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Broken Record?

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AS a Munster rugby fan, one could be forgiven for thinking that a broken record is playing in their subconscious. Come week 5 of every Heineken Cup Pool stage, Munster seem to be in a make or break situation. Backs to the wall time. Time to be written off. An impossible task awaits once more. There is a reason I suppose that the phrase, “To the brave and faithful, nothing is impossible” was born.

Munster have been down this road before and have managed to find an exit route from a few cul de sac’s in their time.
As Munster head to Stade Mayol this Sunday to take on Toulon, the task at hand is simple. Having lost to the Ospreys and London Irish already this season, Munster cannot afford to lose in Toulon. If Munster lose, they will fail to reach the quarter finals for the first time since 97/98 season.
In a normal Heineken Cup group, week five would see the French side in the group having already waved the white flag. Not this time however. Munster will this weekend face table toppers Toulon. The French club, built on the money of comic book mogul Mourad Boudjella, have this season bucked the trend of French Top 14 clubs and have decided to give Europe a crack.
Don’t let Munster’s 45-18 win over Toulon in Thomond Park fool you. This weekend’s tie is going to be the holy grail of away wins. Should Munster win in France this Sunday, it will go down as their best ever away win. The odds are stacked against the Red Army. Toulon are playing well. They have a massively talented squad and they have one or two players in their side who would love to have one over on Munster.
Munster on the other hand have flattered to deceive this season. Sitting atop the Magners League is no mean achievement, but consistency of performance in the Heineken Cup has been an Achilles heel. Injuries and suspensions have not helped either. Nor has a creaking scrum.
On paper, an ageing side, with a struggling scrum should not win in the south of France against a millionaire side that have it all to play for too. However, rugby is not played on paper. As Peter Stringer told Postsport this week, the secret to winning away from home in the Heineken Cup, is fear.
“There is a fear in the dressing room that drives us all on. For those lads that have been here for a few years. They now what the squad expects of them. The newer lads buy into that too. The fear of leaving your friends down is the main motivation. Our fans are fantastic and if we cannot give everything for them, then we cannot give everything”.
Everything will be needed. Tony McGahan once more has some hard calls to make. Who does the Australian start at 9, 12,13,4 and 5? It is a great headache to have, but the choices made before the game could be the winning and losing of the game and the defining of the season.
Munster’s own high standards make this game a do or die. There is no contingency plan for not qualifying for the last eight. So, lets not even think about it. OK?

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