Munster were not about to talk themselves into a crisis after match two of the new season. Not just yet. A defeat to Zebre, with six tries against, adds up to 75 points shipped over the opening games against Connacht and in Parma.
But defensive coach Denis Leamy, walking a fine line between reproach for the last game and motivation for the next one, was keeping his head.
The former Irish flanker did not try to shy away from what he hopes was an aberration in Italy from the team that had the best defensive record in the United Rugby Championship (URC) last season with an average of 17 points per game conceded. That has now ballooned in two weeks to averaging over 37 a game.
Connacht scored 33 points and Parma 42 – a win and a defeat. Being beaten by Parma for the first time, however, was of a different order. That point was conceded.
An off-day indeed, with coach Graham Rowntree curtly simmering in front of camera directly after the match and Donncha O’Callaghan, a former team-mate of Leamy for Munster and Ireland, speaking emotionally on television of rugby being a game of ‘want’, suggesting that one of Munster Rugby’s foundational qualities simply wasn’t on show in Italy.
‘Embarrassing’ and ‘unacceptable’ were other words the former lock used as Munster inexplicably leaked four of the six tries in a spell of just over 20 minutes in the second half.
“Yeah, I saw Donncha’s comments. Someone said that he’d had a go and I specifically went home and watched it,” said Leamy.
“And Donncha was completely on the money. I know Donncha since I was 18. I’ve nothing but respect for him. He was like a brother to me when we played together. Donncha O’Callaghan said nothing that we don’t know, that the players don’t know, that we didn’t feel.
“Does it hurt? I think the hurt comes from how we were on Saturday. We want to remember the legacy that people like Donncha created here and we want to build on that. And when someone like Donncha honestly calls out our actions at the weekend, you put your hands up and you say, ‘We have to do better. It wasn’t good enough.’”
The mood was one of abashment and self-reproach for the performance, but Leamy believes straightening the bent and broken bits should not be difficult. He then praised his players for the things they accomplished last season, the way they travelled and took on teams.
In April they wrapped up a second win on their South African tour with an impressive victory over the Lions in Johannesburg. They scored in the final play to ensure 10 match points from their trip as they cranked up the defence of a URC crown they had won the previous year in Cape Town, ending a dozen barren years.
So, Leamy declined to heap opprobrium on his players’ heads, knowing that the review informed them of everything they needed to know about the first away game of the season.
“Look, we’re blessed with this bunch of players,” he said. “As a defence coach, more often than not, these guys go to war for us. There are very fixable things that are within our control that can nullify a huge amount that went wrong for us on Saturday.
“I said it to them this morning they are the best group of players I’ve worked with defensively. They do anything for you. They’ll go to war for you consistently. We’ve won in difficult places in South Africa, you know we’ve won championships. We trust these guys to bounce back, to get things right. I’m looking forward to that. I’m looking forward to how we turn up again on Saturday.
“So, it’s not something that scares us. In fact, the challenge inspires us. We’re sitting in the meeting room this morning ... these are the moments in your career that define you. You look back to that golden Munster era. There were definitely moments like this. It was full of moments like this.”
From the outside, Munster’s home game against Ospreys this weekend will be viewed through a different prism. With more international players back and Tadhg Beirne likely leading the team for the first time as captain after taking over from Peter O’Mahony, the Welsh side may expect a reaction in front of the home crowd in Cork.
Munster also scored five tries in Italy with Gavin Coombes scoring two and Mike Haley and replacements Bryan Fitzgerald and Shay McCarthy one each. Leamy sees that as cold comfort. What he hopes to see is O’Callaghan’s game of ‘want’.
“Our response will be the important thing,” said Leamy. “And again, the players, they’re disappointed, yes, but we’ll pick ourselves up. There’s nothing we’ll ask them to do that they haven’t done before. It’s just about all those little bits and pieces.
“You got a sense of how much they care and that’s a great thing as a coach. You are looking for their reaction, you are watching their body language and their disappointment is definitely evident. The big thing now is energising again. We’ll lean on stuff around being the top defensive team for the last two seasons in the URC.”
Right now then, no crisis to see.
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