Finding the right balance

Munster, Ireland & Lions fan @trevormurphy73 shares some thoughts on the Lions…

(note : written before team announcement)

It has been an interesting week for the IRB, the citing system and the Lions in general.

Firstly we had a shambolic decision from the judiciary when James Horwill was acquitted. The reason for the citing was a stamp on the head of Alun Wyn Jones an opposing lock forward who was prone and unable to move at the bottom of a ruck. Firstly it was a cowardly act by Horwill. Secondly the QC who presided over the first hearing is obviously a moron or a defence attorney at heart! You might think that’s a bit strong, but look at his decision... There is no logic in it!

1. He said there could be no certainty of an intentional act of stamping: There is a little wriggle room on this one as to be honest I don’t think Nigel Hampton QC is psychic, however I presume there has to be a modicum of intelligence and common sense to be able to do his job? Look at the manner that James Horwill brought his foot down and it is damned obvious he meant to do harm. He may not have intended to stamp on AWJ’s skull but it’s his responsibility to make sure he doesn’t stamp on anyone. He was balanced and decided to bring his right foot closer to his left and stamp down with every intent to do harm. I don’t have to be psychic to know what was going on. Wake up Nigel Hampton QC.

2. He found that Horwill was trying to regain his balance after being driven off balance at a maul: The video footage clearly shows he was not off balance as a ruck formed. He was at the side of the ruck where he took his cowardly opportunity to stamp on AWJ. I have an experiment for you all now. Stand with your feet inside the width of your shoulders. Ask someone to gently push you by your shoulder. Once you begin to lose balance what do you do with your legs? Spread them to make your balance more secure or quickly bring your feet closer? Simple little test of logic that shows what utter bullshit the eminent QC came up with in his “verdict”

If that act had been perpetrated by a northern hemisphere player in the NH he would have been banned quickly and for a long time. No question about that. In the Southern Hemisphere it seem that offences against the British & Irish Lions are a pre-requisite and above the law. There have been far too many of this cowardly kind of act going unpunished or at best weakly punished. The Herald Sun decided to prompt people to tweet the hastag #justiceforhorwill on twitter as if he was the victim... This just proves my theory above.

The whole event also brought the lunatic fringe out of the woodwork comparing the incident to the Paul O’Connell Dave Kearney incident. The difference between the two was POC was aiming for the ball. Yes, I felt he should have been cited but I also think he would have been cleared at a hearing. Not certain but given he was striking out at the ball and clipped DK with his shin/calf the balance of probability would be a not guilty verdict. There was no ball for JH to aim for! JH made contact using his studs!

Many fans and people within the rugby world felt this was a slippery slope for the IRB. Many times I saw tweets along the lines of “keep trying the case until you get the verdict you want”. Seriously...? This is not the first time the IRB have gotten involved after a citing result. It doesn’t happen often but it has happened. The previous case involved Adam Thompson where the IRB appealed the length of the ban received. Thompson had been banned for a week and the IRB stepped in. If you look at the video impartially you can see it was a bad incident. When I first saw it I was shocked at how serious it was. Turns out I was right. There will be many who argue the decisions involved but the facts are clear. Look at it again and see the offending player go from a stable position to one inherently unstable except for the skull he was using to stay balanced.

On the playing side of this series I fear we are in some deep trouble. The Lions have been very strong in defence but you cannot expect to win a series being defensive for 80 minutes. We are lacking line breakers in midfield. Australia were entirely too comfortable defending against this Lions side in the second test. We did look dangerous when our wide players ran the ball from deep. We have some serious gas out wide and deep but we are kicking the ball away far too often. I hope the players can break the game plan in the last test and show their abilities. You do not beat a SH team too often relying on set plays all the time. Look at NZ when they play, their wide players see mismatches quickly and capitalise. Their players aren’t twice as fast as North, Bowe and ½p they just use the space more efficiently.

The key to getting the a win against Australia will be players taking the ball up hard and breaking the gain line and the support shutting down the Australian back row from creating turnovers. Given this and quick distribution we can build momentum until we get some mismatches. It’s a simple game really. Get your opponents moving backwards, get the big lads defending in wide channels, apply pressure and force mistakes. The inclusion of Sean O’Brien in the back row could make a significant difference. He is a natural ball carrier and takes a lot of stopping. However, If he is stopped the Lions have to quickly redirect their attack to find the spaces left by two or three man tackles against O’Brien or the centres. Fingers are well and truly crossed for this game folks! All I can say now is

LLLLLLLLLLLLIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIOOONNNNNNSSSS

LLLLLLLLLLLLIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIOOONNNNNNSSSS

LLLLLLLLLLLLIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIOOONNNNNNSSSS

I’m Trevor, 39. A passionate Munster and Irish Rugby Fan. I have strong opinions on this beautiful game of ours. Stand up and fight!

Better options required by Munster

Munster can get the job done on Sunday but need to make some tough decisions, writes Trevor Murphy

It has been a tough couple of weeks for the Munster Rugby setup. From the very poor performance against Cardiff Blues to the lack of a bonus point against Edinburgh, who are widely regarded as one of the weaker teams in the competition. There have been all kinds of mutterings on social media that you would not expect to hear surrounding the Munster team and management. Most of it can be disregarded as histrionics but there is a definite undercurrent there. I am not blameless here. I am not known for keeping my opinions to myself. My recent interaction with a certain rugby correspondent is evidence enough in that regard. This is not intended as a hatchet job on anyone but I am frustrated at what I perceive as completely ignoring a forward orientated game plan to the detriment of results.

So where to start... Make no mistake; Munster had the required weapons to get a try bonus point against Edinburgh. It wouldn’t have been pretty but it would have worked. We would all like to see free flowing attacking rugby but it seems that is little outside of our reach at the moment. When you watch New Zealand play you get a sense that they are playing the game at 100mph. The key to this is quick ball. “No shit Murph” I hear you say... But it’s so obvious it’s sort of ridiculous to say. The key to having space to pass the ball wide is punching holes in defence, attacking the ruck and moving the ball accurately and quickly. Only after multiple phases of front foot ball do professional defences struggle to realign themselves. Then you get mismatches and defensive lines that are in a dog leg formation. So we have a breakdown somewhere. We have forwards capable of getting us front foot ball.

Next step is the scrum half. It is critical that the scrum half can pass the ball quickly and accurately to the men outside him. We are struggling in this phase at the moment. There is no doubting Murray’s ability but there does seem to be a slight glitch in his movement when passing. The result of this glitch, as I call it, is to allow defenders to limit the space our out half to operate in. Rugby is a tough physical game and opponents don’t usually need any encouragement to get “stuck in” If you dangle your out half like a carrot in front of their back row you’re in for a tough day at the office! God help us if Murray gets injured at the moment. We need to strengthen our cover at 9 as far as I’m concerned.

This next paragraph is a tough one...

Ronan O’Gara has been a stand out number 10 for more years than I can remember in Northern Hemisphere rugby. Unfortunately time waits for no man and as he approaches the latter stages of his career he has lost a yard of pace it seems. Never the quickest of out halves ROG could usually make space by his sleight of hand and attacking outside shoulders of slower forwards. It seems to me that opponents don’t regard him as any kind of running threat and are pressing a little harder on the back of this. This unfortunately compounds the situation when distributing the ball from rucks and mauls. I still rate ROG as a top flight out half but it’s a “horses for courses” approach we need now. There is no out half in the business I would rather have to marshal our forwards around the field than ROG but when we have to chase a try count I believe there is a better option. Ian Keatley or JJ Hanrahan is preferable when we are chasing tries. Possibly a scenario where JJ is outside Keatley at 12 would reap dividends? They both have the ability to wrong foot defenders and get our back line firing.

The next link in the chain is our first centre. We currently have a quality “crash ball” merchant in James Downey. He has been doing it for years for Northampton but we seem reluctant to use him in this way. Begs the question! Why? Are we averse to this tactic? If it works why not use it? Do we not want the defence on the back foot? Break the gain line, recycle the ball quickly and make use of the pace in our outside backs. Earls is a quality line breaker. Zebo & Howlett are quality finishers if given a sniff and Jones is no slouch. I tweeted during the Edinburgh game “Munster recipe for success: Downey takes the ball up, runs over defender! Recycle, Downey takes the ball up, runs over defender! IT WORKS!” and I believe it to be a fair and accurate assessment of what is/was required by Munster.

