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Munster vs Leinster – How a rivalry was born
Its February 2005 and Leinster and Munster have both finished top of their respective Heineken Cup pools. Leinster have won all 6 games to earn a home quarter final against Leicester Tigers in Lansdowne Road and know that should they continue to progress a semi final and final in the same venue awaits them. Munster also finished on top of their pool but they face a trip to San Sebastian to face Biarritz. Although neither team or supporters know it yet, Munster coach Alan Gaffney is about to kick start a chain of events that will push the Leinster Munster rivalry from something barely mentioned in the media to front page news.
Tuesday 2nd March 2005 Alan Gaffney informs the Munster squad that he has accepted an offer to join Eddie Jones Australian set up as an assistant coach. Gaffney had been in talks with the Australian Rugby Union and Jones for a number of weeks so the news doesn’t come as a total surprise to those in the know within Irish Rugby. Munster CEO Garrett Fitzgerald had been hoping Gaffney would extend his contract but with the confirmation comes the realisation that Munster will need a new head coach. Declan Kidney has rugby running through his veins and is more Cork than Tanora, Beamish or Lennox’s chipper put together. He played with Presentation Brothers College (PBC) Cork, UCC and Dolphin and it was his position as a teacher with PBC that saw him cutting his coaching teeth at Junior and Senior Cup level. He went on to coach the Ireland Schools team to a triple crown in 1992 and won the World Cup with the Ireland under 19’s in 1998. In 1998 when Derek Bevan left mid season as head coach, Munster turned to Kidney and Niall O’Donovan to steady the ship. Munster went on to win the interprovincial title that year and Kidney was appointed head coach for 1999. Between 2000 and 2002 Kidney guided Munster to two Heineken Cup finals and semi final along with a losing Celtic League final to Leinster of all teams.
Kidney left Munster after the Heineken Cup final defeat in May 2002 to join an IRFU selected national coaching team as an assistant to Eddie O’Sullivan. From the outside the dynamic between the two never seemed right and it was only a matter of time before Kidney moved on, or was made to move on. In 2004 Kidney the IRFU offered Kidney a role as Age Group Development Manager as he was no longer wanted in the national set up. Understandably Kidney sought a coaching role elsewhere and initially signed with the Newport Gwent Dragons in the summer of 2004. However due to family circumstances he needed to be closer to home and in August 2004 he became Leinster head coach replacing Gary Ella. Now less than 8 months into his tenure as Leinster coach Kidney knew it was time to go “home”.
April 2005 and both Leinster and Munster are out of the Heineken Cup at the quarter final stage. Munster, minus Ronan O’Gara, were beaten 19-10 by Biarritz in San Sebastian but the big story comes in Leinster’s 29-13 defeat by Leicester Tigers. News of Kidney returning to Munster is leaked prior to the game and Leinster’s limp quarter final exit in a packed out Lansdowne Road is blamed on Kidney leaving. Kidney is asked to stand down following the defeat and Leinster finish the 2004/2005 season without a head coach. In reality, once Kidney had made his decision to leave there was no way of keeping it quiet. Ireland and Irish rugby is too small, the provinces are internal branches of the same organisation and applications for the Munster head coach role were to be submitted to the IRFU offices in Dublin.
In what would be the next significant event in the chain set off by Eddie Jones’s phone call to Alan Gaffney, the then relatively unknown Michael Cheika was announced as Leinster’s next head coach in May 2005. Cheika was a name very few Irish rugby fans had even heard of and Leinster CEO Mick Dawson even described Cheika’s appointment as a calculated punt. Cheika had grown up in Sydney and played in the backrow for the Randwick club. He was known for his no nonsense attitude, a physical approach on the pitch and a volatile nature. He left Sydney to play rugby in France with Castres and CASG Paris (who would later merge with Stade Francais) and went on to both play and coach in Italy.
Also announced as part of Cheika’s coaching team was his former Randwick team mate David Knox as an assistant coach and responsible for coaching the backs. Knox was also a volatile character and there were those who believed that Cheika and himself brought out the worst in each other at times. There was no doubting the style in which Knox wanted the game to be played and like a lot of Aussies he wasn’t shy about giving his opinion.
