Munster got back to winning ways in torrential conditions in Cork on Saturday evening.
After shipping 75 points in two games, Rowntree's men responded well by keeping the Ospreys scoreless, ahead of their trip to Leinster next weekend.
Munster’s injury list is growing, but their quality was on show at Virgin Media Park during challenging weather conditions.
It is often thought that poor conditions can bring the level of play down and that it’s a leveller for teams of varying qualities. However, that is not the case.
When the game becomes more difficult, it is the team with rock solid basics and fundamental skill levels that will come to the fore. The leaders of the team will also come up with big moments, and a slice of luck will come into it too.
Shay McCarthy opened the scoring for Munster within 10 seconds of the kick off. From his perspective, there was a slice of luck with Owen Watkin fumbling possession. It was a very basic error from the Welsh international, despite the wind carrying Jack Crowley’s kick.
How about that for a start?!
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Munster with a try after just 10 seconds.
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It wasn’t sheer luck that got the ball into McCarthy’s hands either. He showed the right intent in his kick chase, had the skill level to pick the bouncing ball and his desire to play in terrible conditions allowed him to cross the line for Munster’s opening score.
The Ospreys would have been facing into the wind in the first half, talking about stifling the game and not allowing Munster to score easily. They would have been looking to hold possession for long periods, play with discipline to reduce Munster’s likelihood of building a lead and frustrate them with long periods between scores.
All that went out the window within the opening play and they made life difficult for themselves.
Munster weren’t without their errors either, they fumbled a couple of balls in the air themselves, however, they didn’t give up easy scores with their mistakes. There are always going to be errors within a game like that, limiting them and picking up scraps will go a long way to winning the game.
Munster’s half-backs managed the game particularly well. Craig Casey and Jack Crowley both put their team on the front foot with kicks in behind. Of course that’s easier to do with the wind at their backs, but they also kicked good contestable and challenging kicks in the second half.
Despite one kicking error, Conor Murray backed Casey up and brought continuity to that kicking game. Having international half-backs in such difficult conditions is a huge advantage and allowed Munster to dominate proceedings.
A bit of luck is still needed. When Crowley kicked long in the first half, his kick stopped about a metre short from the deadball line. Had it travelled just another metre, Munster would have been defending a scrum underneath their own posts. That’s the difference between Munster keeping a clean sheet and Ospreys gaining belief when playing into a gale.
On the flip side, Ospreys out-half Dan Edwards kicked a diagonal grubber, much like Crowley did in the first half, and it went over the sideline in the end goal area. It was about a metre on the wrong side of the flag. It handed possession back to Munster further up the pitch, instead of squeezing them into a corner that was impossible to get out of. Small differences, but they had huge impacts on the outcome.
Munster won the physicality battle and put a huge amount of focus on their defensive breakdown pressure. They made every ball difficult to win for the Ospreys and really upset their attacking rhythm. The Ospreys didn’t look comfortable in attack, whereas Munster were willing to throw a couple of extra passes to move the contact area when they played their more difficult half, into the wind.
You’d expect a reaction from defence coach Denis Leamy after the results in the last few weeks, particularly in terms of the Munster's physicality. The Ospreys were unfortunate in that they had to face a Munster side who had to play for a lot of pride, as well as needing a result.
The province had a number of individuals that really stood tall. Besides the half-back combination, Tadhg Beirne contested everything around the pitch on Saturday night. He took a real leadership role, as expected in his new captaincy.
He may have been on the wrong side of the whistle a few times, but he had his fair share of turnovers, including one in the corner, about five metres from his tryline at a critical juncture in the game.
Mike Haley was the usual safety net in the Munster backfield and Tom Farrell defused many situations from Ospreys chip kicks over their defence.
Even one mental lapse from Haley, Farrell and the rest of the backline could give the Ospreys an entry to their 22 and an opportunity to claw back the scoreline.
Munster’s scrum was on top, their lineout, maul and maul defence were superior and their quality over the Ospreys was evident in the final result.
In fairness to the Ospreys, at times when they competed well and disrupted Munster, the ball didn’t fall their way, but they didn’t give themselves the same opportunities to get on the scoreboard and never dealt with the level of physicality that was needed to overturn a hurting Munster side.
The Munster try that sealed the deal in the second half came from a lineout play, set up in the midfield from a Fitzgerald carry, followed by a short side trick play that became synonymous with Joe Schmidt’s coaching. It exposed a basic defensive error from the Ospreys, who never set their foundational defence on both sides of the ruck.
Munster finished their chance well with Jack O'Donoghue getting over the line, but it showed that the Ospreys were off the pace on the night. Munster earned a bonus point, while the Welsh side came away with nothing.
Munster’s injury list and squad depth might get exposed next weekend, travelling to play Leinster who have maximum points, while their international contingent returned last weekend in their bonus point victory away against Benetton.
It could be a tough weekend on the road for Munster. Interprovincial derbies take on a life of their own, but Munster will need big moments to back up their victory from last weekend.
Watch Leinster v Munster in the URC on Saturday from 5pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to live commentary with Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
