Across The Gain Line . . . with Colm Kinsella

THEY say time is a great healer, but it seems to be moving very slowly for Munster rugby supporters this week. In the wake of the crushing Heineken Cup semi-final defeat at the hands of old rivals Leinster at Croke Park, the post-mortems and inquisitions have continued unabated. Rugby enthusiasts have been asking where Munster go from here? Just a few days earlier the outlook had seemed so positive.
Munster had claimed a second Magners League title as a result of the Ospreys failure to secure a maximum five-point haul against the Dragons.


Tony McGahan’s men had beaten Saturday’s Leinster in their two previous meetings this season and the side had scored a whopping 15 tries in their three most recent outings in the competition. But by 7.30pm on Saturday evening, Munster’s world had been turned upside down.

Own downfall
Going into the All-Ireland semi-final clash, there wasn’t even the merest hint of what was in store. While great credit must go to Leinster Munster certainly contributed handsomely to their own downfall, with a succession of unforced errors, turnovers and handling errors.
Munster squad members played down any suggestion that Leinster were the hungrier side on the day, but there was some compelling evidence that this was in fact the case.
The Leinster players had no Heineken Cup medals in their collection and had been written off by most pundits in the lead up to the game.
When it came to motivation, Cheika’s men didn’t lack any.

Forward battle
It was strange to see the Munster pack, outstanding all season, lose the forward battle.
The Munster forwards, the majority of whom had also been first choice selections for Ireland throughout the autumn internationals and Six Nations, lacked their usual zest.
While the average age of the Leinster forwards on Saturday was 28, the average age of their Munster counterparts is 31.
Just two members of the Munster ‘eight’ are under 30, Paul O’Connell and Denis Leamy.
While much speculation has focused around Munster acquiring the services of Springboks centre Jean de Villiers this summer, the province may also look at bolstering the forward options.
The vastly experienced John Hayes and Alan Quinlan will retire in the next few seasons, and while both outstanding servants will be nigh on impossible to replace, Munster should move quickly to increase their options in the pack.
Any new players will need time to ‘bed in’ before they became totally au fait with the Munster style of play.
Munster’s pack for big Heineken Cup games has tended to pick itself this season. Rugby supporters would confidently be able to predict the make-up of the forward unit before the team is actually named.
While we have seen the emergence of Niall Ronan as a quality back-row forward this season, Mick O’Driscoll continues to make a massive contribution in the second-row and prop Tony Buckley is sure to flourish with an extended run free of injury and illness, further competition for places in the pack would ensure forwards retain their edge in the seasons ahead.
Former Garryowen hooker Damien Varley is tipped for a return from Wasps and this season’s AIL has seen the emergence of plenty of new and exciting, if raw, talent.
Young Munster’s Ger Slattery and the Shannon duo of Eoghan Grace and Kevin Griffin are just three of the young forwards have been impressive for their clubs this season. All three possess the potential to play at a higher level.

Financial clout
While nurturing young, local talent takes time, in the more immediate future Munster should have sufficient financial clout to look outside of the province for a couple of quality forwards, whose age profile would suit their requirements.
That is not to say that the days of the established squad members are numbered, but given that a couple of retirements are expected in the next few years, allowing new players the opportunity to learn from these most experienced international stars would benefit Munster in the longer term.
The decision of rugby chiefs to break Division 1 of the AIL into Division 1 A and 1B for next season should ensure a concentration of the most talented, ambitious young rugby players with the top clubs.
Ok, it may create a gulf in standards between the Division 1A sides and the rest, but it should ensure that the home grown players have reached a higher standard by the time they receive a call up into the Munster set-up.
There has been a strong overseas influence in the Munster back-line at present, through the presence of Lifeimi Mafi, Doug Howlett and Paul Warwick this season.
But while Munster has traditionally held a greater reputation for producing quality forwards, several exciting young backs have emerged recently, beginning with Keith Earls.
Flying Garryowen winger Ciaran O’Boyle, who has been unfortunate with injury, has impressed when given his chance with Munster this season.
His club-mate Ronan O’Mahony is continuing to impress as if another ‘light blue’, former Castletroy College Senior Cup medal winner, Diarmuid McCarthy and out-half Andrew Burke.
UL-Bohemian have enjoyed enormous success at under-20 level in recent seasons at AIL level and Mark Doyle has emerged as a hugely exciting young talent.

Outlook is bright
The outlook is bright in terms of the province’s attacking young potential.
Of course Munster, even allowing for the significantly increased capacity of the new Thomond Park, cannot match the vast sums of money English and, more especially French clubs have at their disposal to bolster their squads.
Montauban, Munster’s opponents in the pool stages of the Heineken Cup have an annual operating budget of €9.5 million. Munster’s is said to be close to €5.5 million this season.
One report this week suggested that French clubs were willing to offer Springboks centre Jean de Villiers a whopping €500,000 a year to lure him away from South Africa.
Munster are unlikely to get involved in a bidding war of that magnitude.
But money isn’t everything for today’s top professional rugby players.
Moving to play for the two-time Heineken Cup champions is an attractive proposition.
The club has ambition, boasts a terrific work ethic and sense of comraderie.
Players quickly buy into that ethos.
Saturday’s defeat to Leinster was a massive disappointment, but not the end of the world either.
The traffic coming out of Dublin on Saturday evening wasn’t too bad and for the brave and faithful, there is always next season.

Young Munster
Young Munster RFC held a celebration night for their clubman and Lions captain Paul O’Connell at the Strand Hotel on Tuesday night. O’Connell and another Young Munster player Keith Earls were honoured for their selection in Ian McGeechan’s squad to tour South Africa this summer. The remaining Limerick-based Lions were also invited to the event.
Close on 400 people turned out to celebrate O’Connell’s achievement of becoming the first Limerickman to lead the Lions. The 29-year-old was presented with a specially hand-crafted wooden rugby ball which included the Lions logo and a scene from a line-out. The other locally-based Lions received presentations of the hand-crafted wooden rugby balls with the Lions logo.
Young Munster Club president Declan Edwards paid tribute to O’Connell on his appointment as Lions skipper and congratulated all the locally-based Lions on their selection in the squad.
TV personality Hector O’Heochagain hosted the event. The organisers of the night are making a donation of €1,000 towards the Stuart Mangan Appeal Fund.