In the first 10 years of the 21st century Munster produced some truly great teams. At the time they had a soaring team spirit, an awesome dedication to winning and a group of highly-talented players.

Wrongly the media and their “Red Army” of supporters overemphasised the “pride in the red jersey” side of their greatness and understated the brilliant rugby skills of the players.

There is no denying the Munster players of that period had a deep pride in the jersey and a spiritual relationship with their supporters.

The myth was that the red jersey of Munster transformed less skilled players into a wonderful team. The public ignored the huge talent in the men wearing the jersey.

Ronan O’Gara would be regarded as the greatest back Ireland has produced since the second World War if not for Brian O’Driscoll being born in the same generation

Peter Stringer is the best scrumhalf passer I have ever seen. Keith Woods’s place with the all-time great hookers across the globe is assured. Mick Galway’s inspirational captaincy and leadership extracted remarkable team performances. High-quality players like David Wallace, Anthony Foley, Alan Quinlan and later Denis Leamy formed dynamic backrows that destroyed opposition teams.

John Hayes heroically carried one side of the Munster scrum for over a decade and broke every record in the books in the process.

Best lock
Paul O'Connell is simply the best lock of his generation in the world. If not for chance producing Paul at the same time, Donncha O'Callaghan would also be regarded as an all-time great.

It is no coincidence the return of a great player like Paul has seen Munster’s performances dramatically improve. This underlines the importance of the quality of player who wears the jersey.

But it was players like Frankie Sheehan, Mick O’Driscoll, Marcus Horan, John Kelly, Jerry Flannery and Anthony Horgan, who were hugely under rated by the media and the public, that drove Munster’s success.

I had the privilege of coaching many of these Munster players in Ireland A teams and was always impressed by the quality of the men and the excellence of the rugby player.

These ultra-competitive Munster players were great men to have on your team and more importantly highly talented. They were much more talented than they were given credit for.

I coached against Munster on and off from 1999 to 2009 and I loved the contests. Before playing Munster I would always warn my players, “don’t take a knife to a gun fight”. You had to prepare yourself for the physical battle Munster would assail you with.

Peter Clohessy was a highly-skilled, tough-as-teak prop who took no prisoners. Peter personified Munster.

Against Munster you had to match the high aggression and skill or you were beaten before the kick-off. You were better to take both a gun and a knife in your sock to fight them . To beat Munster you had to use every trick in the book, even the dirty ones.

Last week Munster rediscovered that brutal physicality. Harlequins brought the knife and Munster carried the gun.

After every game I coached against Munster the players would go out their way to say “g’day”. Even players that I have never coached, like Ronan, would always come over to share a word. It was a small thing, yet it tells you about the wonderful quality of those men. They were massively competitive on the field and true sportsmen off it.

You can understand why I respect the Munster players of that era so much. That is why the expectations on the current Munster players is unfair. Too many believe that, by simply pulling on a red jersey, the current Munster players should be able to emulate those great Munster teams of the past.

I say this not to criticise the current Munster team but to defend them. Great players cast a shadow. It is impossible to grow when you are standing in a shadow. Because of the exceptional careers of the last generation, the current Munster players did not get meaningful big-match experience in their early seasons.

Tommy O’Donnell is a perfect example of this. His open side flanker display against Harlequins was wonderful to watch. He personifies the problem in the Irish rugby system that denies a quality player like Tommy the required early playing experience to deliver such a powerful performance. Tommy needed to play at this level years ago.

Rob Penney and his team need time and patience. Rob cannot fix this problem in one season. Munster’s rugby community need to recognise that the players are giving their best. They will be inconsistent and they will frustrate with contrasting displays like the last two matches, but in time consistent success will return.

The players themselves need to understand that when you constantly give your best, your best constantly improves. From their Leinster performance “new Munster” will learn lessons that will help them against Clermont. The famous red jersey will not transform these players into champions. Hard work and big-match experience must infuse with their talent before the traditions of the jersey have an impact.