A consistent weakness in our game at the moment is that our “runners” are standing still receiving the ball after a couple of phases. You don’t have to be a physics professor to understand what will happen to a player when he receives the ball standing still. The entire team has to realign behind the new gain line five yards back IF we can recycle the ball. This makes an already tough task nigh on impossible. Even when we do move the ball, we are running lines that are cutting down space for the players attacking in the wide channels. Lack of space isn’t the only negative to our running lines at the moment! We saw last weekend when we ran a penalty close to the Edinburgh try line. As the ball was going wide the defenders were up fast. As a player runs across the pitch it leaves him open to a bit hit from a defender where he is least equipped to handle it, in the side. On this occasion we spilled the ball under pressure from the defence. As my frequent tweets showed, I was in favour of taking a scum at that juncture. Granted, scrums are a bit of a lottery at the moment, but on the day we were in the ascendancy and I feel it was worth the risk. What really made the decision though was the ref saying “time for one set only”. What that means in reality is the defence could collapse the scrum and the ref would bottle the decision.

I cannot understand the IRB’s reluctance to set about sorting the scrum issues. A huge step forward would be to have the scrum square and straight. This will eliminate early shoves and massively reduce scrums hitting the deck and requiring reset after reset after reset. Yes the IRB are looking at the scrum situation but FFS apply the law as it stands and see where that leads us instead of spending time and money redesigning the whole process! Brian Moore has a wealth of experience in scrums and is not shy in putting forward his considered views on the subject. FYI he doesn’t suffer fools on his twitter feed @brianmoore666 here is a link to a wiki Brian was asked to pen for Rugbyrefs.com :

On the plus side, we have the raw ability in the ranks to do a number on Racing this weekend. If the crowd turn up like they did in the Saracens fixture there should be no doubting the result. If we leave the outcome of the pool stages in other teams’ hands there are a myriad of permutations that are possible. We can still qualify for the quarter finals but we may need some help along the way. A note of caution here... Be careful what you wish for from the weekends game. If some of the other teams in contention tank it we could well be faced with a trip to Toulon :-(

The best possible outcome in my opinion would be we are the 8th team to qualify and face Harlequins in the Quarter Final.

Here’s a link to a set of possible permutations for the QF spots

We really need Thomond Park to be rocking this weekend!

I’m Trevor, 39. A passionate Munster and Irish Rugby Fan. I have strong opinions on this beautiful game of ours. Stand up and fight!

Stand(er) Up And Fight! (and score tries!)

A try-scoring debut for CJ was the perfect way to prepare for Saracens, writes Trevor Murphy…

It’s been a while since I have had the time to write one of these pieces. Let’s see if I can still string my thought and sentences together... After 5 stock takes in 5 weeks there is the possibility I have lost the ability to think or type coherently :/ I had planned on going to the match in Thomond Park but work commitments put paid to that. I did however get home in time to watch it. I was a happy camper that I did. It was a complete reversal from last week’s game and a much needed win heading into a Heineken Cup weekend.

Glasgow put points on the board early by the boot of Duncan Weir but that was to be their only scoring play! A few short minutes later Tommy O’Donnell went on a storming run carving his way through the Glasgow defence. This led to a CJ Stander try when he showed quick wits and enough strength to force the ball down when a ruck formed next to the posts. I had seen CJ play for the Blue Bulls a few times and was expecting his pace to get him his first Munster try. His awareness to see the opportunity is promising.

A few minutes later the ref calls out the captains after a bit of a shamozzle :) Glasgow seem to have woken up after the handbags because they would have scored a try themselves but for some stout defending. The Glasgow player was just forced into touch as he was grounding the ball. Eventually the TMO comes back with the result we were looking for. No try! A warning shot across our bows however! Doug Howlett soon after diffuses a potentially dangerous cross kick from the Glasgow out half.

Thirty minutes in we see the power and pace of Tommy O’Donnell once again. He eviscerated the defensive line and handed off a couple of defenders on his way to a great individual try. Great pace and running lines by O’Donnell on show tonight. O’Gara extends the lead again when he slots over an easy penalty after the Glasgow prop, Cusack, was adjudged to have obstructed O’Gara after a chip into space. Soft score for Glasgow to concede but with Munster on the front foot it could well have been a 5 or 7 pointer if the chip kick had been recovered.

Shortly before half time we see the explosive talent of CJ Stander. As soon as I saw him take off I thought he was going to go a long way! He saw a gap and put the pedal to the metal. You don’t often see 80m tries scored apart from interceptions... You almost never see forwards going 80 meters for tries. This is a prime example of the pace power and acceleration CJ Stander has shown previously in South Africa. Thoroughly impressive display of pace and stamina to stay ahead of the chasing defenders. ROG added the conversion and the score stands at 24-3 at half time.

The second half needs some serious action to come close to the first forty minutes. Munster are denied a try early in the second half as Sherry just went into touch. A promising start to the second forty. Tommy O’Donnell gets helped off the field soon after. A shame if it affects his chances of playing against Saracens. Had he played the full eighty I think he would have been awarded the MOTM award. That’s saying a lot when CJ scored two tries!

Glasgow made their second attempt on our line a few minutes later. Given the strength of the Munster defence this was never going to be easy. Sure enough Glasgow are repelled and even though you can’t write them off yet, they are showing precious little to trouble the men in red. A big cheer goes up in the 61^st minute as Peter Stringer makes his way into the fray. A firm favourite of the crowd anytime he makes an appearance.

As the game wound its way to the final whistle Munster were again putting significant pressure on the Glasgow line. On the third scrum reset the ref finally lost patience with the Glasgow side as the ball was kicked out of the scrum by a Glasgow boot. Penalty try for Munster. CJ Stander is a deserved man of the match award. The award itself though... leaves a lot to be deserved! Rabo can surely do better than a poxy €20 rugby ball?

Just a few thoughts to finish off:

1. Defence was strong on the night. I expected more out of the Warriors to be honest

2. We converted all but one try opportunity. Have to be happy with that

3. Handling was an issue at times but we expect it will get better

4. Glasgow had a lots of possession and the danger is that better sides will make more use of it

Onward and upwards to Thomond Park next weekend! Let’s give the Sarries a proper Thomond Park 16^th man welcome. As the Slade song goes “COME ON FEEL THE NOISE”.

I’m Trevor, 39. A passionate Munster and Irish Rugby Fan. I have strong opinions on this beautiful game of ours. Stand up and fight!

JJ earns his stripes in bonus-point Munster win

Despite the shamozzles, it turned out to be comfortable victory over Zebre, writes Trevor Murphy

Last weekends match saw the Italian side Zebre make the trip to Thomond Park. Matches against the supposed smaller teams in the Rabo Pro 12 are amongst the more difficult in my opinion. Sometimes it is hard to bring the same level of intensity as say a Leinster fixture. Zebre had lost all of their previous fixtures and let’s be honest, that statistic was not likely to change much. At the same time, write these teams off at your peril. The normal ebb and flow of every game means that all teams have periods where they are in the ascendancy. No matter how poor you perceive teams to be, they are still made up of genuine hard men. You cannot play this game without toughness. The smallest rugby player has to contend with 100kg to 130kg players running at them at full speed intent on mayhem and destruction. For anybody reading this in the USA, that is 220 to 286 pounds running flat out and not a pad or helmet in sight! No disrespect to the NFL, I am a fan and have even donned the helmet and pads of a defensive line man!

The Munster team on the night are much changed from the previous weekends fixture. O’Dea was back on the wing with JJ Hanrahan starting at first centre. Hanrahan was an interesting selection at 12. He has the appearance of a player that is comfortable on the ball in any given situation. As an experiment I think it was a good one. He’s not shy in the physical aspect and his passing was sharp. The first half was a very scrappy affair with opportunities being snuffed out by errors and penalties. We had to wait until the twenty sixth minute to put points on the board. Keatley converted a penalty from between the Zebre 22 and 10m line.

A shamozzle developed in the thirty second minute, which took a few minutes to sort out. To be honest, considering there were two players from each side called over to the referee I was expecting a bit more of a bollocking to be handed out. The lecture served to further slow down a game that was already lacking fluidity. The TV coverage didn’t shed any light on the shamozzle so that is a few hundred words you don’t have to read!

The scrappy nature of the play so far was in large part down to Zebres line speed. Any team that has good pace to its defensive line will be hard to break down. It’s about limiting the space for the opposition to play in. Passes and decisions are rushed which leads to more errors and poorly executed plays. Zebre put their stamp on the scoreboard in the thirty ninth minute with a penalty by Halangahu. Given their effort in the first half they deserved parity on the scoreboard. Had their kicker being on slightly better form they may well have had the lead at half time! However much they deserved it you can be sure the Munster boys were in no mood to give Zebre anything without a fight. They would certainly have been unhappy with the results of their endeavours so far

Thankfully Munster came out of the sheds after half time in a far less charitable mood than the previous half. Four minutes into the second Zebre conceded a penalty after Munster disrupted their lineout. A few phases later Sherry popped a soft no look pass to release O’Callaghan down the left wing. In the next phase of play Hanrahan left the defence chasing shadows when he took on a forward on the outside. A couple of yards out an Italian defender was easily brushed aside for our first try of the game. Keatley added the conversion and the scoreboard stood at 10-3. Better late than never! More than thirty minutes to go and the first signs that Zebre are wilting.

