Round four of the BKT United Rugby Championship is set to be an absolute cracker, headlined, of course, by the record-breaking clash between Leinster and Munster at the iconic Croke Park stadium.
The match at the home of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) looks set to attract more than 80,000 fans and be on par with the famous 2009 clash between the two sides.
On that day, a 24-year-old Johnny Sexton would lay down a challenge to then-Irish incumbent Ronan O’Gara in what has since become a key time stamp in the sport’s history on the Emerald Isle.
O’Gara entered the clash having guided Munster to two Heineken Cup titles in 2006 and 2008, as well as landing the now famous drop goal against Wales in the 2009 Six Nations, which secured Ireland a first Grand Slam in sixty years.
Sexton, on the other hand, had, to that point, been somewhat of an afterthought in both Leinster and Irish Rugby. Playing second fiddle to Argentinean international Felipe Contepomi, Sexton, to that point, looked unlikely to be the next big thing for Irish Rugby.
Of course, as they say, the rest is history as Contepomi exited that fixture with an injury early in the contest, and Sexton came on and took control of the Leinster machine. Fast forward to today, and Sexton, who has now since retired, would go on to win 118 Irish test caps and would depart as the highest points scorer in Irish Rugby history, as well as winning the prestigious World Player Of The Year award in 2018 to go along with his five Six Nations titles (three Grand Slams). On the domestic front, he would lead Leinster to four Champions Cups and six league titles, and he would depart as the most decorated player in Irish rugby history.
Referencing this point, current Leinster and Ireland star James Lowe was appreciative of just how strong the interest in this rivalry remains today.
“I don’t think there are many other clubs around the world that would be able to fill out a 80,000 stadium for a round-robin match, week four of BKT URC. I don’t think that will be done very often,” Lowe said.
“It says a lot about the magnitude of the fans and I’m absolutely stoked that so many people want to come and watch the spectacle.
“It’s an amazing venue with so much history behind it. To be given the opportunity to play there against Munster is something we will never take for granted.”
As for the rivalry between the teams, the winger said: “There is a mutual hate of each other. You say it in the most respectful way.
“There are some excellent players in that Munster side. There are boys you are very friendly with when it’s in Ireland camp, but on Saturday that goes out of the window. I am still going to want to run over them and try and get one on them and I am sure they are saying the same thing on the other side.
“There is obviously a lot of history between the clubs. The last time Leinster played Munster there I can vividly picture Johnny Sexton screaming at Ronan O’Gara in the corner. Those are the images you remember. It’s a rivalry we cherish. There is a lot of respect between both clubs, but at the end of the day you want to have a go at them.”
In addition to the changing of the guard in the Irish flyhalf pecking order, that fixture signalled a shift in power from red to blue as Munster’s golden generation began to hit the twilight years of their careers. On the flip side, Leinster, who to that point had flattered to deceive on the biggest stage, have gone on to be one of the most consistently excellent domestic set-ups in professional rugby.
Taking into account this shift in power fifteen years ago, in almost poetic manner tomorrow’s contest has the potential to match the significance of that fixture.
Mirroring that contest, the record between the two sides in recent years is eerily similar to what it was back then but in reverse. Heading into the 2009 clash, Leinster had won just five of their previous fifteen encounters with their rivals with one draw mixed in but had clinched a league title the season before. This year, Munster will arrive with just three wins from the past fifteen against their rivals, with one of these wins coming in the 2022/23 URC semi-final, which the men in red would go on to win.
Focusing on tomorrow’s contest here are three key storylines that will go a long way to deciding the result.
Halfback Audition
Mirroring the clash of 09, this weekend’s head-to-head between the halfbacks has all the makings of a national team trial. For Munster, the pairing of Craig Casey and Jack Crowley, for all intents and purposes, is the future combination of the Irish team as things stand. Yet on the other side of the whitewash, current first-choice scrumhalf Jamison Gibson-Park will have no intentions of giving up his place without a fight, whilst his halfback partner Ciaran Frawley will be out to prove that he is the man to challenge Crowley going forward. To date, Crowley has transitioned seamlessly from apprentice to master following Sexton’s retirement. In simple terms, Crowley is a big game player with all of the skills to match his temperament. Frawley, too, appears to have the right make-up to be a top-quality ten, albeit he has yet to be fully backed by the Leinster coaching staff. Showing his full array of skills by sinking and mettle the Springboks in Durban with back-to-back long range drop goals. Frawley added further pressure to the Leinster coaching staff for their bizarre resistance to shifting away from the limited Ross Byrne in favour of a player who brings much more to the table in every department. Interestingly the similarities between the pair do not end there, with both men offering a physical presence in the flyhalf channel, which is key in operating the up-tempo styles of their respective provinces and the national team. In the scrumhalf role, Gibson Park has arguably challenged Antoine Dupont for the mantle as the best nine in the world for the past two seasons, whilst Casey has developed nicely behind him. Cruelly robbed of his chance to put a real challenge up to his Leinster rival during the July series when an RG Snyman clean-out saw him depart with a nasty-looking hit to the head, Casey, like Gibson Park, has hit the ground running so far in this young season. Given the age profile of the two men and the burgeoning depth of talent behind them, this season feels like a crucial point in time for the Irish number nine shirt. Should Gibson Park continue to hold off his Munster rival, one will have to question whether it will ever fully happen for Casey, with the likes of Ben Murphy, Nathan Doak, Fintan Gunne, Michael Devine and the more senior Cáolin Blade all in flying form. For this writer, Casey has long been the heir apparent, and this weekend, he will show that he is ready to snatch the shirt from his 32-year-old Leinster rival.