Cheika wasn’t the typical rugby coach that Irish fans were used to and i’m not sure if you could find two individuals more diverse then himself and Declan Kidney. Their backgrounds as a career guidance teacher and leader of fashion empire suggest that rugby may be the only common interest they share. Even in rugby their approach and application stood in stark contrast. During the pre match warm ups, Kidney can be seen in club tracksuit and boots where as Cheika generally seen in his suit and wool sweaters as left the on field warm up to his assistants. Engagement with the media also showed a difference in approach with Cheika being forthright with the media and little was off limits. With Kidney you always got the feeling that he viewed the media itself as something to be treated with suspicion. Kidneys aim in interviews and press conferences seemed to be to fill as much time as possible while giving away no information and not answering the question, which is a skill and achievement in itself. A typical Kidney response to any question could be “Ah shur maybe it is and maybe it isn’t, it depends on how and where you look at it from”. He was the master of the “tell em nuthin’, don’t give them anything to pin on the dressing room wall”.
The summer of 2005 saw the Lions tour New Zealand under Clive Woodward with Leinster having six players on the squad, (Shane Byrne, Malcom O’Kelly, Shane Horgan, Denis Hickie, Gordon D’Arcy and Brian O’Driscoll) and Munster were represented by John Hayes, Donnacha O’Callaghan, Paul O’Connell and Ronan O’Gara. The tour itself was a shambles and the players involved had a delayed return to their provinces.
Declan Kidney faces into the pre season friendlies against Northampton Saints and Leicester Tigers knowing that he needed to improve his squad strength in depth and add another dimension to Munsters play if they are to win the Holy Grail of the Heineken Cup. Munster signed Federico Pucciariello, an Argentinean born Italian capped prop who can cover all three positions in the front row and Trevor Halstead, a six cap Springbok centre while Barry Murphy, Ian Dowling and Jeremy Manning all signed development deals. On the coaching front, Kidney was resigned to losing Graham Steadman to the national team when he could get a replacement in position and he Jim Williams as forwards coach and Gerry Holland as team manager. The initial Munster Heineken Cup squad was announced
Forwards Tony Buckley, Jerry Flannery, Anthony Foley, Denis Fogarty, Marcus Horan, John Hayes, Trevor Hogan, Simon Keogh, Denis Leamy, Eugene McGovern, Donnacha O’Callaghan, Paul O’Connell, Mick O’Driscoll, John O’Sullivan, Federico Pucciarello, Alan Quinlan, Frankie Roche, Frankie Sheahan, David Wallace.
Backs Paul Burke, Christian Cullen, Ian Dowling, Anthony Horgan, Trevor Halstead, Rob Henderson, John Kelly, Mossie Lawlor, Mike Mullins, Frank Murphy, Barry Murphy, Jeremy Manning, Tomas O’Leary, Ronan O’Gara, Shaun Payne, Mike Prendergast, Peter Stringer.
The early season games were a time for experimentation and but they didn’t yield good news on the injury front. Mike Mullins and Christian Cullen both picked up long term injuries which ruled them out of the entire Heineken Cup pool stages. The first league fixture of the season saw David Wallace play on the wing in a scrappy 9-7 win for Munster. In truth it was a game they could have easily lost if it wasn’t for a fantastic lineout steal at the very end by Mick O’Driscoll. The next Celtic League game was in Musgrave Park and saw an easy bonus point win for Munster against the Ospreys. Then final score was 37-10 with the “highlight” being Denis Leamy playing in the centre. Picking Leamy and Wallace in the backs, showed that Kidney was aware of the quantity of quality backrows he had available to him as well as the problems he faced with the back especially now that Mullins and Cullen were injured. The next game away to Glasgow on the 17th December saw the Lions start to be introduced back into the team. Ronan O’Gara and Donnacha O’Callaghan were named in the squad that lost 32-10 in Hughenden. Meanwhile back in Limerick, vandals broke into Thomond Park and caused sufficient damage to the playing surface that Celtic League matches had to be moved to Musgrave while it was being repaired. Munster finished off September in Musgrave with a 14-13 win against Scarlets. The game saw Barry Murphy start at full back, Ian Dowling on the wing and Thomas O’Leary on the bench. Denis Leamy continued his new found role with 40 minutes in the centre. John Hayes returned to action but further long term injuries, this time to Paul O’Connell, Peter Stringer and Anthony Horgan are a cause for concern. However there is good news for Munster when they announce new signings Gary Connolly, a rugby league star who has previous union experience with Harlequins, and Anton Pithout, a South African 7’s player who has opted for Munster ahead of Toulouse. Both players are added to the final Heineken Cup squad in place of Cullen and Mullins.