The following few minutes were a bit more fluid but still the Zebre defence was proving tough to break. A lot of the play was between the two 22’s. Munster made their way into the Zebre 22 with a penalty after an infringement at a ruck. Unfortunately we butchered the opportunity losing possession at a lineout 5 yards from the Zebre line. Thankfully Zebre obliged us with another penalty to allow us to gain a foothold in their 22. The forwards rolled up their collective sleeves at this point, pounding away at the Zebre defence. We managed to retain possession at a ruck under the posts when the referee deemed the ball unplayable. This was in no small part to the hard work of the forwards because it looked like Zebre had good position over the ball at the beginning of the ruck. Zebre conceded a penalty at the scrum but Munster played on. It looked like Zebre had snuffed out an attacking play during the advantage. Laulala passed the ball to Felix Jones just outside the 22. From a standing start Jones darted left to wrong foot the defence. Within a few yards he turned towards the goal line and parted the defence like Moses at the Red Sea. It is no exaggeration to say the route Jones took was right through the centre of the Zebre pack of forwards. There was a flock of white jerseys left in his wake as he darted through to score under the posts.

25 minute left and two tries to get to score the bonus point. The old ticker could do without these helter skelter finishes to game... 17-3

Zebre make a break into our 22 with their big South African No 8 Schalkwyk. It came to nothing as Luke O’Dea displayed an open side’s instinct to get himself over the ball immediately in a strong position. Penalty Munster in front of our own posts inside out 22. Keatley missed the clearance to touch but the Munster defence stood strong to push the Italians into touch on the half way line. Another shamozzle and some handbags! Be still my beating heart 

At the next ruck the Italian winger Pratichetti hit Butler with a cheap shot from the side and methinks he is lucky that Butler didn’t get a hold of him properly. I wouldn’t have fancied his chances! Play continued after this remarkable display of restraint by Paddy Butler. Munster continued to make life hard for themselves however. The midfield runners were receiving ball standing still and this is in no way conducive to attacking play.

On sixty minutes Munster lost possession at a ruck in midfield. How the referee missed the ample frame of David Ryan lying on the wrong side making no attempt to roll away... is beyond me. He didn’t budge an inch after making the tackle. Zebre gave up position soon after with another ruck penalty for diving over the top. Hanrahan was looking for ways to get behind the Zebre defence. He put in a nice grubber kick but was undone by the fact that a Munster player was a good five yards ahead of him when he kicked the ball.

On sixty five minutes Munster were again in the Zebre half on foot of a penalty kick to touch. Fifteen minutes to go and the finger nails were well and truly chomped. Munster managed to lose possession at the lineout but regain it on the floor within a minute. We pushed into the 22 with Marcus Horan after a decent pass from Murray which cut out the on rushing defence. Laulala burst through the line eventually being brought down by the fourth tackler. Johne Murphy avoided big tackle from Belardo to form a ruck. Quick ball from the ruck to Keatley allowed him the time to put through a beautifully weighted grubber for Hanrahan to pounce on. Try number three on the board. Keatley converted from the left touchline to make the score 24-3

Twelve minutes left on the clock. Munster try to up the pace but the handling gives Zebre possession in our half with a scrum. Munster put a big drive in but the scrum is reset. The Zebre loose head is penalised for turning in under pressure. Keatley pushed Zebre back to their 22 with the penalty. Munster coughs up possession again and Zebre break to the half way line before their handling lets them down. We kick away possession when attacking on the right wing but manage to push the Zebre man into touch. Another shamozzle... I can’t take much more of this excitement in a game! I thought Murray was going to unload on the Zebre winger at the tail end of that. I have never seen that much aggression on display without a punch being thrown. Usually there would be a couple of slaps long before it dispersed. Oh well we can’t have our cake and eat it  As much as I may be enjoying the festivities it’s not the kind of arm wrestle that Munster need to be getting involved in. Happily the penalty goes to Munster after the referee talks to the linesman. Based on the report Pratichetti is luck it wasn’t worse than a penalty. After a couple of phases Laulala takes the ball to the line and pops a pass through traffic to find Luke O’Dea who beats the fullbacks despairing tackle to score the all important bonus point try.

I’m Trevor, 39. A passionate Munster and Irish Rugby Fan. I have strong opinions on this beautiful game of ours. Stand up and fight!

Munster warriors stand up and fight

Our Munster contributor Trevor Murphy gives us a pitchside perspective of the Embra massacre

It was great to have Heineken Cup rugby back in Thomond Park this weekend. These are the days where dreams are made! As is usual for H’Cup games the excitement, nervousness and anticipation started as soon as the head lifted off the pillow. Texts were sent to confirm the time and place myself and my buddies were to meet. Anybody that knows me understands that such arrangements are set in stone as soon as they are made. Woe betides someone who doesn’t adhere to the schedule! I’ll get back to this in a bit...

We usually get to the ground two hours before game time to have a drink, slag the living daylights out of each other and discuss the team selection. Unusually, there seems to be a lot of consensus in these discussions recently. That’s not necessarily a good reflection on the rest of the group because everyone knows what I’m like

It does indicate a degree of understanding and patience with the project Rob Penney is committed to in Munster. The omission of Peter Stringer did cause some concern. I’m not alone in thinking Stringer has the ability to ignite a back line with his speed of passing. Programs are perused and the accuracy of the team selection checked. The obligatory “That was printed three months ago, it can’t be right” gets an airing or two. The pints get polished off and we head into the stadium.

We always aim to be in the terraces an hour before kick off. The lads were in a separate section of the stadium on this occasion. The running joke was they got tickets where I wasn’t to give their ears a rest. After a few days in Charlotte NC I can assure you my voice wasn't in any kind of shape to reach the volumes usually attained on match day. A copious amount of beer has a similar effect on my voice to shouting advice to a referee or linesman for a full eighty minutes. Imagine my horror when a friend, who shall remain nameless, tells me that they are getting a bite to eat in Clohessy’s as we settle into our spots on the terrace

The build up to the game was punctuated by a few people getting brained by Ian Keatley’s practice kicks. Honestly, we were standing directly behind the centre of the posts. Not the brightest place to be reading or texting! The sun was directly into our faces. It could not have been a better day for a rugby match. I was expecting a backlash from Edinburgh after their shellacking by Saracens the previous week. If you can’t get motivated after an ass kicking like that there has to be some serious issues in the club. It wasn’t to be.

Munster got an early score with Keatley converting a penalty a few minutes in to make it 3-0. Edinburgh’s line out is looking like it will have a tough day at the office with O’Connell stealing one early. Progress is proving difficult in the wider channels. Fifteen minutes in give the crowd the action they want to get their teeth into. Munster blast Edinburgh back over their own try line in a show of power and determination . It felt at one stage like the retaining wall wasn’t going to be enough to halt the Edinburgh retreat. Plenty of chat and aggression on show after the whistle and a shamozzle develops. Murpho Happy!! We put another three points on the score board to bring the score to 6-0.

Dave Kilcoyne is having a good game. In the first half he actually looked like our most dangerous runner. Bursting through tackles and making yards to get Munster moving. Ten minutes before half time Keatley took on a 56m attempts on goal. This shows how uncomfortable the team was with the 6-0 score at this stage. It’s a low percentage kick at best and is missed to the right. On the positive side Keatley did have the range required. The half is closed out with the Edinburgh scrum under pressure again. Rees kicks the ball to touch and the teams head for the sheds.

6-0 was a poor return for the pressure we had Edinburgh under for most of the half. There was at least one try left out on the park in the first half. O’Connell was imperious in the lineout and was difficult to shift when he got himself over an Edinburgh ball. Considering the length of his lay off he is playing very well. O’Callaghan was his usual effervescent self and the back row was imposing themselves on their opponents.

Some people in the crowd were getting pretty disillusioned at this early stage of the game. There was a lot of talk about the bonus point and how necessary it was. While it’s true that the bonus point was important, you cannot get a bonus point without winning the game first. At 6-0 it was by no means certain that Munster would win. While it’s true that Edinburgh showed little in attack, it would only take one pushed pass for an intercept try. Imagine the effects of an event like that on the Edinburgh team? Regardless of the previous half the game would take on a completely different complexion.

Early in the second half our handling is letting us down again. We knocked a couple of balls on in crucial attacking positions. Second row forwards were found wide out on the wings with some regularity today. I reckon that O’Connell or O’Callaghan have been the last men on three occasions in the strike runner positions. International quality players they are, wingers they are not! Around the ten minute mark Hunter kicked the ball too deep and Edinburgh end up conceding possession in their 22. With the forwards doing the heavy lifting, Murray takes a pass from O’Connell to dive under the posts. Quite the role reversal. The TMO deliberates before giving the most crucial score of the game. At this point with half an hour to go the bonus point is a real possibility. The score stands at 13-0.

