Coolness under pressure proved key to special win
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Sunday May 25 2008
Yesterday in Cardiff, Munster joined the elite of European rugby by annexing their second European title. It was a victory over the most technically gifted opponents they have faced in four deciders and a title earned without using a bench that was once seen as the Achilles heel that would prevent them ever climbing the winners' rostrum.
This was an even bigger achievement than two years ago. To come out of a group after two losses and play away in the knock-out stages was a tribute to their organisation and courage. This team has all the virtues of their predecessors but is vastly superior in the back line. It was indicative of the strength across the line that a win could be fashioned while Ronan O'Gara was way below his best.
Munster did not touch the ball for four minutes before conceding a penalty to Jean-Baptiste Elissalde who missed the chance to silence the 50,000 Munster fans, but made no mistake minutes later with a dropped goal. It was just reward for the control exercised by the Frenchman in the opening portion of the game.
Toulouse were winning all the battles for possession and asking the questions. Munster were reduced to desperate defence. Once before, Toulouse had played all the rugby in a final yet lost to a Wasps defence that never missed a tackle. Munster were reading from the same script and hoping for the same result. If it seemed that the game was about Irish defence and French attack, that was disproved when Munster finally got a foothold after 25 minutes of being on the back foot and crossed the line for a driven try for Denis Leamy.
It was classic Munster; seemingly on the ropes and punched into insensibility they had not just the patience but more importantly the technique to get into the scoring position. The perceived dominance of the Toulouse tail at the lineout was challenged, while Jerry Flannery had the confidence to go to the back to the unlikely target of David Wallace.
However, it was the oft-seen weakness at the scrum that had disappeared by final time. John Hayes, in his declining years, and Marcus Horan, in his maturity, have scrummaged better this season than ever before. The two prop forwards deserved all the credit for Leamy's try. First they pressured the Toulouse put-in at a five-metre scrum to win the next set-piece for their own team and then held steady to give Leamy the perfect platform to make yards and set up the series of drives that led to the try.
After years of denial, Munster finally converted to the concept of ball down Channel One at the scrum instead of the laborious passage through five pairs of legs. Leamy and the team were the beneficiaries and one wondered whether the champions of 2006 would have the courage of their convictions and get the number 8 off the back and attack Byron Kelleher who was having an armchair ride.
Listening to the respective half-time discussions might have been instructive. Declan Kidney might have been talking about more of the same while Guy Noves surely must have asked for a more structured approach and the use of the set-piece to gain territory before striking for points. Both teams were playing to their traditions; Munster, as always, cool, calm and collected; Toulouse extravagant, skillful and over-ambitious.
The two giants of Munster's progress in this competition had conflicting performances. O'Gara's kicking was way below par even if his general play was first class. The number 10, in his defence, may point to the outstanding performances of centres Lifeimi Mafi and Rua Tipoki who constantly tested the tackle in midfield and never failed to make yards against the most unyielding defence in Europe.
However, Paul O'Connell was simply immense. His cupboard is full of man-of-the-match awards but in Cardiff he carried in the open, was secure in the lineout but in the close-quarter exchanges he was incredible even by his standards. One can only hope that in South Africa with the Lions he will finally put behind him the disappointments of New Zealand under Clive Woodward and France under Eddie O'Sullivan. He deserves no less.
Toulouse were consistently allowed back into the game because of Munster's inability to win the contest for the ball in the air. In this respect Denis Hurley was particularly fallible. Hard to believe that he learned the game in Meath, a GAA stronghold. All too often also the control at the restart was missing. And most importantly despite all the pre-match analysis that must have recognised the skills of Cédric Heymans, Munster gave the full-back far too many opportunities to counter attack.
When the history of professional rugby in Ireland is written the key ingredients for a decade of almost unbroken success will be attributed to the shrewd signing of foreign players. There have been failures like Christian Cullen but from John Langford and Jim Williams to the three Kiwis in yesterday's side, the province has made clever choices and, more importantly, made massive efforts to integrate the players into the squad.
The benefits of that ability were there for all to see yesterday. No previous Munster team would have beaten Toulouse. The victory was fashioned by the three New Zealanders in the back line. When the men in blue were at their lowest ebb it was Mafi, Tipoki and Howlett that made vital incisions that raised the siege.
Throughout the match the loyal faithful were there, connected by an umbilical cord to their heroes. The victory was their victory also and the generosity, rugby knowledge and passion earned its just reward.
Declan Kidney now faces a new challenge on the international stage. He may never again deliver performances of the quality of his time at Munster but he has given the lie to cowardly critics that allowed envy to colour their utterances about what must be recognised as the finest coach in Irish rugby history.
- George Hook
