Battle of Castres Reflections

Lack of composure the prevailing theme 

Castres inflicted a first loss to Munster Rugby in Europe this season. A solitary point (13-12) between the two sides after an extremely physical, feisty and at times cynical contest. The prevailing word after watching the rerun of this contest was ‘composure’ or more to the point lack of for the two sides and officiating crew on duty. 

Munster Rugby weak points utterly exposed 

The pregame notes from Munster Rugby before this round four fixture was that the team would improve their attacking precision and accuracy in the set piece. This optimism was unfortunately misplaced as Munster Rugby produced another inconsistent performance with the ball while the line out continued to struggle all ends up. 

Emotions run high as accuracy suffers

An occasion which was guaranteed to be feisty given the round three contest six days prior, Munster Rugby fell into the trap of engaging with a side who were content in stifling by any means possible. The physical confrontation saw Munster Rugby composure ditched at the team hotel and an arm wrestle ensued. Given the experience in the starting lineup, it was a surprise to see the team struggle in this facet of play. 

The emotional dimension to the contest saw Munster Rugby indiscipline surface at regular times. The lead up to the opening Castres penalty score was a coaching killer. Niall Scannell pinged for a late hit on Urdapilleta. It set the tone for the rest of the contest as the visitors continued to flounder with ball in hand. 

Team Selection causing squad morale issues? 

Team selection in Munster Rugby once upon a time was based on player form and the mantra that a player had to earn his starting berth. What JJ Hanrahan must have thought at the start of last week when told that despite his man of the match performance in round three, that he would have to make do with a place on the subs bench? It would make you think of what other fringe players in the squad are thinking going forward and has the recipe to unsettle the first team squad as the season progresses. 

Kicking off the tee woes continue

Joey Carbery had an indifferent game, not helped by a distinct lack of game time with the province in recent weeks. A solid opening penalty kick suggested that the number ten would have a standout game but unfortunately for Munster Rugby, his kicking thereafter from the tee was hit and miss. Carbery was subject to a heavy hit early in the contest, just wondering if there was any after effects thereafter? Murray was also off target with a long distance penalty in the second half. The kicking off the tee statistics this season has been poor and continues the trend from last season where Munster Rugby were bottom in Pro 14 successful kick conversion rate. 

Munster Rugby Attacking Game Plan?

The attacking game plan under van Graan has been quite difficult to understand this season. Is the game plan pack orientated or not? The sight of Chris Cloete as first receiver and play maker last weekend did nothing to unsettle Castres.

It was again left to Conor Murray to force the attacking play as Carbery’s involvement in attacking move was stifled. The threat from the three quarters was frustrating minimal; not helped by stifling slow ruck ball and incisive passing. It meant that the likes of Conway and Earls were starved of quality possession to impress.

Mike Haley has been solid at full back but there are clear cohesion issues when he hits the line. Haley looking for offloading options but lack of support runners when the full back has the ball has been noticeable in recent weeks. What is the attacking game plan and identity of this Munster Rugby side? It appears to be inconclusive this season.

Line out issues hurting Munster platform creation

Line out woes continued this weekend. For the number of options at Munster Rugby’s disposal, the set piece misfired at an alarming rate of knots. Under throws, indecisive line out starting positions were the flavor of the day from Munster Rugby who were unable to successfully setup the platform from this set piece. The Castres line out was by and large dominant and their maul came to the fore in the third quarter resulting in the Niall Scannell yellow card. 

Scrum is a crumb of comfort

The scrum was fascinating to watch. Munster Rugby on reflection will be happy with this facet of play from their starting lineup. John Ryan continues to impress; his scrummaging was superb. Dave Kilcoyne also had good moments in the scrum as well as abrasive ball carries. The squad depth was exposed though as Loughman went backwards on the final scrum. 

Castres – Limited game plan works 

The French side were up for this contest. The feisty exchanges at Thomond Park last weekend set the backdrop and yesterday’s fixture continued in the same vain. It was a limited game plan executed by Castres but they fed off Munster Rugby inaccuracy throughout. With each passing visitor knock on or penalty win, you could see the belief in the Castres team soar. 

The tactics also were quite cynical at times. The eye gouging incident on Cloete was dangerous in the opening period. There was a couple of off the ball incidents as well and the incident where Peter O’Mahony was launched into the air before Andrew Conway’s try scoring opportunity should have merited more action from Wayne Barnes. There was an edge to the encounter and the officiating crew on both match days failed to command the contest. 

Officiating Crew Struggle

The officiating crew assessor report on this fixture will be interesting reading. The TMO performance fell well short of what is expected in this competition. Wayne Barnes’ direct communication to Rowan Kitt for the Castres try exposed a shaky response from the official upstairs.

The TV angles for the try looked inconclusive but Kitt forced to give an answer from a clearly impatient Barnes awarded the try. When Peter O’Mahony reported the eye gouging incident, the officiating crew seemed indifferent to the accusation. The subsequent replays do not look good for Rory Kockott and one would wonder what the TMO was looking at. 

The touch judges on duty did not want to get involved in calling key off the ball incidents. Wayne Barnes was exposed by his officiating crew and at times, Barnes needed eyes at the back of his head to figure out what was going on. Paul Dix literally was a foot away from a Castres player who decided to kick Sam Arnold on the touchline; no action. 

The officiating standard in these Munster Rugby December fixtures have left plenty to be desired. The lack of offside calls, the breakdown mess all added to a disorganized fixture. The sheer lack of consistency by different officiating crews from different countries in rounds three and four of this competition is a serious issue for the EPCR to address going forward.