Within five minutes Keatley converts a forty yard attempt to increase the lead to 16-0. This was after a great tackle by Howlett on Jones. The Munster captain drove Jones back in the tackle. With 60 minutes on the clock there is still the possibility of maximum points on offer.

Felix Jones makes a welcome return with thirteen minutes on the clock. Time ticked away towards the inevitable conclusion and few in the crowd believed we would score the two remaining tries necessary for the bonus point. With ten minutes to go Munster won a penalty and to the delight of the crowd we kick for touch. A maul formed from the resulting lineout and the forwards get to within a yard. O’Mahony dove for the line to score under a pile of bodies. A just reward for the Munster number 8 who put in a strong performance on the day. Score: 23-0

Do we dare to dream? Edinburgh are in disarray, Munster well on top... Within two minutes the crowd are in raptures again as Keatley breaks deep into Edinburgh territory where Dougal finished off the score. Try number three and four minutes to go.

There is hardly time to draw breath! Two minutes... Hurley streaks through the Edinburgh defence to set up an attacking position. The Scots concede a penalty deep in their own 22 and Munster goes for an attacking line out. A sensible call as the Munster set piece has been in good shape for most of the game. Another attacking maul, another forward scoring a try. The crowd went wild. Another unlikely result by the Munster warriors. We are truly spoiled in Munster. When the chips are down the players dig deep to fight for the points required.

I expect Saracens to be a much tougher proposition in December. I also expect that by then our execution will be showing the effects of a few more matches. Munster Abu! Roll on round 3!

I’m Trevor, 39. A passionate Munster and Irish Rugby Fan. I have strong opinions on this beautiful game of ours. Stand up and fight!

Click here for the latest Around The Fringes which suggests some Embra fans’ reactions

Plenty of positives for Penney & co

Our Munster columnist Trevor Murphy gives his take on Saturday’s derby clash…

This weekend’s match was always going to be the biggest test of the season so far. Leinster were coming off a defeat to Connaught and Munster to the Ospreys. This was never going to be a timid encounter and so it transpired. I had a couple of questions on the selection from the start. As far as I am concerned we must pick the form players to start a crucial encounter such as this. To accommodate the maximum attacking threat I would have made to following changes: Earls to fullback, Downey at 12, Laulala at 13, and... (deep breath!) Keatley at 10.

I expect to get some flak on that one but here’s my thought process. Ospreys were all over us last week. We need to have a 10 that will threaten the line. O’Gara has been the standard bearer for so long now that we have difficulty even contemplating Munster without him. But, he has been rusty so far this season. And nobody expects him to run from out half. That gives the defence fewer options to have to cover. With a defence operating with line speed as the Ospreys did it is very difficult to make headway. Let’s face it, we expected Leinster to be at least as strong as Ospreys!

The tempo was frenetic from the start. Inside of six minutes we were treated to two tries. The Leinster try scored under the posts by Straus after a strong scrum effort by the men in blue. The Munster effort coming from a good run by Earls on the right wing. The ball eventually making its way to the opposite wing for O’Mahony to score. ROG narrowly missed the touchline conversion. Munster went on the attack again and land a penalty to make the score 7-8. Three minutes later ROG lands another penalty to make the score 7-11.

From the restart we are pinged at the ruck giving Leinster attacking ball. We clear our lines briefly but Conway takes the ball back on the attack. Madigan goes over when he steps inside Laulala to get Leinster’s second try of the night. Sexton converts to make the score 17-11. Within the next ten minutes Munster concede two scrum penalties resulting in three points to Leinster. Score stands at 20-11. The penalties are adding up and it feels like we will be down to 14 men soon.

The next phase of Munster play is lateral but we get some relief when Straus is penalised giving ROG the opportunity to close the gap on the scoreboard. Score stands at 20-14. With time running out in the first half Munster are on the move again with Howlett making some progress before being manhandled into touch. A couple of errors costing both side dear but not surprising really given the physical intensity on display.

One thing that was key to Leinster performance so far was Sexton taking the ball to the line and making the Munster defence think. Munster looked good on the break willing to run from deep. Leinster just looks a little stronger in attack and defence. The Leinster scrum is getting a nudge on also.

Leinster starts the second half well with Jennings taking the ball into contact where Munster are penalised. Leinster makes some ground through the middle but knock the ball on allowing Munster to clear. A short time later Leinster concedes another penalty but ROG hits the post. Two minutes later Sexton increases Leinster’s lead with a penalty making the score 23-14. Ryan pinged for side entry at the ruck. That was a real bonus for Leinster with ROG missing his effort.

Murray and Nacewa clash quite spectacularly in mid air when challenging for a ball. No shortage of bravery there. Munster again concede ground through the middle with O’Driscoll going over in the corner. The Ref sends it to the TMO for a decision but when O’Driscoll is involved he always seems to find the strength to find the turf. Sexton converts to make the score 30-14. Munster is in real danger of letting this game get away from them now... To compound our problems, Varley is sent to the line for a ten minute rest for a ruck infringement during the build up to the try. ROG gets the curly finger for Keatley with 20 minutes to go in the game.

Conway is taken off on s stretcher after taking Zebo’s leg to the face. Leinster are racking up the injuries. I wonder how much of an effect the pitch is having on the players. It’s cutting up badly and looks like a ploughed field in areas. Munster muscle up in defence stealing the ball in a Leinster maul. O’Mahony is held up just short. Murray dives in unopposed in the corner and the linesman inexplicably doesn’t give the try. On the replay the linesman can clearly be seen looking right at Murray grounding the ball... There is a real issue in the league with some of the decisions by the officials.

Munster is showing some real appetite for the work required now. Munster gets a penalty with only a few minutes remaining. They unbelievably spurn the chance at three points and a losing bonus point. Instead they go for the lineout and work the ball to the try line. The ref deems the ball to have been knocked on in contact. This should have been referred to the TMO but instead the ref decides to call it on his own. This is something I later take up with him on twitter. To be fair he replied and conceded he should have referred the decision to the TMO. In another tweet he says that the TMO told him after the game that the decision would have been the same. That’s not how it seemed to most people watching the game...

Reddan and Cooney almost do enough to win a try bonus point for Leinster in the last minutes of the game. The bounce of the ball not going their way this time. Earls tried to make one last break but unfortunately it doesn’t come to fruition. The game is over and the slagging begins

In truth Munster weren’t good enough on the day. But honestly, the project is well under way and there is plenty to be positive about. We may not win enough games this year but we are heading in the right direction. We will be a force to be reckoned with again in European rugby.

Sadly I won’t be in a position to write next week’s piece as I will be in the USA indulging my other sporting passion, NASCAR!!!

I’m Trevor, 39. A passionate Munster and Irish Rugby Fan. I have strong opinions on this beautiful game of ours. Stand up and fight!

Munster v Dragons–match report

Trevor Murphy runs the rule over Munster’s third win out of four to start the season

Round four complete and other one in the W column. Considering we have lost one game (narrowly) so far this season I was disappointed, no that’s too weak, I was very disappointed at the level of support for our Munster hero’s. As a friend who shall remain nameless texted me... “In the pub, beer won”. WTF, I thought. Is this what it has come to? And the killer blow... LIGHT BEER!!! We are all outraged are we not? Feel free to share your outrage on Facebook and Twitter.

But I digress. Most notable in the run up to kick off was the minute’s silence for Nevin Spence and his family which was impeccably observed. We will never forget!

I felt the Dragons players to watch out for on the night were the likes of Faletau, Lydiate and Prydie. Lydiate is usually a proper nuisance around the park, especially around the ruck. Faletau is a dangerous runner and can really hurt you when he breaks through the line. Prydie has some good pace when given any space. On the night I was impressed with how quite we kept Lydiate. He did have some strapping on his ankle but if it was bothering him he surely wouldn’t have played the full eighty minutes. Faletau didn’t make an entrance to the field of battle on the night and Prydie wasn’t afforded much space.

Our first score came in the second minute. Earls made a big skip pass to Zebo who went storming into the Dragons 22. Zebo then passed to Howlett who was supporting on his left shoulder. Zebo was in support for the return pass to give Keatley an easy try on the left wing. A breathless start for the crowd who hadn’t even settled at that stage. O’Gara was at his best for the conversion from the touchline.

The rest of the first ten minutes can be summed up by strong Munster defence forcing the Dragons to be quite lateral in attack. That’s not really surprising when you see Doug Howlett munch his opposite number in the tackle and drive him back. The only other event of note is a brief shamozzle after a scrum in the seventh minute. Mike Sherry was clearly not impressed with the conduct of the Dragons hooker Steve Jones. There’s a name you will read a couple of times in this piece. A friend suggested that Steve may be suffering a bit of small man syndrome as this was the first of five or six incidents of where he was seen to be the root cause.

