Champions Cup: Five takeaways from Northampton Saints v Munster as Peter O’Mahony and company lead from the front
Following a 17-6 victory for Munster over Northampton Saints in their Champions Cup fixture, here’s our five takeaways from the match at Franklin’s Gardens.
Top line
European rugby hasn’t seen the interest of previous years this year and perhaps needed a passionate arm wrestle like matches of old to rejuvenate its former glories – and that’s precisely what Munster and Northampton Saints produced in a brutal encounter won by the visitors.
Remarkably, we saw no points but four yellow cards dished out in the second half, but a brace from Gavin Coombes in the first period was enough of a cushion to allow Munster comfort in defence from there on in.
With the visitors’ forwards simply doing Munster things all afternoon, creating chaos in contact, pressuring lineouts and winning turnover after turnover in a classic display of abrasive rugby in wet conditions, the hallmark of the team from Thomond.
Back-row shines
Tadhg Beirne won the coveted Star of the Match award for a display that saw him win four jackals at the breakdown and three crucial lineout steals in a towering performance that underlines his reputation as one of the finest locks/flanks in the game right now. Behind him, the Munster back-row of Peter O’Mahony, Coombes and Jack O’Donoghue were absolutely immense in every pressure play they faced and any one of them might have gotten the award.
The ageless O’Mahony is said to be a gardening fanatic in his spare time with a lawn famous the length and breadth of Ireland. He relishes a visit to a stadium that offers the best prepared grass in the country and his intelligence in running the Munster lineout and, in particular, the maul defence, was crucial to his troops. Time and time again the visitors held Saints out in short drives near the line or from the catch and drive and virtually every single time it was the brilliant Irish flank at the centre of the effort.
In short, the Munster loose trio were absolutely immense and this Champions Cup win was down to their industry and intellect.
Saints struggle
Northampton Saints really struggled to get a foothold in the match and the slow ruck, caused in part by the Munster loose forwards, crippled their efforts. Their selection in the forwards seemed to lack balance – a big back-row lacked any form of jackal or clear-out specialist and time after time they were held up or slowed down when trying to get pace into the game.
Alex Mitchell is the heartbeat of Saints but was forced to do far too much in this match and suffered from his half-back partner or another player taking on the role when he himself went on one of his mazy runs. When a nine is tackled out of the game it’s key that someone steps in – usually a ten or a seven – to make the connection between pack and backs and to keep the move alive. Saints suffered greatly in this respect and without any of their players willing to deputise once Mitchell was out of the match, their ruck ball, already slowed by Munster defence, became glacial.
Chaos
Munster’s plan was clearly to create that controlled chaos around the fringes and in the maul defence and that they did with some aplomb. However, the official team let them get away with a lot of sealing off, lying on the ball and refusing to roll away.
They conceded 18 penalties on the day, with three yellow cards waved in their direction. On another day with a different official, they might have had a couple more – replacement prop Dave Kilcoyne brought down three consecutive mauls coming in at the side or collapsing, without any real sanction other than a penalty and Saints will be miffed that the plan to cause chaos was allowed to go a little bit too far.
FULL-TIME: Northampton Saints 6-17 Munster
YES!
A massive 4 points on the road in the #HeinekenChampionsCup 💪💪💪#NORvMUN #SUAF 🔴 pic.twitter.com/BxLg7fvEh6
— Munster Rugby (@Munsterrugby) December 18, 2022
To add insult to injury, Northampton were denied a clear and obvious penalty try when James Ramm was taken out in the air whilst in the process of catching the ball with a clear dot down to score. Whilst Craig Casey was correctly carded, the probability of a try ensuing was very high and Saints will be furious that this wasn’t awarded.
Moving forward
Northampton Saints at their best are a wonderful attacking side – but this was far from their best on a wet, cold day unsuited to their style and perfect for that of Munster. But for Saints to go into this match without a real focus point of carry in midfield and without any form of jackal specialist (Aaron Hinckley left on the bench) was daft. Against Munster, you need to commit as many to contact as possible and then compete over the ball, and Saints didn’t pick a team with those qualities.
For Munster, they will be delighted. After a home loss to Toulouse in the fog last week, this was a step in the right direction and one based upon their traditional values. However, when they come up against the giants of Europe, they’re going to need a little more in threat and attack from the backline, who, Mike Haley and possibly Jack Crowley excepted, really failed to click.
Nevertheless, Graham Rowntree will be delighted with an impressive win on the road whilst Denis Leamy will be positively beaming at the efforts of his defence. It was classic Munster and they’ll be a tough side for anyone to beat.
