Donal Lenihan: International window perfectly timed to take spotlight off Munster

Even if Munster’s predictable positive performance had yielded a win, a distinct possibility entering the last ten minutes, it would only have served to paper over the issues facing the squad and the organisation as a whole.

It’s far more important that Munster back up last Saturday’s positive showing when their URC campaign resumes with a difficult outing against a rejuvenated Lions side at the end of the month. The high-flying South African outfit may well prove a more challenging proposition than last weekend’s visitors.

The players have earned the ten-day break that’s coming their way, none more so than the grossly overworked front row combinations that have been, literally, pushed to the brink over the last three weekends of action.

I suspect Munster’s brains trust will also be pleased with the fact that everyone’s attention now shifts to the international stage where some mouth-watering contests await. It’s rare for Ireland to host four tests in the November window but, with Andy Farrell due to head off on his Lions sabbatical next month, the next few weeks offer him the chance to set the ground rules for what’s to follow in his absence.

Such has been the consistency of performance of late, it’s proving difficult for emerging talent to break into the Irish side. That’s what happens when you travel to the land of the back-to-back world champions and return with a drawn series as Farrell’s team did last July.

Despite Ireland’s status as World Rugby’s top seed, the Springboks are the best team in the game at the moment. One of the defeats that impacted on South Africa being relegated to second spot in the rankings was the 29-28 defeat to Argentina in Santiago in September.

In selecting his side for that game, Rassie Erasmus had one eye firmly placed on the future, despite the fact that a win would have secured the Rugby Championship for the first time since 2019 with a game to spare.

In selecting a largely second-string team, he wanted to expose a number of his back up troops to the pressure cauldron of having to win a big test, in a hostile environment, away from home. But for a missed penalty by Manie Libbok at the death, they would have achieved that goal.

Unbowed, Erasmus selected Libbok to start again the following week in a much stronger selection that overwhelmed Argentina 48-7. Their coronation may have been delayed by a week but Erasmus achieved the dual objective of securing silverware while exposing a raft of inexperienced players to the rigours of international rugby.

By doing so, he has already stolen a march on his international counterparts as he charts a path towards the Springboks becoming the first country to win three World Cups in a row. Even the mighty All Blacks haven’t achieved that.

Right now, New Zealand are struggling to be classified in the ;mighty’ category, carrying nothing like the invincible aura of old. New head coach Scott Robertson is someone I’ve admired from a distance for a long time on the back of the brilliant rugby his Crusaders sides produced in his seven years at the helm.

Introduced to him in a restaurant in Tokyo during the 2019 World Cup, I was almost jogging on the spot such was the infectious enthusiasm he brought to the table while discussing the game. He’s been the All Blacks head coach in waiting for a long time and was eventually handed the reins when the under-appreciated Ian Foster stepped down after the defeat to South Africa in the 2023 World Cup final in Paris.

Despite having a clear understanding of the role he was about to undertake, even Robertson has been taken aback by the pressure cooker around the job. The New Zealand public expect their team to win every time the take to the field, regardless of the opposition.

A return of three wins from their six Rugby Championship outings only served to highlight how vulnerable the All Blacks are at present. While there was no shame in narrowly losing back to back tests away to South Africa, being beaten 30-38 to Argentina in Wellington proved an entirely different matter.

That’s why I was so interested to see how they would launch their European tour against England last Saturday. In the end, Robertson’s men were haunted to secure a narrow two-point victory on the back of a missed penalty and subsequent drop goal attempt from the normally reliable George Ford at the death.

The relief on the faces of the tourists was evident and, who knows, that escape to victory may yet prove transformative. What it also showed is that while they may be lacking the x-factor players of old – think Aaron Smith, Dan Carter, Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith – across their back line, they still possess the mental resilience and fortitude to win a game they should have lost.

That said, Ireland must be targeting a win over the visitors in Dublin, especially with two key figures in Beauden Barrett and Codie Taylor ruled out due to head injuries picked up in Twickenham.

All the recent evidence suggest that, overall, Ireland possess a stronger match day squad at present but need to prove that where it matters most, on the hallowed turf of Lansdowne Road on Friday night. More on that in my match preview here Friday.

A second Friday night lights outing in a row, against a rapidly improving Argentina side under the impressive tutelage of new head coach Felipe Contepomi the following week, will prove every bit as challenging as the opening test.

The hype surrounding the New Zealand game on the back of losing the quarter-final to them at the World Cup, means that everyone within the squad will be revved up to the gills and ready to hit the ground running for that one.

If Ireland are in any way less energised for the game against Argentina, you can be sure Contepomi will have his charges primed and ready to exploit any fall off in intensity. There’s no escaping the fact that Ireland will be expected to deliver two wins from the opening two tests before starting a less experienced side against Fiji in week three.

I expected more from the Fijians in their opening test against Scotland where they found themselves 26-0 down after the first quarter. However, as last weekend’s tests were outside the official test window, they were missing a whole host of quality players who ply their trade in England and France and thus unavailable for selection. Their next game, against Wales on Sunday, should prove a far better barometer of what Ireland will be up against.

Farrell’s final outing in charge for eleven months comes, ironically, against the side his Lions touring squad will face in the test series next summer. If New Zealand look a slightly watered down version of their great sides of the recent past, Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies are struggling badly to stay afloat.

They launch their tour against England on Saturday and that will also prove highly interesting. It’s a game that Steve Borthwick’s side simply have to win. The additional game against Australia – traditionally Ireland have only staged three home tests in this window – has been arranged to mark the 150th anniversary of the IRFU. If, at the end of the month, Ireland are celebrating a clean sweep of wins, Farrell can depart on his sabbatical with an easy conscience.

Sitting in a sauna, drowning in sweat last Monday, my mind had started to drift when, from somewhere, a voice intervened. “Do you mind if I ask you a question…?” The sooner Munster appoint a new head coach the better. 

The next few weeks will prove both challenging and revealing on all fronts.