Ireland? I’d argue Ire did worse given the 6Ns champions expectation of finally breaking their knock out round duck. Eng would argue that they lost to tougher oppo than Ire had.
I think there is quite a lot of quality lacking in the Munster squad personally (this is relative, I know they’re still beating Cardiff). I agree with you that coaches are a key difference – giving jobs to the old boys is usually a disaster as far as I can see, esp. when Muns/Leins have moved from experienced coaches to their current options.
I partly agree with your statement about the NT and Ireland – BUT I would say that is how pro rugby has always been arranged in Ireland. The provinces are nationally owned and controlled. The IRFU decides who goes where and who signs who. Munster were even forbidden from playing NZ a few years ago for fear it would detract from Ire v NZ ticket sales. What’s changed now is that for a few years the IRFU could exercise this control based on their own money and that money was enough to ensure the provinces were sprinkled with stardust. Now that money isn’t enough as it’s stayed relatively static while Eng/Fra have roared on ahead. Something needs to change in Ireland.
As it does in Wales – but things are improving from a very low ebb. More money into the pro games, less players leaving Wales, more excitement around the pro teams. Hopefully we’re moving up.
To be fair the only team under performing consistently is Munster, Leinster look to have got back to winning ways, Connacht are playing much better than usual and Ulster also look to be coming back, If you compare the Munster back line to Sarries I actually would say Munster edge it if you take Farrell out, So the quality is sort of there and if Munster could somehow get Hanrahan back ( who is a potential world class FH) and get out Keatley who is average at best than I would on it that Munster would attack much better! As for the RWC Ireland got the main part of there job which was to win the pool done but then they unfortunately picked up what ever curse the Welsh team had by having nearly half the starting 15 injured within a few days, to then expect them to go out there against a fully fresh Argentina team and try do what no other Irish team has done before and win a QF is expecting a bit much, NZ at full strength just got past Argentina so expecting Ireland to with so many injuries was a bit much.
If Ireland had just scraped through in second and got annihilated by NZ like France did then I would agree but not when you’ve won the pool and completely outplay France with basically your B team.
IRFU are becoming a bit of a joke tbh, They blocked Munster’s transfer for Stephen Moore recently which just about sums them up.
Next season will be the right time to judge teams me thinks as a lot of the team are mentally still trying to get over the RWC as its not just the Irish teams, look at the French teams for example, Toulon the Champions 3 years running might not even get through the pool!
Pro12 wise the Irish teams aren’t doing to badly, infect there is still a good possibility that we could have an all Irish top 4 I know it isn’t saying an awful lot but I don’t really think we are struggling I think we are just going through a rough patch just like every team does, Munster aside everyone else looks to be getting back on track and Munster just brought in Andy Farrell so hopefully he can bring a little bit of a winners mentality that the munster players seriously lack right now!
All good points Cathal and I take your point about this being all very recent. Hopefully Munster can turn it around, watching Toulon v Sarries for the next 5 years in the Champs Cup would be painful.
Bizarrely Pienaar cant reproduce his form when playing for South Africa. He has been outstanding this season.
I watched Ospreys play Leinster also and agree that Sexton had a super game. However, surely the highlight of the match was the supreme performance of Sam Underhill from Ospreys. A 19 year old former captain of England under 18s studying at Cardiff University, he was the best back row forward on the pitch by a very long way. The back row forwards on display included ‘current’ internationals and a Lion. He appears to be a natural open side wing forward and as the general consensus is that England needs just that animal, surely he must be considered. I know that 19, these days, is seen as young but many greats were internationals at or before that age. He has the physical attributes to match a great rugby mind which manifests itself in raw and menacing ability. If the England Management does not make positives very soon the Welsh selectors will grab another gem as it did in the case of Sam Warburton!
Agreed, Underhill was brilliant. Not quite the same case as Sam Warbs mind who is Cardiff through and through and came through the dev system. Let’s not try and make out we nabbed him from under the Eng noses, he was always on the Welsh dev track from schoolboy rugby onwards. Born in Cardiff, raised in Cardiff, Eng parents. He’s as Welsh as he chooses to be and he chooses to be 100% so.
Given that apparently Richard Hill and Joe Lyndon were there to watch, I’d think England must be very aware of Underhill’s potential
Brighty,
To hear the English fans talk about ‘taking our players’.
Ha ha ha……Pot kettle and black.
Maybe they really all as ignorant of the facts as they seem?
There again some guy on the blog is saying that Knobshaw is ‘intelligent..effective and in the form of his life’
Well possibly but I assume that is since Oct 3rd 2015?
You really are an idiot Enoch.
‘Knobshaw’ – do Mummy and Daddy know you’re using their computer?
Taking your players???
“Sam Underhill (born 22 July 1996) is an English rugby union player who plays for Ospreys regional team as a flanker. He was the England U18s rugby captain during their successful 2014 FIRA tournament and played 9 times[citation needed] for England U18 during an unbeaten season including a win against South Africa.
Underhill made his debut for Gloucester at 17 in the LV cup and subsequently in the Aviva Premiership aged 18 yrs. He joined the Ospreys regional team and Bridgend Ravens in 2015 having previously played for Longlevens Rugby Football Club, Sir Thomas Rich’s Grammar School, the Gloucester academy, Gloucester United RFC, and Gloucester Rugby”
No no my friend we are talking about stopping the continuation of Welsh rugby taking our players
Jeez Leon, you had a pt there until you just went full-on-Enoch yourself at the end. Nobody is taking anyone’s bloody players – a lot of the supposedly English players who play for Wales (as that is what you are getting at) would identify as 100% Welsh, some of them chose their affinity later in life due to opportunity. We all know Eng have many non-Eng born players in their ranks so it’s a case of glass houses and stones if people are going to throw accusations about.
It’s modern rugby with a 3 year residency and grandparent rule – throw in a small island with people moving all over it for work and it’s very, very hard to identify a 100% full blown lineage for any one of our countries.
Completely agree with Brighty. It’s a daft argument. Not one tier 1 nation (even tier 2), had a WC squad with just players born in their own country. Most had players that hadn’t even lived there until they were adults.
If Warburton feels Welsh, good for him. If Vunipola feels English, great we’ll have him.
The mud throwing in this area is completely daft.
On Underhill, he has absolutely no connection to Wales by lineage so the only way they could get him is if he lived there for 3 years. Considering he’s only been there 1 year, and he’s already being watched by England staff, it’s a pretty daft debate to have.
sorry enoch brings out the worst in everyone.
Not sure if Underhill has a Welsh grandparent or not otherwise it will be another couple of years before he qualifies through residency
Cheers Leon. No welsh lineage at all. He’s only playing for welsh teams due to studying in Cardiff. As others have mentioned he’s already being watched by Eng coaches (nobody else in that game has Eng connections) so he’s going to play for Eng, no debate for me. Anyway, we have a stack of the worlds best backrow players already, we’ll let you have one for a change ;-)
Thanks Brighty very generous of you
God knows we need an openside
Just to muddy the waters even further .Underhill was born in the USA! Watch out for the Eagles making a sneak flank attack and nabbing him!