Cardiff vs Munster match review

A bonus point win away from home with 11 changes from the Ospreys game is a decent return.

For the first half Munster played into a very strong wind and they managed the game extreme well. Alby Mathewson was vital to that. He barked at the forwards to get into position and he read the Cardiff defence well to kick when required or take a chance out wide if it was on.

Munster kept hold of possession and worked their pods really well to control the game and tempo. And when the opportunities came they took them. The scrum started off a bit shaky but to their credit they worked it out on the fly and and it was very solid from then on. For Knox that's big deal. He's still 20 so to be able to adapt and learn on the fly is a huge attribute. His work around the field was also very good.

Kevin O'Byrne yet again showed how Larkhams style suits him so well. His basics are excellent and now his open-field work is coming to the fore. His range of passing, being comfortable on the ball and his support lines are work are going to put huge pressure on Scannell for the starting jersey.

Overall the pack can be very pleased with their performance. There are still some work ons such being clinical at the breakdown. Because of the pod system and the need to keep possession into the wind Munster couldn't afford to overcommit to the breakdown so being effective is a priority. A few times we had players hit the rucks but height and body position weren't great at times as they failed to shift the Cardiff jackals.

I thought JJ had an excellent game. He managed the game very well. Munster played in the right areas and when they were in the wrong parts they kept it low risk. JJ was the orchestrator of the strike moves and counter attacks. He offered a great ball in hand threat and has now done enough for me anyway to take the 10 jersey against the Ospreys in two weeks.

Goggin yet again was excellent and is pushing hard for the 12 jersey. There is a lot more to him than bosh and he has a very underrated kicking game. Arnold was solid but needs more gametime to start moving up the pecking order.

The back three were solid and had some lovely involvements for the tries. Daly had one shocker under the high ball but that apart was good. He didn't have that many counter attacking opportunities but still showed the footwork that can cause defences problems. I'm hoping that tonights run out at 15 is enough to secure him the 23 jersey against the Ospreys.

Overall Munster will happy with the performance. A few mistakes here and there but overall things are very positive. Rowntree has arrived and his influence can only be good even just for morale. Larkhams attack is really showing benefits now. The decoy and supply runners are creating opportunities and the team are responding by reading it well by playing decent heads up rugby.

The biggest challenge next week is to decide how to reintegrate the internationals. How can we get CJ, POM, Farrell, Kleyn, Beirne, Killer, Scannell, Ryan, Earls, Conway etc up to speed quickly with these new styles. Given the likelihood that there will be such a huge turnover of players into the 23 the big question is whether Munster stick with this new style or revert back to something the players are more familiar with until everyone is up to speed.