As Munster lick their wounds from a 13-3 loss to Leinster in the Pro 14 semi-final, their former charge James Downey spoke to Off The Ball about their shortcomings.
Their defeat in the match on Friday night left supporters and commentators bemused at the performance given the noises from the Munster camp before the game.
One-dimensional Munster?
"When Munster played Leinster in the first game, they used the box kick and it was relatively effective and caused them some concern for a little while. I think they thought 'we caused them some havoc that way so we'll keep the pressure on.'
"It didn't work. They need to adjust, they need to change it up and have a different way of playing. If something isn't working, they need to change it. It has been the past couple of years as well, they have been chasing the game and they don't have anything to change it.They stick to exactly what they have been at.
"They have someone like Stephen Larkham there, I saw the Australia 20s team of his and they were throwing the ball around an awful lot.
"[Munster] have Keith Earls and Andy Conway on the wings and they are redundant. With [Damian] De Allende coming in that they would use him to try and get the ball to the wingers and it just hasn't worked.
"It is a cup game, but they need to bring a lot more. They keep falling short because they don't adjust their game plan."
Stephen Larkham
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Journalist Cian Tracey raised the issue that it may be Johann Van Graan's controlling streak that is limiting the likes of Larkham and his coaching staff having a decisive influence on style.
Downey feels that Van Graan is limiting his coaching staff's ideas to ultimately reflect his own. He also pinpoints a South African influence in the playing staff that affects the play.
"You can play all the ball you want, but if it doesn't fit into what Johann wants then it is not going to work," said Downey, before reiterating that Larkham would have been recruited for a different playing style.
"The problem that I can see as well is there are so many South Africans there that they look at the way the national team play and they just try to bully teams. It can work sometimes but not all the time. When it doesn't work, what do you go to?
"For certain players it has been great], JJ Hanrahan seems to have grown in such confidence [...] but if you're Keith Earls, you're tearing your hair out."
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