Earls was shown the outside shoulder after a scrum and he took full advantage offloading to Keatley midway between the Dragons 22 and ten yard line. Zebo was showing a good appetite for work to take the ball on when Keatley was stymied. When the ball was recycled through a few phases Earls was on hand to sprint into open space. He drew the defender before offloading to Zebo in full flight. Simon dummied on defender and took the ball to within five meters where Niall Ronan was on hand to finish the move dotting down for our second try. It was great to see Niall return after a long slog through injury starting last January. The back row is going to be a VERY competitive area this year. Consider the Peter O’Mahony, Donnacha Ryan and the Blue Bull CJ Stander are yet to make an appearance. O’Gara duly added the extra points.

Things were really looking up at this point at which point we gave the Dragons their first chance to put points on the board. Prydie made no mistake with the sitter in front of the posts. This seemed to give the Dragons some energy. We conceded another penalty and this time we were to lose O’Callaghan. Steve Jones was making a nuisance of himself hold back Donnacha at a ruck and in trying to get clear Donnacha was adjudged to have made contact with Jones face. Jones reaction after the card was comical. He was a picture of innocence!

Donnacha certainly didn’t believe that he had done much wrong looking at his demeanour on the naughty chair. Prydie missed his kick and play resumed with a Dragons knock on. The scrum resulted in a free kick with the Dragons wheeling the scrum before the ball had even been fed. The dragons seemed devoid of ideas at times resorting to kicking away possession when you feel they should have been looking to assert their numerical advantage. Cheap penalties cost them at crucial times. Simon Zebo showed good strength to hand off a defender from a standstill in the next phase to keep his team mates on the front foot. We kicked to touch from inside the 22. Not the usual choice by Munster but an intelligent decision considering we were down to fourteen.

From the lineout we formed a maul. I have to say, in all the Rugby I have watched so far this season I have seen one maul where the defending team didn’t infringe. The IRB need to pull their collective fingers out as this phase of play is becoming a liability with officials turning a blind eye to the number of infringements. (Reminder: Tweet the IRB head honcho who actually reads and responds to tweets). Eventually we are called for holding on in the ruck. I’ll say nothing about the defender wrapping his legs around to stop the ball from being placed back on the Munster side. There’s another reminder in that one I think. Seems NZ have it down to a fine art. Half a second is usually enough to get your second man in attacking the ball.

Dragons kicked to the ten yard line to relieve the pressure. Munster displayed good game management in this phase of the game. Playing the game in the Dragons half, reducing the threat the Dragons could pose with their extra man. When the Dragons did get possession in our territory they invariable butchered the chance. We conceded a scrum penalty in our 22. Steve Jones is once again chirpy as the players come up. Donncha re-joined the fray at this time andI have to say, his demeanour was such that a brick wall wouldn’t have stopped him. Jerry Flannery obviously agreed with this sentiment as he described him running back on, “Donncha O’Callaghan running back onto the field like a 90’s wrestler the Ultimate Warrior, great to see his enthusiasm coming back onto the field” Enthusiasm... Yes with a touch of fire and brimstone! There was also a reference to “Animaniacs” also but my Irish isn’t the best. Anyone want to venture which character Donncha would have been most like at that moment???

The next phase resulted in a scrum to Munster when they managed to hold the Dragons player up in the tackle. The communication and work rate for their team mates was impressive. Our execution unfortunately invited more pressure at this stage of the first half and saw us defending on our own 22. Steve Jones again was up to no good holding a Munster man down in back play but thankfully he didn’t get the left hook he deserved. Our defence stood strong with the Dragons conceding a penalty at the ruck five yards behind where they started the phase.

At times we were perhaps guilty of trying to hard but better that than not trying at all. Our scrum seemed to have the measure of the Dragons pack but scrum time is such a lottery that you never know which way the merry whistle blower is going to direct his ire. I admire Mike Sherry’s self control at not getting stuck into Jones again when he grade him around the head and neck while getting to his feet. At the next scrum Botha was the subject of some messing and gave the hobbit a good shove as the scrum broke up. He wasn’t backing down and advanced on Jones to see if the “wanted a chat”. Penalty was awarded for the push by Botha.

The resulting lineout in our 22 was overthrown and Munster once again displayed their ambition to run the ball even from deep but kicked the ball away. We need to be a bit more judicious about kicking possession away in situations like this. If it’s not 60-40 in your favour I think you need to take the contact and recycle. Better teams, or in fact the Dragons on a better day, will punish a mistake like that. Thankfully the Dragons outside runners consistently over ran the play and they were called up for forward passes more than once.

As the half was closing out the errors started to creep in. Scrum penalty conceded in Dragons half. Marcus put in a good tackle with Paddy Butler to force the Dragons 8 Tom Brown into touch from the resulting lineout around our 22.Another maul stifled by an infringement led to a Munster clearing kick going straight into the hands of the Dragons full back. His first option was a Garryowen fielded and cleared by Munster. Our defence was never really troubled out wide and more rock solid defence in the 10 12 channel forced another turnover for Munster. Munster conceded another scrum penalty to close out the half and Prydie tacked on the points. Half time score was 14-6

I’ll post part 2 in a day or two. There’s a bit to digest there.

I’m Trevor, 39. A passionate Munster and Irish Rugby Fan. I have strong opinions on this beautiful game of ours. Stand up and fight!

A young man of immense talent & courage

Our Munster columnist Trevor Murphy pays his respects…

I was preparing to write my regular piece on Saturday evening when the news of the tragic events on the Spence family farm started to filter through. Nevin along with his Dad Noel and older brother Graham were sadly taken from us in a farming accident. As a fan I felt for the loss felt by Ulster fans, teammates and fellow professionals that were lucky enough to have met and played with and against Nevin. As a father and brother I can’t begin to understand the loss felt by the Spence family. To the Spence family and friends I offer my heartfelt condolences.

To say he will be missed is a huge understatement. From what I have read about Nevin, it is evident he had an enthusiasm for the game which was unmatched. When teammates weren’t enjoying the prospect of training he was leading from the front. They say a picture paints a thousand words... I think this one says it all.

Nevin was pointed out by Gary Longwell as a definite future rugby professional while at the Ulster academy. This is quite a statement from a man acutely in the know. It is a big step up from academy to full time professional and it takes a special player to cope with the difference in levels. In 2011 his ability was acknowledged by his peers when he was awarded the IRUPA Young Player of the Year. Nevin was brave beyond words and this was evident from a try he scored against Bath in 2010 where he flipped over onto his head and then back. He gave his all for his team and teammates. His final act, in a life cut too short, again displayed his fearless side going to the aide of family members with no thought to his own safety.

As someone who watches and follows all the rugby available, I did not miss Nevins appearance on the scene. The measure of what I thought about Nevin as a player is simply this: When he was on the Ulster team sheet against Munster I knew he was a going to be a real threat. He was strong with a good change of pace. At a smidge under 15 stone he was a difficult man to stop on the gain line. I always thought Nevin was going to achieve 50+ caps for Ireland.

The outpouring of support in the wake of Nevin's untimely passing is and was a small measure of what the wider rugby family thought about him. He will never be forgotten.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dilis.

I’m Trevor, 39. A passionate Munster and Irish Rugby Fan. I have strong opinions on this beautiful game of ours. Stand up and fight!

Munster v Treviso : match report

Commitment & strength were key for Munster as they made it two out of two, says Trevor Murphy…

Last Friday night saw Munster take to the hallowed Thomond Park turf for the first time this season. The opponents on the night were Benetton Treviso. The Italian outfit have not had a lot of success on their travels but were just off the back of a surprise win against the defending RaboDirect Pro12 Champions the Ospreys. As with most Italian sides they are no push over in the tight aspect of the game. Munster came into this fixture with a lot of hope and expectation after their encouraging win in Murrayfield.

The first sign that we would not have it all our own way was a Treviso penalty in the second minute when we were pinged for hands in the ruck. Di Bernardo duly converted the opportunity. 0-3 to Treviso. Munster kicked short from the restart hoping to catch Treviso napping. One thing that I have noticed so far is that Munster is in no way shy of using the grubber kick. It can be a great tactic to turn defences but I worry that we are using it too often. Without the space to put it into we are effectively handing the opposition cheap possession. Verdict: Undecided

Our commitment and strength in the tackle area at the moment is very impressive. Varley won a very good penalty in the fourth minute. At the ruck in question he was very quickly over the ball and set himself in such a way as to be very difficult to move off it. From the penalty we kicked into the Italian 22. At the lineout we caught Treviso napping with a well thrown long ball over the lineout to Dave O’Callaghan who went charging into the 22. Doug Howlett ran a precise support line to be in the right place for a sublime inside pass. Doug went under the posts for our first score. 7-3 to Munster.