October 2005 and its a heavy schedule for Munster, two interpros and the opening two rounds of the Heineken Cup. First up is a trip to the Sportsground to face Connacht. Munster win comfortably with a 44-19 bonus point victory that includes a first start for Gary Connolly, a first try Freddie Pucciarello and Ronan O’Gara going 7 for 7 from the kicking tee. Next up is Leinster in Musgrave Park and the first time that Kidney will face his old team since he was forced to stand down as Leinster coach. Leinster lose their opening fixture away to champions Ospreys 22-20 but win their next three games at home in Donnybrook which sets up the first meeting of the sides for the season the week before the start of the Heineken pool games. David Knox, true to form, doesn’t hold back in the build up to the game and the press lap it up. Knox accuses Munster of only playing ten man rugby and having no threat in the outside backs. He also adds that he has all the players he needs to play expansive rugby. Kidney is a master of the mind games and the phrase “we’re better when we’re bitter” was written for him so its hard not to imagine those particular quotes being pinned to the dressing room wall ahead of the game. Knox would give further explosive interviews over the years about his time in Ireland, in which he would be extremely critical of Kidney, Eddie O’Sullivan, Ronan O’Gara and even Michael Cheika. In 2008 Knox admitted that he fell out with Cheika after just two months at Leinster and the pair barely spoke during their three year working relationship at the club. Felipe Contepomi is the main player in Knox’s free flowing back line. Contepomi joined Leinster in 2003 but an administrative error meant that he wasn’t registered for the 03/04 Heineken Cup and he ended up playing for Carlow RFC in the AIL to get game time. Under Kidney, Contepomi was mainly used at inside centre with David Holwell starting at out half. Under Knox he has started the season at 12 out of necessity with Brian O’Driscoll still being injured from “that incident” in the first Lions test versus the All Blacks. Knoxs knows that he needs Contepomi at 10 pulling the strings and dictating play if the team is to thrive however like Knox himself Contepomi is temperamental and his performance on the pitch could vary from huge highs to deep lows.
Munster: Shaun Payne; John Kelly, Barry Murphy, Gary Connolly, Anthon Pitout (I Dowling 67 mins); Ronan O’Gara (Paul Burke 76 min), Tomas O’Leary (Frank Murphy 80 mins), Marcus Horan, Frank Sheahan (Jerry Flannery 76 mins) Federico Pucciarello; Donncha O’Callaghan, Mick O’Driscoll; Alan Quinlan, Denis Leamy (T Hogan 76 mins), Anthony Foley capt (David Wallace 68 mins).
Leinster: Girvan Dempsey; Shane Horgan; Gordon D’Arcy; Felipe Contepomi; Denis Hickie; Christian Warner; Brian O’Meara; Reggie Corrigan; Bernard Jackman; Will Green; Bryce Williams; Ben Gissing; Eric Miller; Keith Gleeson; Jamie Heaslip. Subs Ronan McCormack; David Blaney; Des Dillion; Ciaran Potts; Brian O’Riordan; Kieran Lewis; Rob Kearney.
The game was played on Sunday afternoon in front of packed out Musgrave Park. Both teams and the 8,000 fans inside the crowd faced gale force conditions. Leinster played with the wind in the first half but could only take a 9-5 lead in at half. The main talking point of the first half however was when Leinster were awarded a controversial penalty in the 38th minute when the touchjudge called play back 50 metres to award Leinster a kickable penalty just outside the Munster 22. The home crowd were unimpressed and weren’t shy in letting the officials know. As Contepomi was lining up his kick the ball was blown over by the wind and the Munster players encroached. Simon McDowell the referee correctly decreed that the ball could be reset and Brian O’Meara was called to hold the ball for the kick. As Contepomi lined up his kick for a second time the Munster players including O’Gara, O’Callaghan and Horan all started complaining to the referee that Contepomi had used more than the 60 seconds allowed. The crowd joined in the remonstrations with loud boos followed by a huge cheers when Contepomi pushed his kick at goal to the right of the posts. Contepomi was clearly upset and vented his anger at the Munster players and the referee after his miss and again as the teams ran in at half time. Munster, using the wind to their advantage, ran in four second tries from Quinlan, Leamy, Kelly and O’Gara to ease to a 33-9 bonus point victory. However Contepomi wasn’t done for the day and his post match comments were explosive. Contepomi accused the referee of being below the standard required for the Celtic League fixture and called the Munster players “uneducated” due to their shouting when he was lining up his kick. He finished it all off with a reference to Kidney “It's strange that their coach is actually a teacher. Maybe he could put some of his knowledge into the players as well."
