Cape Town — An up-and-down season will come to a close on Saturday for Munster when they take on the Stormers in Cape Town (kick-off 6.30PM) for the United Rugby Championship (URC) title.
But the good thing for the side is that their upward curve in form probably arrived at the right time of the season for them to challenge for the trophy. IOL Sport’s Leighton Koopman takes a look at the Munster side and what they can bring on Saturday.
Who are Munster?
A team with a rich rugby history that Stormers coach John Dobson described as similar to that of the Stormers. On more than one occasion he waxed lyrical about Limerick and the stadium Thomond Park as a ‘cathedral’ of rugby.
Over the years, Munster had Irish greats like lock Paul O’Connell, scrumhalf Peter Stringer, and flyhalf Ronan O’Gara who recently coached French club La Rochelle to back-to-back Champions Cup victories. It was also home to CJ Stander, the South African-born flanker who made a name and a family over there.
Currently, they have Irish internationals in scrumhalf Conor Murray, winger Keith Earles and flanker and captain Peter O'Mahony steering the ship. They've won the URC, formerly the Pro12, four times, and the last time was in 2011. Some supporters will feel it’s about time to lift the silverware again.
They are the only team this season to beat the Stormers at DHLStadium and could become the only team to beat the Stormers in a URC play-off if they achieve the victory.
An up-and-down and up again season
It’s been an up-and-down, see-sawing season for the team from Thomond Park.
To be fair, at the start of their campaign, it did not look like they were going to follow up their play-off berth from last season.
They only managed to win four of their first 10 URC games, with only one of those coming against an Irish side. But when the year turned they won five on the trot in the competition and ended the campaign with a good victory over the Stormers to seal a play-off berth.
Progressing to the final, they beat Glasgow Warriors (quarters) and Leinster (semis) away from home and now they have one more big task away from home to seal the URC title.
Munster’s threats are up front, but beware of the kick(s)
They will rely heavily on captain O’Mahony when it comes to leadership and slowing down the possession of the Stormers. But he is also a good line-out option as he disrupted the Cape side’s line-out the last time around.
He will work in tandem with RG Snyman to muzzle the Stormers’ rolling mauls, something they did successfully when they beat the Cape side in front of their home fans.
Then there is the eighth man Gavin Coombes, who is not afraid to put his body on the line for his side.
It’s clear to see that Munster’s strength lies with their pack of forwards and the various threats they pose.
But the kicking boots of semi-final hero Jack Crowley and Ben Healy, who still needs to pass concussion protocols, will be vital in the final.
Best game of the season
Arguably it’s the semi-final win over Leinster as it sealed their berth in the final, although they have to travel.
But in this match they managed to upstage their more fancied Irish brothers, biding their time to seal the win with a drop goal. Of course, many will say it was not Leinster’s strongest side, but Munster were without Snyman, Malakai Fekitoa, and scrumhalf Murray. O’Mahony was also off the pitch while they were holding on in the game when Leinster tried to bury them.
They patiently defended, even when Leinster had the upper hand in the scums, and got into position for centre Crowley to send them through to a first final in the expanded URC via a drop goal.
Their South African connections
Over the years, several South Africans made their mark for the Irish club, especially at a time when they were seen as one of the big clubs in the world – not that anything has changed.
Most notable is CJ Stander. For someone who was seen as “too small” to play flanker at the Bulls, he became a household name at Thomond Park and a household name in the Irish national jersey.
Lock Jean Kleyn can be considered a Munster legend too. He achieved Irish colours via the club and is currently wreaking havoc as a lock pairing alongside Springbok Snyman.
Other South Africans who starred at Munster include former Bok BJ Botha, who initially joined from rivals Ulster, as well as Springbok centres Trevor Halstead, Jean de Villiers, and Damian de Allende. SA flanker Chris Cloete also became a cult hero at Thomond Park, while Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber and director of rugby Rassie Erasmus coached at the Irish province.