A couple of minutes later we get a small glimpse of Treviso’s danger man. Brendan Williams has impressive pace but more astounding is his change of direction. He has the ability to make defenders look ordinary and rarely get stopped at the first tackle. He’s not a tackle breaker like Downey or Laulala, he is so quick that the first hand on him usually barely gets to grips with his jersey or shorts. If he played for a bigger team you would see his name on the try charts a lot more in my opinion. Treviso’s progress is short lived as Varley wins another good penalty for Munster.

Our scrum was solid in the early stages of the game with Treviso giving away penalties. In the tenth minute such a penalty sees another incursion into the Treviso twenty two. Treviso defended quite well preventing Munster from breaking through their lines. Unfortunately for them the pressure told and they gave away another penalty deep in their twenty two for a ruck infringement. This was after Dougall fended off an Italian second row with a mighty hand off. Not in the typical way where a defender is trying to tackle from behind or the side. This was a full on “thou shalt not pass” style face to face job. Dougall is shaping up to make the seven jersey a tough decision for the coaches. Keatly converts, 10-3 to Munster.

Munster displayed their willingness to run the ball out from deep in the next phase. Execution let them down slightly out wide. There has been quite a lot said about the level of errors so far in Munster’s preseason games. I think we have to give the new coaching and playing staff a little bit more time to gel before we need to start worrying unnecessarily. Dougall impressed again in the defensive phase making the important tackle and getting to his feet quickly to win the ball. It set Munster away with Casey Laulala breaking to the ten meter line before offloading to Keatley. At this point we had a four on two but not a lot of space to work in. Keatley took the contact to recycle the ball. Munster were working the ball from wing to wing when Ceccato knocked the ball out of Dougall's hand on the east touchline.

Munster conceded a penalty at the scrum allowing Treviso to clear their lines. The Munster aggression and commitment in defence forced Di Bernardo into a drop goal attempt which went right and wide. The drop out was recycled by Treviso and after a bad pass to Williams he again gives us a glimpse of his ability. He broke through a tackle but Varley had a big effect on the next ruck forcing the Treviso man to knock on while trying to maintain possession.

Treviso conceded yet another penalty with their number six guilty of slapping the ball down. The referee issued a warning to the Treviso captain for the number of offences. Our lineout was scrappy and put us under pressure. Downey made progress through the line but a knock on was the result. Play went on and we were quite lucky. Williams joined the line out wide but thankfully he only had his hooker outside him. The hookers hand let him down and play was brought back for our knock on. If the roles had been reversed we were looking at a try conceded!

The resulting scrum broke up in a bit of a shemozzle when Munster pilled on the pressure. Du Preez pushed his opponent away which led to some shenanigans. To be honest I don’t mind a little bit of that in a match. To me it shows a certain level of commitment. What I didn’t and don’t like to see is cowardly acts. Archer was punched from the side and behind by his opponent in the front row but also by Bernabo the Treviso five. A pair of cowards if ever I saw them! And for good measure the Treviso four, Pavanello, stuck his mitts into Archer too. I suppose if you can’t win a fair fight you have to resort to this kind of rubbish. Don’t get me wrong, two guys face to face exchanging “love taps” is not a problem. I have a real issue with cowards. Take a bow Cittadini, Bernabo and Pavanello.

Wow 1000 words in and that was all in the first twenty minutes of the game... I will finish this one off later in the week. I don’t want to put any of you to sleep

PART TWO

Sorry about the delay folks. A small IT snafu held this episode up.

In the first part of my report on the Munster v Treviso fixture I went on a bit of a rampage regarding a shemozzle after a scrum. Since then I have had a chance to think about it.... And I have decided to nominate the Italian transgressor who displayed the most cowardice  Yep, I like this approach so I hope you get 10% of the enjoyment that I did! My nomination goes to (insert drum roll) number 4 Pavanello. The captain of all people! Step up Missus, you’re the big winner. His crime I hear you ask? Getting involved in a shemozzle from long range and shirking the physical nature of said shemozzle contrary to rule 76 Paragraph B subsection 2. Just because they are my rules and nobody else understands them won’t prevent me referring to said rule numerous times this season! 

The next few minutes of the game are characterised by strong Munster defence, in a scrappy period punctuated by a good Munster breakout in midfield. Dougal offloading to Doug Howlet. Munster eventually coughs up the ball when the Italians muscle up and prevent us from getting the tackle situation to the deck. In the resulting scrum we concede a penalty after the ref pings us for whipping the scrum around. The right decision for the effort Treviso put in to drive us back. Hmmm a dominant scrum getting the decision... We may revisit this theme during the season!

After a good line out win Treviso go for a short trundle in midfield. Their lack of cohesion at the ruck sees the ball being kicked back to Williams who breaks a couple of tackles and sets up another ruck. Good Munster defence sees Treviso possession sufficiently disrupted that the ball comes back on the Munster side. Treviso are going nowhere in the centre of the field. Munster again run from deep but AGAIN... a grubber kick to hand possession to the Italians. Williams breaks from his 22 to our 10m line ghosting through tackles but unfortunately for them their continuity is not good enough.

Munster kick to open space on the Italian 22 and a very good kick chase turns the kick into a positive situation for Munster. The Italian are penalised for sealing off and Keatly has a very kickable penalty. 16-3 to Munster looks about right for the effort to date. A Munster knock on follows from the restart giving Treviso decent field position to build phases from. Again we see the side to side play forced on the Italians by the aggressive Munster defence. Treviso might have had more success if their big runners in the loose didn’t look like they were trundling to the couch for a rest. There was no urgency on display by Treviso.

This has the looks of a very long piece for a not too exciting game so the remainder of the first half will be in Match Tracker style

31min Munster Scrum

32min Grubber kick

32min Munster Knock on

33min Treviso Scrum

33min Treviso Scrum reset

34min Munster attack into Treviso 22

34min Treviso breaks from their 22 to Munster 22

34min Treviso knock on. Butchered try opportunity! Pass probably wasn’t the greatest...

35min Munster Scrum outside own 22. Archer being talked to about his bind

36min Munster get scrum penalty. Treviso scrum demolished!

37min Munster lineout between Treviso 10m line and half way

37min Lineout overthrown

37min Munster Knock on

38min Treviso Scrum

38min Treviso scrum after knock on/forward pass

39min Treviso knock on

39min Munster knock on

40min Treviso Scrum

40min Poor control by Treviso. Munster breaks into Treviso half but kick the ball away again

HALF TIME

This match really degenerated in quality late in the half. Poor execution by both sides with frequent knock on’s... That doesn’t read or look right. Anyone know what the plural of knock on is? Answers on a self addressed envelope to... Never mind, that’s a job for Collins dictionary.

Early 2^nd half possession is kicked away giving Treviso a platform deep in our half. Treviso actually look like they are interested early in the 2^nd half. Another poorly marshalled Treviso gave Munster an opportunity to relieve the pressure but good defence sees Treviso force a scrum from a maul.

Munster had a great opportunity to increase their lead in the 45^th minute but their handling lets them down at the final hurdle. Howlett ran a good line to progress to the Treviso 22. The medical people certainly look to have worked a minor miracle on Doug’s Achilles tendon injury.

Munster had another great opportunity to score when pressuring deep in the Treviso 22. Alberto Scarbi was sent to the bin for not rolling away when Munster looked ready to extend their advantage by seven points. Instead Keatly had an easy penalty to convert. Munster were starting to run freely but a Treviso player made a nuisance of himself to stop the scoring pass. With Munster deep in the Treviso half things were looking up.

Unfortunately it didn’t work out like that. The half pretty much petered out from there with a Treviso penalty the only other score to report. Credit is due to Treviso who turned their dismal intensity levels around from the first half. With the level of possession Munster had it really felt like there was a decent win to be had on the night.

The crowd attendance on the night was very poor. Perhaps 10000 attended, but to be honest I think that is a optimistic number. Our team needs us people. They feed from us and vice versa... Where are all the supporters gone? Does my buddy have a point about the level of fan pride in the Jersey? I don’t like to think so. It wouldn’t appear to be the case with the number of jersey’s being worn around town on a daily basis. The attendance on the night for our first home game gives credence to his argument. Prove him wrong people!

I’m Trevor, 39. A passionate Munster and Irish Rugby Fan. A champion of the underdog. I have strong opinions on this beautiful game of ours. Always analysing tactics and phases of play. I believe in the old saying “It’s not about the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the about size of the fight in the dog”. Stand up and fight!

Impressive work rate from Munster

Our Munster man Trevor Murphy runs the rule over Rob Penney’s first competitive game in charge…

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;

At long last the 2012-2013 Rabo Direct Pro 12 season is upon us.