There was no doubting Leinster would be fired up for the return fixture in the RDS on New Years Eve but Kidney and Munster knew that Contepomi could be got at. Between this and the return fixture there was the small matter of the Heineken Cup pool games to negotiate for both sides. Munster would face Sale, Newport Gwent Dragons and Castres with Leinster facing Bath, Glasgow and Bourgoin. Kidney and Munster may have won the first derby game of the year but there was still a long way to go in the season. Battle lines were drawn, heros and villains were beginning to emerge and while it was easy to see the rivalry between the teams very few people could even imagine how this season would turn Munster versus Leinster into the Irish rugby version of El Classico.
Its October 2005 and Munster are in Manchester to face Sale in the first Heineken Cup pool game of the season. Trevor Halstead, Paul O’Connell, Anthony Horgan, Mike Mullins and Christian Cullen are all unavailable through injury. Peter Stringer isn’t 100% fit either and can only take a spot on the bench. Thomas O’Leary retains the number nine jersey after the comprehensive win against Leinster. New signings Gary Connolly and Anton Pitout are included to try and add a new dimension to the back play and there is a injection of youth to change the dynamic, Barry Murphy and Thomas O’Leary are both 22 and Jeremy Manning is only 20.
Munster vs Sale: S Payne; J Kelly, B Murphy, G Connolly, A Pitout; R O’Gara, T O’Leary; M Horan, F Sheahan, J Hayes, D O’Callaghan, M O’Driscoll; A Quinlan, D Leamy, A Foley capt.
Replacements: J Flannery, F Pucciarello, T Hogan, D Wallace, P Stringer, J Manning, R Henderson.
Roy Keane meets with the Munster team on the night before the game in a Manchester hotel but his pep talk doesn’t have the desired effect. The game is played on a wet and windy night and Sale who are top of the English Premiership are considered red hot favourites at home. They have stars galore in their ranks with Mark Cueto, Jason Robsinson, Charlie Hodgson, Andrew Sheridan, Fernandez-Lobbe and of course the latest celebrity in the English Premiership Sebastian Chabal. Munster lead 10-9 at the break thanks to a try from Frankie Sheahan and the boot of ROG. Munster are under pressure in the scrum and on a 5m defensive scrum a quick strike leads to confusion between O’Leary and Foley which allows the Sale scrum half to dot down the ball for an easy try. Chabal has Sky Sports Stuart Barnes waxing lyrical after his huge tackle on Freddie Pucciarello dislodges the ball and allows Jason Robison to go 60 yards to score. Munster fail to pick up a losing bonus point in the 27-13 defeat but it is the injuries that potentially hurt Munster the most. Frankie Sheahan picks up a serious neck injury and Alan Quinlan suffers a nasty knee injury. Both would be on the sidelines for a considerable amount of time.
Next up for Munster its Castres in Thomond Park and Declan Kidney is forced to make changes.
Munster vs Castres: Shaun Payne; John Kelly, Gary Connolly, Trevor Halstead, Anthony Horgan; Ronan O’Gara, Peter Stringer; Marcus Horan, Jerry Flannery, John Hayes; Donncha O’Callaghan, Mick O’Driscoll; Denis Leamy, David Wallace, Anthony Foley capt
Replacements: Denis Fogarty, Federico Pucciariello, Trevor Hogan, Stephen Keogh, Tomas O’Leary, Jeremy Manning, Barry Murphy.
Jerry Flannery and David Wallace replace the injured Frankie Sheahan and Alan Quinlan. Peter Stringer is considered fit enough to start. Trevor Halstead returns from injury to inside centre and Gary Connolly moves to a more familiar 13 role. Anthony Horgan returns and replaces the new signing Anton Pitout. Its a travelling French side coming to Thomond Park so in theory this should be a five pointer but after the opening game and all the injuries neither Kidney nor the Munster fans can be confident.
Munster up their game and led by Anthony Foley give a five try, five star performance as Castres disappear seemingly unnerved in the Thomond Park atmosphere. Jerry Flannery takes his opportunity to shine and wins the man of the match award in a forward dominated win. Ronan O’Gara is gifted time by the packs performance and he puts it to good use. Tries from Donnacha O’Callaghan, Jerry Flannery, Anthony Horgan, John Kelly and Trevor Halstead as well as 14 points from O’Gara’s boot seal the impressive win. Sale also have a bonus point win away to the Dragons at Rodney parade. Even though its now a month to the back to back pool games against the Dragons Munster only have two league games to prepare.
