"Boring" Munster unabashed
Munster star rejects criticism of Red Army's style
Last updated: 26th May 2008
O'Callaghan: Unapologetic
Related links
News
- Toulouse pair relishing battle
- Edwards backs Munster glory
- Kidney: Expect the unexpected
- Bru: An immense challenge
- Euro visions
- Silver rush
- Pelous wary of Munster
- Wallace: Tough challenge
Preview
Article/Blog
Also see
Donncha O'Callaghan remained unapologetic as Munster put efficiency before entertainment to claim a bruising 16-13 Heineken Cup victory over Toulouse.
Munster's powerful pack did much to curb the exuberance and flair of their French opponents with the boot of Ronan O'Gara eventually proving decisive.
Having edged ahead with a quarter of an hour remaining, the Red Army closed out the game in clinical fashion, even declining a late penalty to ensure Toulouse had no chance of getting the ball back in hand.
While never a thrilling spectacle, it mattered little to outgoing coach Declan Kidney and his troops with O'Callaghan insisting the ends had more than justified the means.
"It may be boring but who cares?" the Irish international stated defiantly. "I have got a medal in my pocket.
"It's incredible. We knew it was going to come down to small margins. The thing is that you learn from experience from the tight games you play like this before.
"It comes from playing in the All Ireland League, schoolboy rugby and how to win it out. It might be boring but who cares? It is effective for us.
"There was just such a great sense of belief even when we were behind the posts after their try (to level the scores at 13-13).
O'Callaghan admitted he and his team-mates were delighted to wave new Ireland coach Kidney and his staff off with a win, and second Heineken Cup triumph, adding: "It's great that we are sending the coaches off on the biggest high possible."
Kidney emotional
For his part, an overjoyed Kidney said: "It was an emotional dressing room - it was a special place to be.
"To win this trophy once is special, but twice is a dream, it is something else. Not many teams finish on top against Toulouse."
Another harsh lesson for Kelleher
Toulouse's New Zealand scrum half Byron Kelleher found himself on the end of more Millennium Stadium heartbreak having also been part of the All Black side defeated 20-18 by France at the same venue in the World Cup quarter final last year.
With effective rather than expansive rugby once again having won the day, Kelleher admitted there were lessons to be learnt in the pursuit of success.
"Finals are about winning and you do whatever it takes to win," he conceded.
"The reputation of the All Blacks is definitely being able to play with the ball and we have players who have natural ability to do that.
"But we weren't smart enough in that World Cup. You have to integrate the two together because in finals and in the World Cup the style changes.
"Munster know how to be smart, they certainly know how to close out a game. It was similar to the World Cup, where teams went into a nutshell and played safe and boring rugby to win the game.
"I think it is really good for New Zealanders to experience playing over here and hopefully then return home to grow the knowledge in New Zealand."
| Time | Fixture |
|---|---|
| Guinness Premiership | |
| Saturday 6th September | |
| 14:30 | London Irish vs Wasps |
| 17:00 | Saracens vs Harlequins |
| Sunday 7th September | |
| 13:30 | Northampton vs Worcester |
| 15:00 | Bristol vs Bath |
| 15:00 | Newcastle vs Sale |
| 16:00 | Gloucester vs Leicester |
Features
Return of the Saints
Dewi Morris previews a cracking start to the Guinness Premiership as Northampton host Worcester.
Raising the bar
Former England coach Brian Ashton spoke to skysports.com about the new Guinness Premiership season.
Saints are back!
The Rugby Club spoke to Saints coach Jim Mallinder about Northampton's return to the Premiership.
Experts & Blogs
Latest Rugby Union News
Exiles take sting out of Wasps
Wasps had a disappointing start to their Guinness Premiership title defence as London Irish cruised to a 26-14 win on Saturday.
Guinness Premiership latest
The new season gets under way with London Irish hosting Wasps and Saracens facing Harlequins. Click for the latest.
Scarlets start with away success
The Scarlets claimed an impressive opening day victory as they beat Ulster 16-9 at Ravenhill on Friday.
Ospreys up and running
The Ospreys got their Magners League season off to a winning start with a 16-3 win over Connacht at the Sportsground on Friday.
Parks steers Glasgow to victory
Glasgow kicked off the new Magners League campaign by recording a hard-fought 12-6 win over the Dragons at Rodney Parade on Friday.
Comments
Ivor Lanning says...
