One of Munster’s strengths against Ulster, and last week against Ospreys, has been how they have been able to stay in the match and extract what was needed. It is an immeasurable quality.
Coach Graham Rowntree is under no illusion. His side has been lacking in some areas, but character and composure have shone through. A frustrating final quarter against Ospreys, where Munster bashed against a defence that wouldn’t give, by necessity became a kicking game. There Jack Crowley played his role with equanimity and accuracy.
They did not score the tries they wanted but Crowley’s boot kept the scoreboard turning and placed the game beyond the Welsh side. Munster’s takeaway was a mixture of doing in real time what needed to be done. A little irked with territory and possession, they didn’t bag everything on their wish list.
“Absolutely, absolutely,” says Rowntree about needing to improve for Glasgow in the United Rugby Championship (URC) semi-final on Saturday, when Thomond Park will again heave.
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“Our last three games, going back to the Edinburgh game as well, changed in different ways,” he says. “Different circumstances around the breakdown...I think the last five metres of our game, five metres before their try line, we got to be better there. We got a bit frustrated there in the last quarter against Ospreys last week, so we’ve had a good look at that, what we’re doing there because it’s a usual strength of ours.
“I’d say the game now is not getting frustrated by lack of scoring tries, stay in the moment, take shots at goal if you can, to relieve pressure because it is knock-out rugby. We know we haven’t been the finished article but we have found a way to win difficult games. Not being the finished article, we’ve found a way to keep our composure.”
Having won the title last year and now into another playoff the pressure of being defending champions is offset by the group being sure-footed about the path ahead. Rowntree calls it battle hardened as he knows what Munster face in Glasgow, who they knocked out at the quarter-final stage last year. Win and it’s either Leinster or the Bulls in the decider.
The truism is there is no easy way to success. But at this stage of the competition other unquantifiable values come into the equation. Momentum, confidence, experience and composure speak as loudly as tactical imperatives.
The plan won’t work if the players don’t have the tools and Glasgow’s arrival has been laced with the poison of being a grudge match following an interview with the BBC over the weekend, where former Scotland prop Peter Wright set out the meeting in zero sum terms.
“It will be good to go there and beat them in their own backyard and I think they can do that. What better way to get to a final,” said Wright. “You want to get a little bit of revenge, but that’ll take care of itself because they hate us – Glasgow and Munster hate each other massively. That’s gone on for years.”
But Rowntree isn’t drawn.
“I’ve seen that. I’ve tasted it. I’ve tasted it myself,” he says. “You know it’s knock-out rugby, it’s another huge game for us at Thomond Park. We know the support and the pressure that brings. Luckily what we learned last year of our composure and playoff rugby, we’ll treat it as the next big game. What we can do to influence that and what we got to be good at to stop them influencing the game on us, that’s it.
“It’s just a huge game for us. It’s what you play rugby for, isn’t it? Pressure moments, high-stake games, the physical battles, it’s huge, and it’s exciting.”
Behind it all Munster have respect for the way Glasgow will play and the work done since the arrival of coach Franco Smith. Glasgow can keep it tight with their maul but also offer threats out wide, playing a high-tempo game and they kick away possession less than other teams in the URC.
“They’ve got the full package,” says Rowntree. “They can play, they’re dangerous on the edge of the field, they kick a lot less than most teams. They have a dangerous breakdown, and they come here with – reading between the lines – quite a gnarly attitude, similar to us on the road last year. We spoke about that mindset this week. That’s what we’re waiting for.”
Gnarly rather than grudge is fine. Either way they sit on the cusp of another final, and Rowntree knows the personality Munster will adopt for a home crowd at the fag end of the season. With Antoine Frisch back last week and exciting centre Alex Nankivell set for a return this week, it is bubbling nicely.
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