First up for Munster is a trip to the Arms Park in Cardiff where Kidney has to do without his internationals. He gives Jeremy Manning time at full back and five penalty kicks from Paul Burke and one from Manning are enough to earn a 16-18 win.
Munster vs Cardiff :Manning, Kelly, Connolly, Halstead, Pitout, Burke, O’Leary, Roche, Flannery, Pucciariello, Hogan, O’Driscoll, O’Sullivan, Wallace, S. Keogh.
Replacements:Buckley, Fogarty, S. O’Connor, J. O’Connor, Prendergast, B. Murphy, Payne.
Peter Stringer wins his 100th Munster cap in the game against Ulster in Musgrave in early December but Munster slip to 20-17 loss.
Munster vs Ulster: J Manning; A Pitout, G Connolly, T Halstead, A Horgan; RO’Gara, P Stringer; F Roche, J Flannery, J Hayes; D O’Callaghan, M O’Driscoll; D Leamy, D Wallace, A Foley capt
Replacements: M Horan, D Fogarty, T Hogan, S Keogh, T O’Leary, B Murphy, M Lawlor.
It’s December 2005 and that means the back to back games of round three and four of the Heineken Cup. Munster are due to face the Newport Gwent Dragons in Rodney Parade first followed by the return leg in Thomond Park. Anthony Foleys mantra of “we’re better when we’re bitter” should have been a warning to the Dragons but for some unknown reason three days before the game prop Rhys Thomas and outhalf Ceri Sweeney decide to launch a few barbs at Munster in the press build up. Thomas refers to Munster as “An aging side” and “one of the weakest Munster sides for years”. Sweeney offers the idea that “Stringer and ROG can be intimidated”. The Welsh press runs with the “Dads Army” angle and Munster players aren’t happy.
Munster vs Dragons: M Lawlor; J Kelly, G Connolly, T Halstead, A Horgan; R O’Gara, P Stringer; M Horan, J Flannery, J Hayes; D O’Callaghan, M O’Driscoll; D Leamy, D Wallace, AFoley capt
Replacements: F Roche, D Fogarty, T Hogan, S Keogh, T O’Leary, J Manning, B Murphy.
Gary Connolly and Trevor Halstead remain in the centres. Mossie Lawlor takes over at full back with Shaun Payne unavailable. Mick O’Driscoll continues to deputise for Paul O’Connell. The Munster fans pack Rodney Parade for their pre Christmas drinks outing with Santa outfits being the order of the day. Tries from Denis Leamy and Marcus Horan give Munster a 24-8 win but no bonus point. Sale win away in France on the Friday 16-20 to keep the pressure on Munster.
The return leg is on Saturday the 17th December with Munster putting out a strong side.
Munster vs Dragons: S Payne; J Kelly, G Connolly, T Halstead, A Horgan; R O’Gara, P Stringer; M Horan, J Flannery, J Hayes; D O’Callaghan, M O’Driscoll; D Leamy, D Wallace, A Foley capt.
Replacements: F Pucciariello, D Fogarty, T Hogan, S Keogh, T O’Leary, J Manning, B Murphy.
Munster are 18-17 down with ten minutes left but two Ronan O’Gara penalties and a last gasp Jerry Flannery try put a gloss on 30-18 victory in Thomond Park. The lack of a bonus point is another worry for Kidney with Sale four from four and top of the group.
Leinster are also struggling in Europe. They pick up a losing bonus point at home in the RDS in their opening match of the pool 22-19, with Felipe Contepomi scoring all 19 points against Bath. They then won 33-20 in Glasgow with Contepomi scoring 18 points and being the star of the show. The back to back games in December start well with a seven try 53-7 win at the RDS over Bourgoin. However the return leg in France sees them lose 28-30 with Contepomi yellow carded for fighting and Bourgoin scoring a penalty in the third minute of stoppage time to win the game. Prior to Christmas neither Munster nor Leinster look like they will be a serious factor in the knockout stages of the Heineken Cup. For Munster specifically the lack of bonus points look to be a major issue.