In the first six minutes the IRB directive to referees to operate a zero tolerance policy at scrum time was evident. Edinburgh conceded a free kick for going to ground. Munster then conceded a free kick for time wasting while setting up for a scrum. It seemed a little impetuous to me. Six minutes into a game is not when a team is intentionally trying to waste time! This was followed by a 10yard march for kicking the ball away from the Edinburgh scrum half.

Our defence was split wide open by the Edinburgh centre taking a ball close to the gain line and running a good angle. This put us on the back foot for a couple of phases but the Munster tackling and tenacity in the contact area was sufficient to force a knock on. The resulting clearance to half way was hauled back because the ball had been passed into the 22. The Edinburgh pressure broke down when the scrum half attempted an offload in traffic which found a Munster player.

Shortly afterwards we saw evidence of the new time limit at ruck time. Edinburgh lost possession for taking too long at ruck time. This was created again by the Munster tenacity at the breakdown. This rule will cause some controversy this year; it really needs the Referee to communicate effectively with players.

A quick burst from our outside backs saw us just getting the ball over halfway when we were pinged for a forward pass. The resulting scrum was to lead to Tim Visser touching down out on the left wing after a defensive lapse left Edinburgh with a two on one against Hurley.

The next major talking point came from a shuddering tackle by Casey Laulala. Unfortunately Casey came off worse because he seemed to get his head on the wrong side. It was a very worrying period of the game as he didn’t move for some time after. Thankfully he came around quickly and stayed on the field. The five minute evaluation period for concussion was made for an instance like this.

At the end of the first quarter Edinburgh were penalised at scrum time for losing their bind. It leads to a penalty attempt for Keatley who had no issue with the distance but just pushed it to the right.

Our first score came from the boot of Keatley after McInally was penalised for killing the ball in a ruck when Edinburgh were on the back foot. A penalty that would have drawn a yellow card from a lot of referees...

Vissers second try came from a Munster attack that was stymied by Edinburgh. Hurley was stopped short of the line and at the next ruck the Edinburgh open side pilfered the ball. McInally sailed through tackles to offload to Visser inside their own ten meter line. Visser pushed off a despairing Keatley tackle to stroll in. This was a real sucker punch and effectively a fourteen point swing.

Munster’s effort at ruck time led to a scrum on the Edinburgh twenty two. From this phase we conceded a scrum as the referee said the scrum had turned ninety degrees. It was pretty obvious to me that Munster were trying to drive straight and Edinburgh were pulling it around. The key indicator here is the Edinburgh loose forwards having to shuffle to the left to keep up with the wheel! The following phase sees us concede a free kick and have to build again from half way.

A trademark Downey offload saw Munster steaming into the Edinburgh half. Howlett was the beneficiary but had to hold up the ball and wait for support. O’Callaghan did well in the outside channels to maintain the momentum. A chip kick from Howlett then bounced very favourably for Keatley to score under the posts. The conversion was an easy one and Munster went into the sheds level with Edinburgh.

At the beginning of the second half we were fortunate that Edinburgh didn’t spin the ball wide. We had three backs standing guard at a ruck, 12, 13 and 14. Thankfully a combination of our line speed meant the ball didn’t travel too far wide. The next Munster score came from the boot of Keatley when an Edinburgh defender failed to release after affecting a tackle.

Our defence was again split wide open. We were lucky when Rennie hoofed the ball into the Munster in goal area when he had support on his inside. The resulting couple of phases see us under pressure in our own twenty two. Howlett is penalised for not rolling away. The score was tied at 13 all. Edinburgh would have been three point up had they taken a couple of other kicking opportunities. Mike Sherry joined the fray at this point.

After a bit of aerial ping pong Munster try and run the ball. O’Callaghan linked nicely in the wide channels to release Howlett, who just put a foot in touch to stop the move. Munster’s efforts in contact soon cause an Edinburgh knock on to relieve some pressure. Dave Kilcoyne makes his way onto the field for the next scrum. Munster again tried to run the ball with Laulala breaking a couple of tackles looking for an offload. The next Edinburgh aerial bomb sees Hurley catching on the full and storming up the field chasing his own kick and Visser is forced to clear into touch.

From the resulting line out Downey takes the ball up and while in contact with two defenders pops the ball beautifully into the path of O’Dea who sprints clear to score to the left of the uprights. Luke broke two tackles on route to our second try (pic).

Munster looked good for another try not long after but Hurley held on to the ball to set up another ruck. O’Dea was looking really lively at this stage. Edinburgh started to empty the bench as the game moved into the last quarter. Another chip kick behind the defensive line sees Hurley just being edged out by the retreating Edinburgh 7. The back move from the resulting scrum was undone by a forward pass on the Edinburgh 22. Edinburgh were subsequently forced into another aerial bomb by the Munster defence. Unfortunately O’Dea just knocked on after gathering the kick.

Dineen replaced Laulala in the 65^th minute. Again Munster probed the touchline where O’Callaghan impressed with his link play. Showing the hands of a centre not for the first time in this game. A Munster chip kick was knocked into the Edinburgh in goal area and grounded for a Munster five yard scrum. With Munster two yards from the line the Edinburgh seven was guilty of a professional foul handing Keatley an easy three point opportunity.

With ten minutes to go Edinburgh were desperate and threw everything they had at Munster. Munster didn’t do themselves any favours with a hospital ball to Downey deep in our half. The clearance only just made the 22 and Edinburgh came flooding through with multiple phases trying to break our defence down. They were undone temporarily by a knock on around the 22.

Barry O’Mahony made his senior debut just on the 72^nd minute. Barry was a product of the Munster academy and unlucky in that he was vying for senior honours when the Munster back row was at its peak. This is a great example of hard work being rewarded. He has excelled at club rugby and now looks ready to make a name for himself in the provincial setup.

Dineen was penalised at a ruck and Edinburgh kicked deep into the Munster half. Peter Stringer came on in the 72^nd minute when Munster was under the cosh. Edinburgh kept the ball for repeat phases and eventually the outside centre found the space to put Visser through on the left.

In the 74^th minute the ref signalled a knock on against Edinburgh, yet seconds later the ball comes back on the Scottish side and he allows play to carry on... Edinburgh made their way into our half with this possession and continued to probe the blind side. Eventually Cox ran into one of his team mates handing possession back to Munster. The following scrum in the 77^th minute broke up with a bit of handbags between the front rows. Coughlan carried out a harry Houdini moment at the reset scrum with his front row coming under serious pressure. In the last minute of the game Munsters continued hard work in the tight was rewarded with two more turnovers at ruck time. Eventually clearing the ball off the field for the win.

Nobody really shone as a man of the match candidate for me. The work rate of the whole team makes them all deserving of special mention. Backs tackled like back rowers. Second rowers played like backs. Everyone that counter rucked put everything into disrupting the opposition. If I was really pushed I would almost always give the MOTM award to a back rower for their ability in the “dark arts”. For barely perceptible reasons my pick is Sean Dougall for his work rate. New to Munster but showing the tenacity of a seasoned player.

I’m Trevor, 39. A passionate Munster and Irish Rugby Fan. A champion of the underdog. I have strong opinions on this beautiful game of ours. Always analysing tactics and phases of play. I believe in the old saying “It’s not about the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the about size of the fight in the dog”. Stand up and fight!

Bledisloe Blunders?

Munster columnist @trevormurphy73 had some thoughts on the officiating at the recent Bledisloe Cup opener to the Rugby Championship

I came home on Saturday after work to watch the first Bledisloe cup match of the season. Not long into the match I decided to write this piece. The decisions I want to talk about were watched at full game speed and only reviewed again if I felt there was a significant error. Some of you may disagree with me but that’s ok. It’s what makes living in a free country worthwhile. I will always listen to an opposing argument even when I believe it is incorrect.

Firstly I believe that NZ are by some margin the best national side playing rugby at the moment. Secondly I believe that NZ get more than their fair share of calls in a given match. 50 50’s in a NZ match are more like 60 40’s. This is not intended as an attack on referees. I believe that the officials at the match this weekend are amongst the best in rugby. It is meant to stimulate debate on this great sport of ours. I have left out any names as I don’t want to personalise the comments. What follows is a chronological list of the events in question.

9^th minute: NZ were awarded a scrum penalty in the Australian half. What bothered me about this was before the scrum had collapsed the NZ flanker had broken his bind and was actually ahead of his prop. It didn’t take any deep analysis to see this. As I said above, I watched it at full match speed and only analysed it more to verify what my instinct had told what happened.

14th minute: NZ were given a knock on advantage. This was then upgraded to a full penalty for hands in the ruck. What was not taken into account was the infringement by NZ players lying over the ball and offside. The ref should have reverted to the knock on advantage and awarded NZ a scrum.

17th minute: Australia had a lineout in their territory. The NZ prop at the front of the lineout came across the line and barged into the Australian player. The ball was knocked into touch by NZ for another Australian line out. The ref then warns the NZ prop for his previous move.

