February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
But first, the Irish challenge in the Six Nations fizzled out disappointingly and then, last weekend, the three provinces had sand kicked in their faces as a season that had promised so much came to a shuddering halt.
Leinster were humiliated by English club Leicester in the quarterfinals of the European Cup at Lansdowne Road, Munster gave it a much better shot away to France’s Biarritz at the same stage of the tournament, but still lost out, while Connacht have to travel to Sale of England for the second leg of their European Shield semifinal nursing a 7-point deficit.
The stark reality for both Leinster and Munster is that they were overpowered by superior opposition. If Munster produced a memorable second half of snarling attitude on their way to a 19-10 defeat in the northern Spanish city of San Sebastian, Leinster were embarrassingly deferential to Leicester in Dublin as they were crushed 29-13.
MUNSTER 19, BIARRITZ 10
With coach Alan Gaffney returning to his native Australia and with several players such as Jim Williams, Mike Mullins and possibly even Anthony Foley eyeing the last chance of their careers to win European silverware, there was some bitter resignation as Munster made their exit.
The absence through injury of Ronan O?Gara, Christian Cullen and the newly acquired Samoan Brian Lima was a worrying prologue to the game, and when Munster trailed 16-0 at the interval, there was an eerie quiet from their normally raucous support in the stadium.
If Gaffney had any revitalizing words at halftime for his players, he wasn’t claiming any of the credit as the second half soon produced a more typical barnstorming Munster performance.
“I didn’t have to say much,” Gaffney said. “They’re a very intelligent bunch of players and they knew full well what the mistakes were. We committed too many indiscretions and we gave away too many penalties.”
With David Wallace, Marcus Horan, Paul O’Connell, Donnacha O’Callaghan, Anthony Horgan and Foley suddenly playing as if it was the last game of their lives, it looked for a moment that Munster might just achieve the impossible against a star-studded Biarritz lineup. Wallace charged over for a try which O’Gara’s replacement Paul Burke converted before later adding a penalty.
The contest was now crackling with vitality, but there was always a feeling that Biarritz would hold on.
“I’ve got to give full credit to the players,” Gaffney said. “We asked for 100 percent and they gave 120. Who knows what would have happened if one more score had got us to within seven points? The game could have changed. In the end, I couldn’t have asked for any more than what the players gave.”
Beaten finalists in 2000 and 2002, and edged out twice in semifinals, there was a sense at the referee’s final whistle that the end of the quest might have arrived for part of the team. Next season, Munster will have a new coach and several new players, and even if the desire for European success remains, the competition from France is growing stronger every year.
LEICESTER 29, LEINSTER 13
If Munster left the arena with their pride intact, Leinster departed with nothing to show for their efforts earlier in the campaign. Unbeaten in the pool stages, the expectation was that this quarterfinal on home turf would be a close-run affair between two dynamic teams, but it wasn’t that Leinster fluffed their lines; they didn’t bother to even read the script.
They were simply humiliated by Leicester whose powerful forwards and incisive backs left their Leinster opponents floundering. Only once early in the second half did Leinster appear to be in contention only for Leicester to score immediately and the scoreline was an embarrassing 29-6 by the time Shane Horgan barged over for a late try for the losers.
If there was much despair and head-scratching around Lansdowne Road, coach Declan Kidney refused to apportion blame, in public anyway. “They’re just a good team and there’s no shame whatsoever losing to a good team and that’s what happened to us,” he said.
Captain Reggie Corrigan was also not inclined to point the finger. “I wasn’t disappointed with our players,” he said. “I thought we met fire with fire. They got the breaks.”
Corrigan has an excuse in that his head is frequently buried in scrums and rucks, and clearly on this occasion he was reflecting on a different game to the one witnessed from the stands and terraces. Even if Leicester were impressive, Leinster were a disaster, devoid of the sort of desire and attitude demonstrated by Munster in much more demanding conditions.
This was a home game that most definitely counts for something in this competition. However, it seemed as if Leinster were playing in Leicester’s backyard, such was their torpor. With influential out half David Holwell returning to New Zealand, and with Victor Costello deciding to retire, it now seems that Kidney could be moving back to Munster to replace Gaffney. Leinster will have to start again.
SALE 25, CONNACHT 18
Connacht put up stubborn resistance in their Shield semifinal in Galway before losing out to Sale, and now have to return to England for the second leg of the contest, which will be decided on aggregate scores.
“Seven points is not irreversible,” said Connacht coach Michael Bradley, “but they now have the advantage. Seven points up with home advantage, and a superior try count of three to two, but so be it. We’re well used to being underdogs.”