Battle Of The Benchs
One dark cloud that hangs over this otherwise stellar fixture is a growing injury list within the Munster camp. Missing several key starters once again early this season with Peter O’Mahony, Oli Jager, Shane Daly, Thaakir Abrahams and Diarmuid Kilgallen headlining the list of those on the injury list, questions have been asked about Munster’s ability to live with Leinster for the full eighty minutes. Speaking about this injury list, head coach Graham Rowntree was effusive in saying that he did not believe that there was any correlation between the province’s training methods and the injury list.
🗞️ TEAM NEWS | Alex Nankivell, Seán O’Brien, Stephen Archer & Gavin Coombes come into the Munster side for #LEIvMUN at Croke Park tomorrow 💥
Tom Ahern returns with Academy trio Kieran Ryan, Ruadhán Quinn & Shay McCarthy also among the replacements 💪
Full details ⤵️#SUAF 🔴
— Munster Rugby (@Munsterrugby) October 11, 2024
“You’re always reviewing what you do. We can’t shy away from our injury list but you have to be calm about this, you have to look at the correlation between what’s going on,” Rowntree said.
“These days, there’s a lot of data available, so we can plan training to the minute, we can plan the distance guys are running to the exact minute, and we’ve done that.
“We had a good drill-down into the data, and there’s no correlation between injuries. They’re all different. They may be in the same area, it may be in the leg, but they’re all different injuries from different aspects of the game. We had Shane Daly falling on his elbow awkwardly in Parma, Oli Jager with his neck, Pete [O’Mahony] pulls up with a hamstring at the weekend. There’s no correlation.
“You can be careful. At times like this, you chase and look under every stone. I trust the people who work for us, the sports scientists,” he added.
Irrespective of how the injuries occurred, they certainly leave Munster light on reinforcements to counter what will be a powerful Leinster bench with the likes of Ryan Baird, Max Deegan and Cian Healy to call upon. In saying this, the return of giant utility forward Thomas Ahern for the first time this season is a major boost for Rowntree’s side. At 6’10” and 120kg, the ultra-athletic Ahern is a player who many feel will challenge Baird for his place in the Ireland set-up if he can remain healthy. Thus, their personal battle this weekend will be one to track, as will the return of former Ireland U20 star Ruadhán Quinn, who has taken major strides since breaking into the first team. His clash with Deegan will be an intriguing battle of a player in Deegan who, at this stage, could be seeing his Irish ambitions on the verge of disappearing against Quinn, who feels destined to break through with the national side in the coming seasons. For Deegan, it is imperative that he performs to the best of his ability when given the rare opportunity to do so in a match of this magnitude.
Finally, one area where Leinster will feel they hold the edge in the battle of the benches is in the front row. Combining the exciting young pairing of Gus McCarthy and Tom Clarkson with the experience of Cian Healy. For Munster, Diarmuid Baron and John Ryan bring bundles of experience and will back themselves to guide former Ireland U20 standout Kieran Ryan in what is his biggest test on the professional stage to date.
🏟️ | 𝓡𝓮𝓪𝓭𝔂 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓒𝓻𝓸𝓴𝓮𝓻
Here is your #LeinsterRugby team to face@Munsterrugby tomorrow evening in Croke Park!#LEIvMUN #FromTheGroundUp pic.twitter.com/H9N7VuvqBp
— Leinster Rugby (@leinsterrugby) October 11, 2024
Big Match Mentality
Touching on the elephant in the room, arguably the biggest talking point heading into this weekend’s clash is the Leinster players’ perceived inability to handle the big moments. Falling just short in three consecutive Champions Cup finals and three URC semi-finals, as well as on the international stage in the Rugby World Cup quarterfinal, it would be easy to say that this side is incapable of closing when it counts. On the other hand, Munster, with a significantly less heralded squad, entered the clash just a season removed from winning a URC title, which they backed up with a run to the top of the table last season before losing to eventual champions Glasgow. Of course, comparing the league to the Champions Cup is a case of comparing apples to oranges, given the quality of the big French squads. Yet, the point remains that to date, this Leinster side, for all of their quality and the in-depth think pieces around their greatness, has won nothing. Of course, taking into account that this is still just a league-round match, the question of their ability to win the big titles will remain, but this is a perfect trial run in front of what will be a raucous crowd. This brings us to the point of Munster’s ability to stay in the fight. Should the men in red be within touching distance heading into the final ten minutes, it is hard to imagine that the ghosts of failings past won’t have any bearing on this Leinster team. As they say winning the war is more important than winning the battles. Should Munster’s big-game players get yet another big-time win over their rivals, then the record between the two sides will mean little in the overall context of this rivalry.
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