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Sport may be all about results but the highlight of Munster’s early season Pro14 games has all been about intent – attacking intent. Fans have been waiting to see what impact Stephen Larkham would have on the team and after three league games there are some signs that things are different and there is hope that changes can make an impact. This is not to say that everything is rosy in the southern provinces garden but green shoots can be seen if you look closely enough.
Rob Penney was a man who divided the Munster fan base, he was either the man who was going to bring Munster forward and away from the “Legends” era or he was going to be the man that took Munster’s traditional game away. In the end he did neither but his pod systems with second rows in the tramlines, forwards handling like backs and heads up attacking rugby isn’t too far from where Stephen Larkham is trying to go with this team now. Munster’s attacking play under Larkham has shown real sparks of flair at times. We have seen a team where the handling requirements of the front row are as deft as those of a centre. We have seen the team favour a 2-3-2-1 pod system which requires fitness, offloading, footwork and handling skills to fix and beat defenders. This is still part of Munster’s evolution and up skilling players to meet this demand is ongoing.
Previously Munster has played a relatively low risk game plan. The plan wasn’t too dissimilar to the likes of Leinster and Saracens. Munster utilised a possession game, with heavy carriers working in pods to grind down or run over the opposition. You effectively batter them into submission until you either run over them or they can’t reset their defense in time so you create an overlap to run in the try. Munster tried to compete with the big boys on a like for like basis. They fought fire with fire and while this worked with the vast majority of opponents it wasn’t until we got to the very end of the season that it became apparent that other teams had bigger, heavier carriers and bigger chequebooks or better academies to churn out the players required to win using this game plan.
When Munster played the bigger teams, they couldn’t generate the quick go forward ball required and were forced to kick the ball. If they couldn’t go over them, they didn’t possess the game plan or skills to go round them. Munster don’t have enough elite heavy carriers to win against the top teams using this style of play. This is where things are starting to change this season for Munster. The tempo in how Munster are looking to play has increased. No longer do we see a committee meeting orchestrated by the scrum half at the base of a ruck, followed after a considerable time by a short pop pass to a static carrier who has one or two players latching to drive him to ground. Now the premium is to move the ball before the tackle – quick short passing between forwards, offloads before or in the tackle, pop passes off the ground and any number of players having to step into the scrum half role to keep the tempo up and ball moving.
The 2-3-2-1 pod system requires a two man pod on the blindside, a pod of 3 in an arrow head formation waiting close to the breakdown, a 2 man pod just slightly wider and the lone wolf in the far tramline. The 2 man blindside pod is there to keep defenders honest but can also be used with backs joining to over stack and attack the blindside when the opportunity arises. The 3 man arrow head pod should have a heavy carrier but the idea is not to over use that play. You want to keep the defenders guessing and use things like offloads, tip on passes etc to stop defenders doubling up on the heavy carrier. If the middle man of the three breaks through the idea is that you should have support on either side for him and a 2 man pod further out tracking behind again waiting for the ball to come or for them to go clear out a ruck. The lone wolf waits to support the ball if it’s pulled behind to the backs by either the 3 or 2 man pods and he is there as either a power runner against a smaller opposition back or to clean out and secure the ruck if a winger goes into contact. As noted above the skills required are significantly different to what has been asked of the Munster players over the last few seasons.
The other big change is the intent when the opposition kick long to Munster. In the last 2 or 3 seasons Munster’s transition play has been about securing possession and territory. When opposition kicked long the first requirement was to catch the ball and then to look for a territorial gain mainly through kicking for touch or kicking back long with the hope of winning the kick tennis game. Now Munster are looking to play heads up rugby, keep ball in hand and exploit the opposition before they can reset their defensive line. Watch the work of players off the ball when there is a kick to a Munster back three player. The work ethic to get back into a position to support and receive the ball to allow a counter attack is there. No one is allowed wait for the ball to sail back over their head any more.
With changes in styles players will need time to hone and develop the necessary skills as well as time to adapt to the new ways. Mistakes are happening and they will continue to do so. Players need that time to settle into the new way of playing. Pat Lam didn’t walk into Connacht and have his style work on day one, even Joe Schmidt took a while to get his passing game working in Leinster. Larkham needs the space and time to develop this. Some of the players are already excelling in this new way of playing. Kevin O’Byrne looks like he may well challenge Niall Scannell as the season goes on. Kevin’s basics as a hooker have always been good but since the start of the season, his handling, passing and footwork prior to contact have been elite. Liam “Boomer” O’Conner is the same. This seems to be a readymade fit for his skill set. And Jack O’Donoghue is just thriving as the 1 in the 2-3-2-1 system. The role in the far tramline waiting for a chance as a power runner suits him down to the ground.
The intent is there and while it may take time the real litmus test is going to be in Europe and if we can make the knockout stages of any competition this season. We need to remember that we have nearly a full choice XV out in Japan at the moment at the Rugby World Cup that need to be reintegrated and allowed to play heads up rugby. Players like CJ, Killer, Beirne, POM, Carbery etc should all excel in this type of system. It should give more space and time for Earls and Conway to exploit. And we also need to see what Graham Rowntree brings to the table. Hopefully a new coach will be brought in and for me the remit has to be a skills coach to assist in this transition of styles. If Munster can reduce the errors and mistakes in these attacking patterns they have a system that will cause teams problems. What the fans need to do is give them time to settle in.
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