MAGNERS LEAGUE SEMI-FINAL:TONY McGAHAN stood under the awning preparing to deliver one final postscript to a season that has unravelled in the last month. Defeat in a Heineken Cup semi-final to Biarritz has been followed by another at the penultimate stage in trying to defend their Magners League crown at the RDS on Saturday.
The Munster coach wore a slightly careworn expression, a weariness that was understandable. This was a match too far for his patchwork team. His players gave everything physically, hurling their battered bodies into every contact point, but mentally they looked jaded. Beating Leinster required more subtlety than they could muster.
McGahan spoke quietly about the scenes he’d just left behind in the visitors’ dressingroom.
“Disappointed,” he sighed. “We just lost a semi-final, so the boys are shattered. It’s the end of the season for us. There’s no more next week. There’s no more final.
“They’re (Leinster) a very good side, they’re playing excellent rugby and they’re very hard to beat at home. They’ve a terrific home record and they’re a well-balanced side. I thought their defence tonight was again excellent and I thought their set-piece gave them a great platform as well. So, look, they’re a well-rounded side and a very good side.”
From his team’s perspective, McGahan pointed out that he couldn’t fault the application of his players, exemplified by the commitment to the collisions.
“We had a lot of injuries even there: Doug Howlett knocked out, Ronan O’Gara knocked out, Nick Williams off (injured).
“We battled manfully. There were a lot of players without a lot of training time underneath their belts, so to fight our way to the end and be beaten by one try to nil is disappointing. I thought we created a number of opportunities but their scramble defence nullified us.
“They fought hard at the tackle, really slowed down our ball and that gave them a great opportunity to reload in defence and make sure that they kept coming at us.
“We didn’t take enough opportunities. We had three turnovers in the first 15 minutes inside their 22 and, when you’re starting a game away from home into the wind, we really needed to make sure we got points early.”
The nature of the defeat, as much as the loss itself, invariably drew the age profile of the team into the spotlight.
“Well, I think we’ve just come out of losing two semi-finals losing 18-7 and 16-6, so I think we’re not too far off the mark. But there’s always going to be questions about the age profile of the side, that’s inevitable, that’s always going to be there. I think it’s been there for a few years and we keep rebounding and keep competing for trophies at the top end of the season. So, we’re there again, but alas a step too far.
“There’s no doubt there are players getting to the end of their careers, that’s been well documented – 12 months and 24 months – for the majority of them, so we need to keep moving on.”
That’s a challenge for a new season.
