McGahan facing his defining moments
Munster coach's reputation rests on ability to clear Heineken Cup hurdle
Tony McGahan is likely to approach this weekend's Magners League clash with Glasgow as a dress rehearsal for their vital trip to Toulon.
JANUARY, named after the Roman god Janus, has been described as the "gateway to the year".
Janus appears to have been some sort of bouncer (carrying the dubious title of 'god of doors and gates') but he was still the guy who decided whether you kicked on or had the door slammed in your face -- a lot like January in the Heineken Cup.
Munster triumphing in must-win pool games against English opposition at a heaving Thomond Park in January has become one of the great traditions of this competition over the last 15 years. This season, London Irish are the side lined up for the treatment handed out to Gloucester, Sale, Wasps and Northampton in previous campaigns and Toby Booth's side will have a fair idea of what to expect when they run out in Limerick on January 22.
However, the game that is the true gateway to Munster's season takes place the week before in Toulon.
Lose there, even with a bonus point, and it is impossible to see any route to the quarter-finals regardless of how well Munster do in their final fixture.
Toulon is everything. Munster have qualified for the knockout stages in Europe every season since 1997/98 (Declan Kidney's first in charge) when they failed to emerge from a group containing Harlequins, Cardiff and Bourgoin.
Coach Tony McGahan and his management team know exactly what is at stake this month. The Australian's record since taking over from the double Heineken Cup-winning Kidney has been statistically very good (see panel), with a Magners League title in his first season in charge and a 68pc win percentage in all competitions not to be sneezed at.
However, for the No 1 ranked side in Europe, not coming out of the pool -- even one as heavily stacked as London Irish, Magners League champions the Ospreys and big-spending Toulon -- would be catastrophic and, given Munster's standing, create a considerable fall-out.
Adding to the pressure down south has been Leinster's elevation to the status of top Irish province since Munster's 2008 triumph, a position compounded under new coach Joe Schmidt by their healthy progress in an equally difficult Heineken Cup pool and league victory at Lansdowne Road -- making it five wins on the bounce.
McGahan has also had considerable injury issues to contend with: Paul O'Connell and Jerry Flannery are two hugely important figures who have hardly featured, long-term injuries to Denis Fogarty and Felix Jones weakened his squad options and the year ended with Alan Quinlan dislocating his elbow against Connacht.
Suspensions to Lifeimi Mafi, Sam Tuitupou, Donnacha Ryan and O'Connell have also presented challenges and yet Munster have still managed to eke out a nine-point lead at the top of the Magners League table while maintaining control of their European destiny.
That is a reason for positivity, as is the growing suspicion that Toulon are vulnerable, more concerned with their Top 14 commitments than Europe, and possibly complacent about their status as pool leaders ahead of a match they clearly expect to win.
After last weekend's home victory over Biarritz, which leaves them in sixth position, Toulon's comic-book president Mourad Boudjellal was bullish about their league prospects, likening his team to French 400m runner Marc Raquil and his remarkable 40-metre surge to claim a bronze medal at the 2003 World Championships.
"It will be necessary to gather in points right to the end, just as Marc Raquil succeeded in outstripping his adversaries at the finish in that 400m. The sprint is on," said Boudjellal.
He went on to outline his confidence heading into this weekend's Top 14 trip to Racing Metro. Not a mention of Munster. It creates the impression of a side whose priorities are firmly rooted in domestic matters and one that will have nowhere near the same sense of urgency as their opponents the weekend after next.
opportunity
Furthermore, Munster have recent history on their side. Last season, they travelled to Perpignan having been roundly written off and blew the French champions away in the finest performance of the McGahan era.
Munster had scraped past Perpignan the week before at Thomond Park, but were irrepressible against a side that had ear-marked that match as an opportunity to make a powerful statement.
However, before a repeat performance can be countenanced, McGahan has key decisions to make, starting with O'Connell. It is understood that tentative moves to get Young Munster's AIL match with Dolphin switched from Saturday to Sunday so O'Connell could play were unsuccessful and the second-row goes into the Toulon clash chronically short of game time.
The fact that neither O'Connell's red card nor subsequent suspension were merited is besides the point: the decision now is how best to use him.
Saturday night's Magners League clash with Glasgow in Cork will undoubtedly be viewed as a dry run for Toulon, which would advocate the case for continuity the following weekend.
Thankfully for McGahan, second-row is an area of strength for Munster and Mick O'Driscoll has been having a productive season in O'Connell's absence. Given his importance to the squad, there is an argument for starting O'Connell and playing him for as long as possible, but the continuity argument suggests a role off the bench.
Quinlan's injury complicates matters in the back-row also. James Coughlan should come back into contention following his cheek injury, while using David Wallace at No 8, Denis Leamy at blind-side and Niall Ronan at open-side also has its merits.
Toulon, as with most French sides, boast a powerful scrum and will have noted Munster's recent difficulties in this area against the Ospreys and Connacht. The decision for McGahan here is at tight-head prop, as Wian du Preez is favourite to pack down at loose-head next to hooker Damien Varley.
Peter Borlase has yet to make a powerful statement and, after his encouraging showing off the bench last weekend against Ulster, the onus would appear to be on Tony Buckley putting the Ospreys game behind him and producing the scrum performance he found in November for Ireland's win over Argentina.
There has been much talk of a lack of spark in Munster's attacking play this season, particularly when measured against Leinster's, but they showed with that final, glorious try against Ulster that they have the capacity for inventive offence.
It is a question of bringing it out. In October's win against Toulon, Keith Earls and Johne Murphy shone in midfield, and while that would mean foregoing the physicality of Tuitupou and Mafi, the Earls-Murphy axis would be an exciting statement of intent while also allowing Paul Warwick the opportunity of launching his attacks from full-back.
Saturday may, on the surface, appear to be a routine league outing for the leaders against a Glasgow side that, even with the excellent John Beattie back on board, is more functional than formidable. But given what is at stake the following weekend, this team selection and performance promise to be instructive.
The door is still open and January will tell us just how far McGahan and this Munster team can go.
- Hugh Farrelly
Irish Independent
