Click here for the pre-match HarpinBoo podcast “Shaggy May”
Click here to read my weekend preview for the Irish provinces on SportsNews Ireland
Normally when I do these match writeups I shoot for 1000 words.
Back in April 2009 when Leinster last lost this fixture, given Munster’s domination of not just our derby matches but European rugby as a whole, I was so frustrated I could barely muster 100.
Yet although I let out a sigh (by sigh I mean an unprintable word) as O’Gara’s last-gasp kick sailed over the bar to end this match, I still feel as though I have plenty to write about.
Last week I called for Leinster to play “smart” rugby. Well for the first half, they were in frickin Mensa.
The no-look passes were gone, the wraparounds were gone – it was just just simple, no-nonsense tactics from an away team, pinning their opponents in their own half at every turn.
You could see it from the very first whistle. Every time Sexton kicked from the halfway line, the ball was straight into the opposing 22, as if to say “go on, have all the possession you want, you’re not getting past us.”
By contrast O’Gara’s restarts were aimed, not always successfully, at our 10 metre line showing how desperate the home side were to have it in our territory.
Not that Munster weren’t doing reasonably well on the defensive front themselves, mind you. It took a sensational line from Isa Nacewa together with a kindly bounce from his grubber kick to produce the fitting result of a try for Shaggy (pic) on his 200th appearance.
Still, at halftime, with the score 20-9 in the visitor’s favour, even though a Munster fightback was always on the cards, it was hard to see how we wouldn’t be looking for phrases like “seventh heaven” to describe our next encounter.
But Leinster weren’t counting on the extent of that very fightback.
However secure Tony McGahan’s men are in first place on the Magners League table, had they lost yet another to their nemesis, it would have left a giant scar on their season. So given the way they came at us all guns blazing from the restart, it’s clear he and Paul O’Connell used that fact in the dressing room to light a spark under the boys in red.
And as sickening a cliché as “rugby was the winner” may be, in an Irish context it really was. For although the records show such battle-weary names as Stringer, O’Driscoll, Horan and the Bull joining the fray at some stage, Munster can be proud that it was stellar outings from future stars like Jones, Murray & Coughlan that dragged them back into it.
Yet they were still not getting near crossing our line. When we had the ball ourselves, you could tell we were rattled as the no-look passes made their unwelcome appearance, but on defence it was equally clear we were determined to at least keep them from touching it down. For that reason I wouldn’t be so worried about the second half penalty count. Tiny crumb of comfort it may be, but at least the clock is still ticking on Munster’s last 5-pointer against us.
So it all boiled down to that kick from Ronan. I made a point of tweeting “Full kudos to ROG if he gets this” as he lined it up. Though you could tell by his body language (and I don’t just mean his shiner!) it took huge mental strength to compose himself (pic), the greatness of the man shone through as he not only slotted it over, but remembered his leadership duties to focus his team-mates on the task at hand from the restart.
I’m leaving it until now to mention the referee Andrew Small. Let’s just say we should revisit the cliché “all we want from the man in the middle is consistency”, because he was not only consistently bad throughout, he was so towards both teams. Surely in the future the Magners League can afford to give this occasion the quality of officiating it deserves?
We can’t be sure that reports were true of him telling Leo Cullen that the only reason he didn’t sin-bin Johne Murphy for a deliberate knock-on in the second half was that it would have meant a red card, but it definitely wouldn’t come as a surprise. And when it came to BOD’s trip to the line, while I wouldn’t condone not producing yellow based on the identity of the player, I’d wonder would that particular ref have done it had he seen the number 13 before reaching for his pocket.
But Leinster cannot point to the referee for their defeat. They must look to their own game, and particularly how it shapes up going into their much bigger match at the Aviva Stadium next Saturday.
And you know what, I think it shapes up pretty well.
The Leicester Tigers have enough European rugby experience to know they should fear our first half more than they should find hope in our second half. It wasn’t just Nacewa who was performing well for us…Luke kept things simple and did them well, Rhys Ruddock was a revelation when he came on and as I’ve already said, our defence was solid.
I’m pretty confident that Joe Schmidt can use this narrow defeat at the runaway Magners League leaders’ fortress to prepare his troops for battle in front of a passionate Dublin crowd against the top team in the Aviva Premiership.
As for our Magners League standing, although matters are no longer completely in our own hands, with two home fixtures and a trip to Aironi to come, we’ll definitely be there or thereabouts for that prized second spot when the fat lady sings. Who knows – maybe a mouth-watering rematch in the Grand Final could be on the cards?
So as I approach my 1000th word in this writeup, all I’ve left to say is that Saturday night’s 80 minutes down in Limerick should only be seen by fans of both great provinces as a true celebration of the very best Irish rugby has to offer, one of course that was hopefully not spoiled by too serious an injury to Paul O’Connell.
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On second thoughts – don’t do the pigeon thing.
