Red-hot de villiers comes of age for superb Munster
Jean De Villiers (C) scores a try during the match Perpignan vs Munster Photo: Getty Images
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With seven wins from a maximum eight -- Ulster's loss in Paris being the only blip -- it's been the best 'back-to-back' December ever for Irish rugby. And dare one suggest, pretty close to the perfect end to this the most perfect rugby year. The bottom line sees Munster almost definitely, Leinster most probably and Connacht most assuredly all but through the qualifying phase of their respective campaigns.
But rest assured, none of the three management teams will see it as such. Leinster still have a massive hurdle to climb against London Irish but on current form, and with destiny very much in their own hands, winning at the Madejski Stadium will be their prime objective. However it's more than conceivable that two teams could well emerge from Pool 6.
At the RDS, the reigning champions did the business again against one of the poorest Llanelli combinations to represent this great Welsh club. We wondered just how good Leinster were and how bad the Scarlets were the week before and on Saturday -- though clinically efficient and defensively mean -- it wasn't Leinster but the exceptionally poor visitors which provided the most damning evidence.
While taking the 10 points (embracing 11 tries), Michael Cheika, Kurt McQuilkin, Jonno Gibbs, Alan Gaffney and the rest will not be reading too much into successive back-to-back romps. Brive first up -- but more relevantly that London Irish clash -- represents the main focus of their season from here on in.
Praise
As for Munster, no praise is adequate enough for what was achieved at the Stade Aime Giral on Sunday. Even by their own exalted travelling standards, this was special. It harked back to the days of Gaillimh, the Claw and Axel in their pomp. A time when no prisoners were taken and respect was earned the hard way.
Yes, Jean de Villiers and Dougie Howlett added the icing (and what icing) but first and foremost this was about a Munster pack doing what it does best: standing up and fighting, thereby bullying the bullies into submission long before the end.
Every individual collision of consequence went Munster's way. Desire cut deep and on days like this, even to the most romantic of backs, Munster forward play becomes a thing of beauty. Leinster had some really solid individual contributions on Saturday, not least from Cian Healy, Leo Cullen and all three back-rows with the imperious Jamie Heaslip again the star turn. However, from Wian du Preez at loose-head to Denis Leamy at No 8 this was a collective Munster forward performance that ranks with the best.
The occasional early scrum apart, it was a day of utter Munster dominance. Paul O'Connell was, as ever, the catalyst leading from the front. David Wallace, followed by Leamy and John Hayes, weren't far behind. It was a match when the 'dropped blanket' principle applied. Such was the forward cohesion and unity of purpose that, at any given moment, all eight would have been underneath the proverbial blanket had it been dropped.
Behind the scrum, the Munster halves ruled with conviction whilst at the very back Paul Warwick was the complete footballing act. Whether at 10, 12 or 15, he's a real class act.
Perhaps too, it's the day that new signing De Villiers comes of age in a Munster shirt. Forget this nonsense about answering critics -- the head coach who dropped him is the only opinion that matters -- and concentrate instead on his 'get on with it' attitude over the past two frustrating weeks spent out of the first-team loop. As with Ronan O'Gara -- who let his feet and hands do the talking vis-a-vis losing his Irish place -- so too with the much decorated Springbok centre for Munster. That's how it should be.
His second-half try represented skill (by way of the step) and utter determination in making the line and it completed the victory the rest of his new team-mates so richly deserved. It will enter the annals of Munster folklore but more importantly, it provided proof that Tony McGahan has signed a player of substance and not a fleeting mercenary. All that said, the midfield conundrum still exists. Sunday's try, welcome though it was, will not blind McGahan to that reality.
Mention too of Donncha Ryan. Here is another top-quality forward in the Sean O'Brien/Kevin McLaughlin mould. His patience is admirable. Added to his back-five versatility, is it any wonder that Declan Kidney rates him so highly? His introduction in the final quarter did not detract one iota from the team's most dynamic unit of so many on the day. If anything, his 20 minutes enhanced that back-row dominance even further still.
I agree with McGahan's stance that Sunday's success -- and the manner of it -- marks the starting point to this season's Heineken Cup quest. A little lesson too (early in his career) for Perpignan flanker, Yohan Vivalda. He who likened the two-time Heineken Cup winners to an average academy side discovered to his, and his team's cost, that the same group had graduated with honours in the eight days in between -- a sobering lesson on loose lips.
Finally, the ability -- and not just the desire -- continues to peak for Munster when the time really demands it. There was also great humility from all concerned, from McGahan through the captain and on to each and every player when assessing the merit of Sunday's success.
Leinster have come a long way in that key area too and that's why -- for the fourth season in five -- it looks like another substantial Irish assault on European rugby's top prize come the knock-out phase.
- Tony Ward
Irish Independent