Some of the comments about Munster rugby are sad to read. Whatever the media or fans' comments, it degrades the game to hear the remarks that have come from great players like Ellisalde disparaging a cup-winning team. His comments seem to amount to nothing more than giving out that Munster didn't give Toulouse the ball and if they had, Toulouse would have won the game. Toulouse HAD the ball, a lot of it for 25 minutes in fact and managed to squander opportunities to take anything more than 3 points away. Jauzion and Heymans aside, the much talked-up Toulouse backs didn't play the way they should have. And if JB Ellisalde was unhappy that his team didn't get to run with ball in hand at the Munster defence enough, he should perhaps look at how players like Dowling dug in at contact to get his hands on the ball in the first place. Munster held on to the ball because they fought for it. And the win showed they put more effort into doing that than Toulouse did. They didn't expect the opposition to hand it over to them. In addition, if Munster's rugby is so boring and predictable shouldn't people like Bru and Noves have put some kind of gameplan together to counteract it? It doesn't say much for the coaching staff of a team that are expecting to face style "X", get style "X" and never bother to come up with a reply to style "X". It unfortunately says more about the players that they moan about it after the fact. A great season by Munster, many memorable games and wins and plays. New blood brought into the team and squad and good signs for the future.
Posted 13:52 26th May 2008
Tomas Cotter says...
well done Munster. they did what they had to do and entertaining or not their fans will always want to watch them and see them win no matter how they do it. Toulouse are the best counter attacking team in Europe but you cant counter attack if you dont have the ball and it was nice to see Munster showing common sense that was probably lacking against Saracens and nearly cost them the game allowing them to run at them over and over by failing to find touch. Bring on the all blacks Munster will stick it to them better than the Irish national side ever could. Irish by birth, Munster by grace of God!!!
Posted 11:50 26th May 2008
Ken Condon says...
It's all about winning ,,, you can play free flowing attractive rugby then get taken apart up front by Munster loose the game and who remembers your free flowing rugby then ,,, New Zealand remember the World cup Why ?? and Tolouse will remember :) Go on Munster !!!!!
Posted 11:15 26th May 2008
Eugene Leach says...
so many begrudging comments ,blaming referees, instead of hailing Munsters "all style rugby" which has been greatly expanded on this season. The 3 All Blacks have given this team a dimension, and threats they havent posessed previously.Munster know were there strengths lie, and have worked hard in adding an attacking threat to there armour.Howletts (correctly disallowed try) running and menace all over the park, a c ase in point. Apart from opening 25 minutes, they controlled the game, and while it might not have been a free flowing spectacle. It showed two great teams probing each other for weaknesses. Few complained when England dominated games with huge forwards grinding out results !. The thing that sets this team apart, is the "Munster Ethic" , no stars,grounded men, living up to a tradition, and carrying it and passing the mantel on.
Posted 11:05 26th May 2008
Daragh Henchy says...
What an extraordinary analysis of the match. This could never have been considered a boring match, by any stretch of the imagination, and the performance by both teams was immense. I also do not believe that O'Callaghan has be represented correctly here. It was a marvellous occasion, incredibly exciting, riveting to the final whistle. Well done to Munster on an outstanding display. The only thing that could have injected boredom into this final would have been the involvement of an English side.
Posted 09:41 26th May 2008
Andrew Bradfield says...
This really is a sad thing to see you only comment on how boring they were not that they were controlled. Our centers were far better than the french ones and if not for there savage try they really offered very little and if they cant change there style of game to suite the match then they don't deserve to win
Posted 08:56 26th May 2008
Quentin Dwane says...
Toul qualified from the group stages with 20 points Mun qualified from the group of death with 19 points, it should have told you that mun play to win,not pretty to lose. You are suffering from (MVS) i.e. moral victory syndrome we were the better team.
Posted 06:34 26th May 2008
Dealga O'callaghan says...
Munster deserve their victory because they played for it. In a final such as this teams have to play to win, and have to do what it takes to win and Munster did just that. True it was not a show piece game, but finals like this rarely are. Munster put points on the board and did what it took to frustrate Toulouse and keep the ball from them. I thought they played a brilliant tactical game, soaked up the pressure in the first quarter and got the measure of Toulouse, then attacked for points and then played to retain the lead. By the third quarter one couldn't see how the great Toulouse could come back. A great day and a deserved victory.
Posted 20:41 25th May 2008
M Oose says...
Did England not dominate years ago, and come to think about it more recently (ok they've not dominated recently) by playing forwawd focused rugby. Anyone who watches Munster regularly this season will know we have been progressive in our back play. Anyway I don't care if anyone calls us boring, we did what we had to do and are european champions again. In 20 years the record books will read Munster beat Toulose 16-13, but it wont say they killed the game off for the last 15 minutes. Ha Ha. Go Munster, so proud of you, and all the other red army fans that were there aswell, have you ever heard so much noise!
Posted 17:50 25th May 2008
Caroline O'riordan says...
Well done to Munster! Much deserved win. Played the game out tactfully to stay in a winning position until the final whistle. The game was far from boring.
Posted 16:29 25th May 2008
Tim Haines says...
Dull, dull, dull.... I was hugely disappointed that the cynicism of Munster's play won out against Toulouse's desire to actually try and play some rugby. I know rugby is about more than "razzle dazzle", but can you imagine a world where all teams stoop to Munster's level of focussing on stopping the opposition rather than trying to play with style? It'd be the death of Union as a spectator sport.
Posted 15:27 25th May 2008
Add Comment*
All fields are required