Munster beat Connacht 36-17 in the Christmas game with Paul O’Connell’s return from injury the main talking point. Also worth noting is Barry Murphy being given gametime at 13, Donnacha O’Callaghan being tried at blindside and Denis Leamy taking the seven jersey.
Munster vs Connacht: S Payne; A Pitout, B Murphy, G Connolly, A Horgan; J Manning, T O’Leary; F Pucciariello, D Fogarty, J Hayes; T Hogan, P O’Connell capt; D O’Callaghan, D Leamy, S Keogh. Replacements: M Horan, J Flannery, M O’Driscoll, A Foley, P Stringer, R O’Gara, J Kelly.
All eyes now turn to the RDS for the New Years Eve clash of between Leinster and Munster. Felipe Contepomi sees this as his chance to exact revenge for the incidents in the game at Musgrave park earlier in the season. Brian O’Driscoll would start his first game back from the serious injury he suffered on the Lions tour.
Munster: S Payne; J Kelly, B Murphy, G Connolly, A Horgan; R O’Gara, P Stringer; M Horan, J Flannery, F Pucciariello; M O’Driscoll, P O’Connell; D Leamy, D Wallace, A Foley capt Replacements: J Hayes, D Fogarty, T Hogan D O’Callaghan, M Prendergast, J Manning, T Halstead.
Leinster: G Dempsey; S Horgan, B O’Driscoll, G D’Arcy, K Lewis; F Contepomi, G Easterby; R Corrigan, B Blaney, W Green; M O’Kelly, B Williams; C Jowett, K Gleeson, J Heaslip. Replacements: R McCormack, D Blaney, A Byrnes, E Miller, B O’Riordan, J Hepworth, D Hickie
There was no doubting that this was to be Felipe’s day and in front of a then record Celtic League crowd of 14,000 Contepomi orchestrated Munster’s downfall. Munster started the game well and playing into a strong breeze looked like they were going to go in at the break only two points down before Shane Horgan broke through some weak tackles to score under the posts to give Leinster a 18-9 lead. Both Felipe and Reggie Corrigan were yellow carded early in the second half which allowed Munster back into the game. Contepomi then showed his magic with a chip over the on rushing Munster defence which he collected himself to touchdown next to the posts. Munster weren’t finished and a Trevor Halstead try converted by O’Gara left Munster attacking in the final minutes to try and steal the game. As Munster attacked deep into injury time close to the Leinster 22, Barry Murphy knocked on, Guy Easterby put in a huge kick downfield and who else but Contepomi was there to put the icing on the cake and score the bonus point try in a 35-23 point win.
Contepomi had celebrated his chip and chase try under the posts by running up to the crowd and holding his hands up to his ears to taunt the Munster supporters about making noise while he kicked for goal in the first game in Musgrave Park earlier in the season. He ended the game with a yellow card, scoring 25 of his teams 35 points and making himself enemy number one for Munster fans. Not a bad way to end the year especially in the eyes of Leinster fans.
After the game Michael Cheika tried to reign in the expectations of media and fans. He said “It was good to have that win but, mate, they could have won it and we couldn’t have won down in Musgrave. So we need to keep things in perspective”. Very few journalists or pundits took heed. The press went to town on Munster who depending on who you read were one dimensional, lack width, lack depth, lack this, lack that. As Pat Geraghty, the Munster media manager said, the only thing they weren’t lacking at the time was critics. Former Munster player Tony Ward stuck the boot in harder than most, saying that Munster were a one trick pony, there inadequacies behind the scrum were an embarrassment and that if Munster had gotten a losing bonus point from the game it would have been a robbery. Donal Lenihan writing in the Irish Examiner seemed to be one of the very few voices of reason at the time. He noted that Munster were trying something new, moving away from their traditional forward power game and that rugby is a multi-faceted game. “Different teams have different styles. For the well-informed rugby supporter there is as much beauty in watching a well choreographed 20-yard driving maul as there is in watching O’Driscoll, D’Arcy and Contepomi working in unison.”
Declan Kidney left the RDS that with many questions to answer. Should he stick with the expansive game plan that had cost them the game? Did he need to change the personnel to ensure the evolution of style succeeds? Other people may have actually questioned if he made the right move going back home to Munster. As the clock struck midnight a new year and effectively a new era in Irish rugby was ushered in. Nobody could have foreseen what was going to happen in the coming months but Kidney would use the negative press reaction from the game in the RDS to challenge the Munster players to respond and prove their doubters wrong.
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