The Monday Breakdown: Lack of power and dynamism in front-row haunts Reds

You don’t have to look too far to see just how much better Leinster were than Munster on Saturday, but a 75-second spell just after half-time summed up one of the biggest differences in quality between the two teams.

Having somehow gone into the break level at 6-6, Munster would have been feeling good about life, after weathering more than one Leinster storm.

Buoyed by the fact that they were still very much in the game, presumably the talk in the dressing-room at the break was all about starting the second half fast and building on a positive finish just before the restart.

After Joey Carbery kicked off, Munster got possession back from a Luke McGrath box-kick. Working their way through the phases, it soon became apparent that Munster were devoid of any creative spark as to how to break down the stubborn Leinster defence.

Damian de Allende, who came off second best in his duel with Robbie Henshaw all day, was stopped in his tracks by his opposite number along with some help from Rory O’Loughlin.

The ball was recycled for Niall Scannell, who was driven backwards at a rate of knots by another powerful double tackle, this time courtesy of Rónan Kelleher and Andrew Porter.

Two props smashing a hooker for a huge psychological advantage was soon followed by Jean Kleyn knocking the ball on.

From the resulting scrum, Leinster dismantled Munster, with Cian Healy putting John Ryan in all sorts of bother. Forty-five seconds passed between Kelleher and Porter hammering Scannell before the third member of Leinster’s front-row union came up with another big moment by winning the scrum penalty.

Before a ball had been kicked last weekend, there were serious concerns about how Munster’s front-five, and front-row in particular, would be able to withstand the power of Leinster.

Those fears quickly became a reality as the glaring gap in class between both sets of front-rows was laid bare.

None of Munster’s starting front-row have been in recent Ireland squads, and while James Cronin, Scannell and John Ryan have all been capped at international level, Andy Farrell was hardly watching on regretting the direction he has opted to move in since taking over as head coach.Munster have been hugely reliant on Dave Kilcoyne for some time now and that was further evidenced again at the RDS, as the loosehead came off the bench and was abrasive in his attempts to turn the tide.

Leinster’s trio, on the other hand, gave an exhibition of modern front-row play, as they produced a relentless display of power and dynamism, as well as being rock solid at scrum time.

Being able to call on Tadhg Furlong from the bench further highlighted the strength in depth at Leo Cullen’s disposal, as the Ireland tighthead built on excellent work done by Porterbefore him.

Porter played like a man with a point to prove having been forced to play second fiddle to the fit-again Furlong in recent weeks, and he certainly reminded everyone of his undoubted class as he seamlessly stepped in as first receiver on several occasions. Lions head coach Warren Gatland was surely impressed by what he saw.

Cian Healy was busy all game as the veteran loosehead showed the value of having a canny operator when it comes to finals rugby.

Meanwhile, Rónan Kelleher was exceptional as his powerful carrying and clever link play was a thorn in Munster’s side all afternoon.

So much of Leinster’s gameplan is based around forwards being able to comfortably link with the backs. It is a key area in the game that Munster have also placed a huge emphasis on under Stephen Larkham, but they were handed a stark lesson in how much work they still have to do.

Between them, Healy (nine), Kelleher (nine) and Porter (12), made 30 carries compared to Munster’s front-row, Cronin (0), Scannell (seven) and Ryan (two), managing only nine – the same number as both Healy and Kelleher had on their own.

The better teams do not seem to fear coming up against the current Munster front-row, which is why Toulouse will fancy their chances of going after them up front in Saturday’s Champions Cup clash. If Munster thought they had it tough against Leinster, Toulouse will arrive in Limerick with a front-row packed full of international class.

Loosehead Cyril Baille had an outstanding Six Nations with France, while Julian Marchand also enhanced his rapidly growing reputation as one of the best hookers in the game. Add in the vast experience of former All Black tighthead Charlie Faumuina, and the scale of the task on Munster’s hands becomes even more real.

Johann van Graan can, however, point to how his forwards have already got the better of a heavyweight French pack this season when Munster enjoyed a stunning win in Clermontbefore Christmas.

Josh Wycherley overcame some difficulties that evening to deliver a fine performance, but the 21-year-old Academy loosehead has been in and out of the team since. Munster are hopeful that Wycherley, the younger brother of senior lock Fineen, is one for the future, and there is no question the province needs an injection of youth over the course of next season.

Tighthead duo Keynan Knox (21) and Roman Salanoa (23) also have major potential. The sooner one or both of them push on, the better. for Munster.

Having worked hard to refine other positions in the team, it is now clear that the front-row is where immediate attention is needed.

Scannell hasn’t been able to kick on since being tipped as a long-term successor to Rory Best. Cronin is out of contract at the end of the season, while Ryan (32) and Archer (33) are not exactly new kids on the block.

Leinster’s front-row is easily one of the best in Europe and although some may argue that it is unfair to compare them to Munster, the reality is, that is the level Van Graan’s men must reach.

But right now, it’s clear becoming more apparent that they are falling further behind their more powerful and more dynamic rivals.

1 – Leinster identify Munster's two props, James Cronin and John Ryan, in midfield and set about exploiting them. Andrew Porter (yellow) offers himself as first receiver and plays a clever tip on pass to his front-row team-mate Rónan Kelleher, who has his arm out calling for the ball (black). The hooker makes a powerful carry through the defence, which should have led to a try, but for a loose pass out wide.

2 – We can see Leinster's attacking shape here as Leinster have their pod of three-forwards in midfield. Porter (yellow) again steps up as first receiver with the tighthead's other front-row colleague Cian Healy running a smart decoy line (black). Porter opts to pass out the back to Ross Byrne (red) who sets another attack in motion.

3 – On the very next phase, Kelleher takes on the responsibility of running the decoy line (black) off Byrne (yellow). The animation off the ball is crucial.

4 – Shortly after the above instance, Leinster work the short side off a lineout. Luke McGrath (yellow) exposes Ryan (number 3) in open-field as the scrum-half takes advantage of the two-on-one situation. Kelleher (red) again makes ground but Leinster again fail to capitalise out wide due to another sloopy pass.

5 – By this stage, Munster will have been used to seeing Porter (yellow) acting as play-maker as he has his hands out calling for the ball. Healy (red) provides the option on his shoulder with Byrne (black) out the back. Porter decides to vary the play and makes a strong carry.

6 – This is another good example of Leinster's attacking shape. Note the three-man pod of forwards (yellow) with Healy in the middle of Devin Toner and Josh van der Flier, while Porter (red) has positioned himself further out the line.

7 – Healy makes the carry and from the next phases, we see the value of Porter and Kelleher in midfield in a pod of two (yellow). That keeps the Munster defence guessing as Byrne (red) has plenty of viable options.

8 – Even when Leinster replaced their front-row, there was no let up from those who came on. Tadhg Furlong is now first receiver and his eye contact to stand up Dave Kilcoyne here is crucial as the tighthead draws the Munster prop in before playing a lovely pop pass to Rhys Ruddock.

9 – Ryan Baird brilliantly strips the ball from CJ Stander. Ed Byrne (yellow) reacts quickly and his immediate instinct is to counter-attack. Leinster's replacement loosehead passes to tighthead Furlong (red), who in turn releases Ruddock for another powerful break, which ends a Munster spell of pressure.

Online Editors