URC: Munster v Leinster, Thomond Stadium, Saturday, 7.45pm – Live on Premier Sports
There will be an element of festive hope from both sides at Thomond Park on Saturday evening. High on Leinster’s wish list is that they begin to play in the fluid, phased way they know they can.
So far this season, it has only been available in lurches and bursts. Following the 24-20 win over Ulster last time out, head coach Leo Cullen acknowledged that his team, having dug themselves out of a hole for the second week in a row, have had to remodel themselves to fit what’s happening on the pitch.
“I suppose we’re learning to win in a slightly different way . . . anyway, nine points down last week, 10 points down this week [and we came back to win], which is great,” said Cullen.
“It is not the way you ideally want to play every week. So, listen, we’ve made a lot of changes, some of that is forced again. We know we have to manage players at this stage of the season. So you’re seeing the guys in the stands, there’s that chopping and changing that we have to do. Then you’re trying to build cohesion.”
Munster’s lifeline of faith comes from their last visit to Dublin for a United Rugby Championship clash in October. They gave a full-throated performance at Croke Park that day and it was rewarded with a 31-14 win.
Munster’s Jack Crowley celebrates a late penalty during his team’s URC defeat of Leinster at Croke Park on October 18th. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho
Munster matched Leinster physically and delivered a statement of intent. It was as good a performance as head coach Clayton McMillan could have asked for and added to Munster’s fine unbeaten start to the season.
No longer the bullied little brothers, McMillan will look towards more of that mindset in front of a sold-out stadium for Saturday’s round-eight meeting.
The experienced coach, who was formerly a policeman back home in New Zealand, can expect a backlash in the evening kick-off.
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Since that game at Croke Park, Munster have wavered. McMillan’s influence, positive as it was at the start, buckled against the South African Stormers and again at the hands of English Champions Bath in a crushing 41-14 defeat at The Rec earlier this month.
Both Cullen and McMillan probably agree on one issue – and that is no team in the championship cannot be beaten.
“The margins between pretty much every team in the competition is pretty small and you only need to be marginally off in your game to open the door for quality teams to run over the top of you,” said the Munster coach.
Leinster’s Ciaran Frawley starts at fullback against Munster. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho
“We’re well aware of Leinster’s depth and the quality of players that they have, so those margins become even smaller . . . the game against quality teams is always one of small margins.”
Leinster’s squad is as strong as it can be for this time of the year, with a key addition in Caelan Doris back to lead as captain. His on-pitch leadership for Ireland and Leinster has been influential.
Andrew Porter is also scrumming down at loosehead prop for the first time since October following an arm injury. As ever, the pair are joined by a host of international players in Joe McCarthy, James Ryan, Rónan Kelleher and Josh van der Flier. It is, by any measure, an impressive pack.
Harry Byrne is again rotated in at 10 with Jamison Gibson Park, Rieko Ioane and Robbie Henshaw in the midfield. Ioane is in at 13.
Ciarán Frawley, who has been linked to Connacht next season in a reconnect with former Leinster coach Stuart Lancaster, starts at fullback.
The nine-times Ireland capped utility player is also outhalf cover if any calamity befalls Byrne during the game.
Munster have made seven changes, with captain Tadhg Beirne, Thaakir Abrahams, Craig Casey, Michael Milne, Lee Barron, Edwin Edogbo and Tom Ahern all in the starting team.
Munster’s John Ryan arrives at The Rec ahead of the Champions Cup match against Bath on December 6th. Ryan is closing in on his 250th appearance for Munster. Photograph: Dan Clohessy/Inpho
Former Irish secondrow and World Cup winner Jean Kleyn is among a strong Munster bench as is John Ryan, who is on the verge of becoming the third player from the province to reach 250 caps.
Only Stephen Archer (304) and long-time Irish and Munster lock Donncha O’Callaghan (268) have previously broken that barrier.
“We need to be better, clearly,” said Cullen. “There’s a little bit of everything there at the moment, but we’re still a group that are trying to come together.
“There’s a couple of games [in which] we’ve got ourselves in trouble with some of our own looseness – Munster in Croke Park is probably the one, more than anything. That’s probably one of the games where we were most loose with the ball.
“And we obviously saw the result that day against a very hungry, desperate team. So, if we’re loose with the ball again against Munster, we know what’s going to happen to us because we’ve already seen it happen to us.”
Forewarned is forearmed, with the 16th man of the Thomond Park crowd likely to get on board if Munster can push Leinster into a hole with a confrontational and aggressive posture from the beginning.
With centres Alex Nankivell and Abrahams, fullback Shane Daly and Calvin Nash out wide, Munster have edge and pace in attack, although Leinster have players that are more familiar with big-stage, high-pressure games.
That said, mindset and execution have been the occasional enemies of Leinster so far in the championship. They could again be the areas where this game is won and lost.
MUNSTER: S Daly; C Nash, T Farrell, A Nankivell, T Abrahams; J Crowley, C Casey; M Milne, L Barron, M Ala’alatoa, E Edogbo, T Ahern, T Beirne (C), J O’Donoghue, G Coombes. Replacements: D Barron, J Loughman, J Ryan, J Kleyn, F Wycherley, P Patterson, D Kelly, J Hodnett.
LEINSTER: C Frawley; T O’Brien, R Ioane, R Henshaw, J Lowe; H Byrne, J Gibson-Park; A Porter, R Kelleher, T Clarkson, J McCarthy, J Ryan, M Deegan, J van der Flier, C Doris (Capt). Replacements: J McKee, P McCarthy, T Furlong, D Mangan, S Penny, F Gunne, C Tector, A Osborne.
Referee: Peter Martin (IRFU).