.jpg)
In the words of George R. R. Martin "Fear cuts deeper than swords" and to those of us on the outside it looks like Munster's attack is paralysed by fear - fear to take a chance, fear to alter a restrictive game plan and most of all fear to actually play ball.
The game against Connacht wasn't a once off, its been there for a number of seasons mainly against the top sides but in reality its been whenever a team has been able to take on Munster physically and match them on the gain line and set piece.
Munster are still playing kick and clap in a age when the game has moved so far on that Munster's attacking tactics could be shown on black and white TV's. Munster want to play territory and use their lineout and maul as starter plays but mainly in the final third of the pitch. Munster are risk averse and would prefer to try keep the opposition from scoring rather than try to create chances for themselves.
Munster like to play narrow off 9 for the majority of their phase plays. They look for one out runners trucking it up, looking for the next breakdown, but the breakdown is a dirty word in attacking circles. Why bring the ball to ground and allow the opposition time to reset, if you can either pass or offload to keep the ball alive and stress the defence? Of course there are reasons to create a breakdown, such as sucking defenders in to create space elsewhere but Munster's pace of play is so slow that more often than not the half backs end up kick the ball anyway.
There have been times that Munster's attack has looked like they might gel and that there is hope. We've seen tip on passing from the forwards, to disguise and move the point of attack but the effectiveness of this has been few and far between. I don't for one minute believe that this issue is down to the players because of the quality of players at Munster's disposal. It may not even be the fault of the coaches and their tactics but if the coaches are unable to get the players to play the effective style they want then something has to change and it won't be the players.
As mentioned by Jeff on this weeks Provincial State of Mind podcast, players don't play rugby to truck balls up all day, they don't want to hit rucks and chase kicks all day either, most want to be expressive and get touches of the ball.
We know change is coming in June but not by Munster's choice, so Munster now need to use the opportunity to choose wisely and ensure that the next set of appointments to the coaching set up have the strategy vision and ability to take Munster from the dark and into the light in terms of their attack.
Munster have Ulster in Thomond Park this week and despite only two losses all season its been the manner of the performances that have the fans uneasy. Ulster may not be fully loaded due to Covid but another stuttering display in attack will do little to ease the pressure on van Graan and Larkham and the voices calling for early departures will continue to grow.
I want to see change this weekend, something positive for those lucky fans who can attend the game to actually get behind the team but most of all I want to see a team embracing F.E.A.R. (Fuck Everything and Rumble).