Munster Rugby Talking Points: Reds can win away at Northampton to secure home advantage
Munster’s Gavin Coombes in action against Saracens. Picture: INPHO/Billy Stickland
Fresh from scalping Saracens last Saturday in Limerick, Munster now turn their attentions to old foes Northampton Saints, with them knowing that a victory in Frankin’s Gardens will give them a serious chance to go deep in this year’s Investec Champions Cup.
The talk last week was about Munster getting the one or two match points they required to ensure qualification for the last-16.
One hard-fought win later, coupled with Northampton’s reversal in Paris to Stade Francais, means that Munster suddenly have an unexpected chance of actually topping Pool 3.
The Saints have 11 points, with Munster and Saracens in second and third, respectively, on 10.
A Munster win will see them overtake Northampton and have them praying that Saracens do not get a better result at home to Castres on Sunday, although it is unlikely Castres will do Munster any favours considering their abysmal away record in this competition.
Even if Munster do not top the Pool, second place is still a prize worth fighting for, as runners-up spot will secure a badly needed home tie in the last 16 in April.
If Munster are going to go far in this competition they are going to have to win in a few intimidating venues on the road. They might as well start this weekend in Franklin’s Gardens.
The Saints led 21-0 early on last Saturday against Stade Francais, but eventually got completely overrun on a scoreline of 45-35, which would have stung the confidence levels. Munster will be certainly looking to capitalise on any fragility from the home side this weekend.
The IRFU refused Munster’s request to sign a Non-Irish Qualified loose-head prop in the close season, with the predictable result being that at the beginning of the campaign the Munster scrum struggled.
Munster were able to temporarily sign the previously unheralded Sharks prop Dian Bleuler, and the 25-year-old South African has almost single-handedly turned Munster’s fortunes around up front.
He has ensured that the Munster scrum is no longer the penalty-conceding machine it was, while he has also been extremely impressive in the loose, culminating in the crucial opening try last Saturday that broke Saracens' resistance on the hour mark.
Unfortunately, he is not likely to remain at the club for much longer, as the signing was signed off on the basis that it was strictly a short-term one, but his performances and impact have been a clear indication that if Munster were allowed bolster their front row resources as they wish that they could compete with any of the top clubs in Europe.
Developing players for the national team is all well and good, but the Irish clubs should not be hamstrung to this extent.
If you had been told in advance of last Saturday’s Round 3 clash with Saracens that Munster would have 22 handling errors in the game then you would have been assuming the worst with regards the result.
It is a phenomenally high number of turnovers yet somehow Munster were still able to get the job done.
The main reason for Munster turning their poor recent form around last Saturday evening in Limerick was that they got their setpieces in order. They kept it simple in the lineout, invariably going to the front of the lineout when they wanted to guarantee possession, and it worked a treat.
The scrum was rock solid too, with try-scorer Dian Bleuler playing a huge part in solidifying the set piece.
Another area of the game where Munster showed significant improvement was in the sheer speed of their rucks.
Against Saracens Munster’s ruck speed was under three seconds 60% of the time. To contrast that, Saracens only managed this pace 35% of the time, which is a significant difference.
If Conor Murray gets to play at this pace on Saturday then Munster have every chance.
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