Flattering Connacht men collapse in Thomond Park

Munster 42

Connacht 20

A solid beating in Munster isn’t going to derail a Connacht season, no matter what the objective. This won’t have been on the target list and a result of any kind on Saturday would have been a bonus but nevertheless, for the umpteenth time. Connacht cowed away from Thomond Park at the weekend tails between their legs.

For a neat encapsulation of the Munster dominance in this fixture, take Donncha O’Callaghan. He trudged off the field on 64 minutes like a boxer after a sparring match. He had toyed with Connacht (and the officials) throughout the afternoon. He has never been among the world’s best in his position and he knows that but he’s a nuisance, and if he gets into your head, he can dominate. Each and every time he takes to the field against Connacht on his home soil, he dominates.

Players like that are why Connacht have now played 39 away games against inter-provincial opposition in 13 years without winning a single match. Watching him jog off and shout some parting words at his speechless opponents underlined why he’ll retire with plenty of stand out memories of Connacht games.

A new generation of players will carry that mantle forward too. Take Billy Holland for example, he’s played in 17 of Munster’s 18 Pro12 games this year in the second row. He’s the new generation and it has taken him four years to really establish himself. He epitomises the Munster way, dogged, determined and unrelenting despite plenty of setbacks. Their number six, Dave O’Callaghan is another quietly effective war horse, Tommy O’Donnell too.

This was a game where – and cover the paper a little if you’re reading in Limerick – Munster actually lost the front row battle. Denis Buckley once again proved his calibre in edging Stephen Archer in every department. Rodney Ah You backed up a season’s best display against Cardiff with another one here and hooker Tom McCartney once again highlighted why he is a high quality acquisition, despite some errant lineouts.

Add to all that the fact that the usually dominant CJ Stander at eight had a relatively quiet game (by his high standards) after he was hit by a thunderous Ah You tackle 20 minutes in that put him firmly on the back foot. He toiled and harried but never dominated. Not like his back row and second row colleagues. It was here and in the half backs that Munster reigned supreme, but not until the final quarter.

We’ve got a long way into this story without mentioning a single one of the eight tries the larger than usual Thomond Park crowd were treated too. That’s because most of them came at the end. Here was a game that clearly highlighted why the notion that lots of tries guarantees entertainment is complete nonsense.

Full report in this week’s Connacht Tribune.