18th minute: We had a repeat of the event in the fourteenth minute. Yet another knock on advantage to NZ which was upgraded to a penalty. This time the NZ flanker came steaming in from the side to clear out the Australian defenders. Again the ref should have reverted to the knock on advantage and awarded a scrum to NZ.

26th minute: Australia were awarded a penalty for crossing by NZ in midfield. While this one was harder to call from the refs point of view, the NZ player over ran his team mate on a parallel line. Not a crossing penalty in my book.

32nd minute: NZ player obstructed in midfield. What it meant was the Australian defender outside him had to check his run slightly. This left space for the NZ player to score a try. Does this mean the try wouldn’t have been scored? I don’t think Australia would have held out much longer but the fact is it was a penalty. At this level players need only a fraction of a second to take advantage of a half a yards space.

35th minute: NZ were awarded a penalty for Australia holding on. What was missed is the NZ defender only got at the ball because his team mates were lying all over the ruck preventing Australia from supporting their runner. It wasn’t subtle!

42nd minute: There was a forward pass by the NZ midfielder. It was not a blatant one but everyone in the commentary box seemed to call it at the same time as I did. A marginal call that could easily be missed by the ref. The linesman should have picked it up though. Within 20 seconds NZ were tackled into touch. The NZ scrum half held on to the ball preventing a quick throw. Didn’t the ref warn him about something like that in the first half?

50th minute: NZ flanker sprinted back into position to block an Australian defender. It wasn’t just running into the line though, he changed his line to do this.

70th minute: NZ midfielder checked and Australian trying to chase down a kick. It wasn’t the worst offence I have ever seen on a rugby field but the rules are the rules.

I don’t think Australia had what it takes to beat NZ on this occasion. They appeared to be rusty. Their execution was very poor at key times. You are never going to beat a team with NZ ability if your line speed is slow in defence. In attack the Australian players were receiving the ball standing still which is a recipe for disaster. Add the questionable officiating calls to the poor play by Australia and it’s a massive uphill battle to beat a quality side.

Take the almost result by Ireland in Christchurch as an example. The NZ captain looked like he had been in a knock down drag out after 80 minutes. You have to fight NZ tooth and nail to even get close on the scoreboard. The ferocity of NZ in the tackle area means teams have to commit numbers and this leaves them without much hope out wide. Rant over!

I’m Trevor, 39. A passionate Munster and Irish Rugby Fan. A champion of the underdog. I have strong opinions on this beautiful game of ours. Always analysing tactics and phases of play. I believe in the old saying “It’s not about the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the about size of the fight in the dog”. Stand up and fight!

Munster Memories

As Rob Penney prepares for his first season in charge our Munster columnist @trevormurphy73 looks back at the legacy he has to live up to…

I have decided to write about the 2008 Heineken Cup Final in Cardiff between Munster and Toulouse. My decision to pick this match was as much about the journey as the actual match itself.

To set the scene, it was the week beginning the 19^th of May 2008. It became increasingly clear that tickets were not going to surface. At that stage I had resigned myself to watching the event on TV. While I was not happy having to watch it on TV, I said to myself “this is Toulouse we’re playing, the next final will be a better one to go to” I had previously been to the Millennium Stadium for the infamous “hand of Back” We really didn’t look like beating Leicester that day. I was one the many that queued overnight for those tickets and my spirits were crushed after that result. Until I got to the pub of course... Work commitments had prevented me going to the Biarritz final and I feared with my luck and Murphy’s law working it’s “magic” maybe I was never going to see them win the big one live.

As the week went by the anticipation rose. I was sitting in work on Friday afternoon when “the call” came through. “If you can get to Cardiff there are 2 tickets here for you”. There was a maelstrom of emotions in the next few minutes as I alternated between elation and resignation... YES I HAVE TICKETS, NO I’LL NEVER MAKE IT. I’m sure I looked wild eyed for the next while as I began to look at my options. I checked out the ferries, getting to North Wales from Dublin would be no problem. That sounds ok until you look it up on Google maps:

The options were:

208miles through the Welsh countryside on the A470 taking 4hr 50min

283miles using the A55 and M5 taking 4hr 52min

213miles on the A5, A485 and the A470 taking 5hr 1min

The ferry times would get us to Wales with just about enough time to make kickoff time. Any of the routes available left precious little time for any hold ups on the way to Cardiff. On paper it’s a no-brainer, use the motorways where you can make up time and usually there are few hold ups. I’ll come back to this further on!

Next obstacle was cost. It wasn’t going to be cheap and I wanted to find a willing accomplice to join me on the Odyssey. An Odyssey is defined as either “a long wandering journey” or “a long torturous journey”. Both are quite apt for the Munster journey through the European competition. It was the third phone call to a friend which bore fruit. Actually it was the only one that didn’t start with “Are you nuts Murphy?” I had previously arranged to meet John in Clohessy’s Bar in Limerick to watch the match. I rang John to make sure my memory was accurate and he reminded me of the conversation we had on this call.

Me “How do you fancy a change of venue to watch the match”

John “I don’t care so long as the drink is wet and the TV is on”

Me “Cardiff it is then”

I was met with silence for 5 seconds and then,

John “I’ll call you back in a few”

That was it, the ferry was booked and plans made to meet early the next day for the journey to Dublin.

We arrived at the ferry port in plenty of time. The man at ticket check naturally asked us where we were going. He looked incredulous as we told him we were going to Cardiff and were booked on the Ulysses. The Ulysses is the largest car ferry in Europe but by no means the fastest mode of transport. He suggested we take the Jonathan Swift fast ferry so off we trotted to the office. They were looking for a ridiculous amount to change ferries. We said “eff that” and headed back to said man in a cabin. When we told him the story he decided to make the change and only charge us €20 a head. To the man who made this happen, I owe a debt of gratitude. We would not have made the match if it were not for the change.

We arrived in Holyhead and John began his work as navigator for the next leg. The radio reports of traffic on the motorway network were less than promising. So off we set, A to Z of Britains roads and GPS at the ready. We realised pretty quickly that it was a bank holiday weekend in the UK and that didn’t bode well for arriving in Cardiff on time. I must say it must have been the most uncomfortable journey for John as we were driving a Ford Transit Connect Van and the passenger “seat” is little more than a bench. The roads we had selected were of the “not very straight” variety and on a seat with no side support... Need I say more! Credit to John, not once did he say a word other than calling out the directions.

As we neared Cardiff the traffic volumes increased markedly. The queues heading into Cardiff were both long and slow moving. Once again John worked his magic from the navigators seat. We took many twists and turns to park in Cardiff city centre reasonably close to the ground. We set out on foot to meet the gentleman with the tickets who thankfully was right on time, exactly where he said he would be. As we entered the area immediately outside the ground I bumped into a good friend of mine who was on a stag night in Cardiff. To say he looked surprised to see me is an understatement to say the least. You see, Dave worked with me at the time and was acutely aware of the trouble I was having getting tickets. When we gave him a blow by blow account of the day’s events he laughed shook his head and said “only you Murphy, only you would be mad enough”. I can’t deny there is a bit of truth in that statement. No humming and hawing, just do it! It’s better to ask forgiveness than permission.

I won’t relay the entire match details in full. You get the match details at the end of this link. Suffice to say it was an epic 80 minutes by Munster who dug deep and gritted their teeth against the most successful European rugby team. On the day Munster were mentally stronger than Toulouse.

For those of you not lucky enough to attend an occasion like this I really recommend you try to. I have watched the match since. I have looked at highlight clips on YouTube, but none of those can do justice to the noise level in the ground. It’s often said by Munster fans that the Millennium Stadium is part of our parish, and you have to agree, it certainly seem so. We show up in huge numbers to follow our rugby heroes. I have heard say there were 70,000 Munster fans in the ground that day. Regardless of the actual numbers the noise level would make you think so.

Our seats for the match were quite close to the Toulouse band behind the posts. It was a feature of the match that all the Munster fans in the area took it upon themselves to drown out the band. This is no mean feat. Whether it sounded like it was working on TV I don’t know. We did have the pleasure of watching the Toulouse band leader gesticulate furiously at his bands men and women. He was pointing at his team coloured wristband, challenge them to show who they were. The Munster crowds timing on each of the Toulouse chants was impeccable.

The journey home the following day wasn’t as eventful but through some sort of verbal miracle work, John managed to get us on an earlier sailing back to Dublin. Instead of waiting until after midnight for our return ferry, I was at home in my bed two hours before that ship actually sailed! A perfect journey from start to finish.

I’m Trevor, 39. A passionate Munster and Irish Rugby Fan. A champion of the underdog. I have strong opinions on this beautiful game of ours. Always analysing tactics and phases of play. I believe in the old saying “It’s not about the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the about size of the fight in the dog”. Stand up and fight!