Munster approached the Aviva Stadium on Saturday on the back of a couple of disappointing results in the Pro 12 and few expected them to mount any sort of a discernable challenge to Leinster. But then again, what do people know?
Munster have looked out of sorts this season with question marks being raised about the quality of their squad, the durability of their game plan and their ability to overcome some indifferent form and produce a quality performance.
Meanwhile Leinster had been much more impressive than their southern rivals and despite two narrow losses, the Pro 12 champions had recorded bonus point wins over Cardiff and the Scarlets. The Blues appeared to be on an upward curve and despite having some injuries to key players it seemed like still had a squad capable of racking up a big score over a disjointed Munster side.
But, the performance on Saturday proved that form goes out the window during a provincial derby and the game was a fantastic spectacle to watch… as long as you weren’t from Leinster.
On Saturday, Munster produced one of their typical miracle performances where they cranked up the intensity tenfold and blew the opposition away. Munster have been laboured in attack since the start of the season but they showed much more inventiveness on Saturday. Denis Hurley has come under a lot of criticism for his supposed limitations in terms of skill but he proved his doubters, including us, wrong with a strong showing in the number 12 shirt.
Denis Hurley produced an impressive performance to prove his doubters wrong
The writing seemed to be on the wall for Munster in the opening minute when Andrew Smith knocked the ball on from the kick-off and Leinster won a penalty from the resulting scrum to go three points up. But Munster regained their composure and at half-time they led by 28-6.
Key to the Munster revival in the first half was their work at the breakdown. Foley’s men really made it a dogfight by committing players and arriving quickly to contest. It made life very difficult for Eoin Reddan and severely slowed down Leinster’s ball at ruck time which in turn limited the momentum they could build between phases and made it easy for Munster to stifle the dangerous Leinster backline.
Any team will struggle without quick, front foot ball and Leinster are no exception. Munster targeted the breakdown battle, won it convincingly and as a result, they won the game 34-23.
For Munster to come out on top in this game is surely going to be a huge psychological boost for the rest of their season considering how low morale was in the camp following the slow start to the campaign, the criticism placed on the team and the infamous email scandal which could easily have divided the squad.
Video via Leinster Rugby TV.
It was a dream result for the southern province and a game to build on for the coming fixtures both domestically and in Europe. Pressure will have eased somewhat following their victory in unlikely circumstances and they will be hopeful of expressing themselves more and more in the coming weeks.
But, in order to play like they did on Saturday rather than their earlier games, they must bring the same levels of intensity and hunger from the Leinster game and produce it week in week out.
One thing is for sure, this performance has all the makings of a pivotal turning point for this Munster side.
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