THE definition of walloped is, to beat soundly; thrash, to strike with a hard blow, to defeat thoroughly. Well, that is exactly what happened to Munster last weekend in Croke Park. We were walloped.
It was all set to be a classic. Great year for Irish rugby, great year for Munster, (newly crowned Magners League Champions) great stadium to play in. The game turned out to be far from a classic, unless of course you are from Leinster and or Leicester. It was like watching a loved one in pain or being attacked and you couldn’t jump in to help. Believe me, I thought about it.
It was be the norm for me to sit here and pick holes in the Leinster win and try and scrape some positives from the game from a Munster point of view. I can’t.
This time, Munster were well and truly beaten in every facet of the game. The performance of Leinster was close to flawless. They out Munstered, Munster.
From the off you could see that Leinster were up for the game. The Blues started at a pace I have never seen from them before. Contepomi was working well at 10 until he suffered his injury. Once he had hobbled off, Munster fans were thinking that the game was now theres for the taking. Wrong.
Johnny Sexton came on and ran the show. He passed well, he kicked well and most of all, he defended like a demon. Ironically, the loss of Contepomi made Leinster gel more outside the 10 berth.
Even when Leinster were down to 14 men, Munster managed only three points. Three points cancelled out by Sexton.
The men in red were flat and lacking in ideas. Earls did make one break which nearly resulted in a try, however Rocky Elsom was back to thwart that dream.
The nightmare continued for Munster as Nacewa broke the line and fed D’Arcy for the first try. All year Earls and Howlett were keeping chiropractors in business with their tackling. Even that failed us last weekend.
The game now ebbed away from Munster and like a cruel owner with a piece of string, Leinster dangled the game in front of the Munster cats.
I won’t even go into the circumstances surrounding Luke Fitzgeralds try or Brian O Driscoll’s world class interception, as I had my head in my hands for most of it. The game was fast turning into a Munster fans worst nightmare. In years past, when we were beaten, we always clung onto a gripe or two for morale more than anything. Last weekend, we could not hold onto anything. We were walloped and we all know it. Walloped, both on and off the pitch.
While Leinster had 15 men possessed, Munster’s 16th man forgot to turn up. The crowd was 50-50, but it appears, that while Leinster were chanting ROCKY!! ROCKY!! ROCKY!!, most of the men and women in red were sitting back enjoying the day out. The “Fields” was heard only a few times and at that, it was about 19 decibels below it’s normal deafening level. I know that teams have to give fans something to shout about but, it was actually noticeable that at 11-6 down at half time, the red army trudged off the pitch to relative silence from their travelling hoards.
This day could yet be a sea change in Irish rugby. A week later is too soon to judge, but Munster need to file this day away and live off the bitterness. It is what we do best.
It was like watching a loved one in pain or being attacked and not being able to jump in to help. Believe me, I thought about it”
You may or may not have noticed, but I am half way through this piece now and I have not slagged off or questioned the players abilities. In 2007, the loss to LLanelli in the quarter final drew words of anger from several quarters. Not this time however. Having watched the game again. (Hoping each time for a new ending), I realised that those men in red, those whose job it is to perform at the highest level when asked, just had a bad day at the office. Everyone has them. Granted, a record for club rugby, 82,500 people are not in my office looking at me when I have a bad day, but no one is immune to a complete loss in form. It was just one of those days. You cannot fault the players for honesty of effort, nor can you curse our complete lack of luck. Granted, the senior players may have changed the game plan a bit more, but in my opinion, if that game had gone on until July the 12th, Munster were never going to score against that Leinster defence.
All we can do after a game like that is remember why we are so disappointed. This team has given us so many good days it is easy to forget sometimes what bad days feel like. I asked last week, What would happen if we actually lost to them? Well, now we all find. From Tony Mc Gahan to the players to the youngest fan, we all have to move on. We all have to believe in the ethos that Munster stands for. We will be back. We will be back. We will be back.
In some positive news, the result of the Ospreys, Dragons game last week in the Magners league now means that Munster are the Magners League champions. The trophy will be presented on the 15th of May at the Ospreys game in Thomond Park. It would have been a fitting end to a great season if this game had been a send off for the final, but there is always next year.
In more off the field news, Prop Timmy Ryan has agreed terms with French Club Toulon, while rumours are rife that Munster are currently in talks with South African centre Jean De Villiers. The South African player of the year in 2008 is looking to move to Europe and I’m sure we could give him a nice home. Roll on next season lads. We seem to like winning in even numbers.
