If Munster Can…… ?

In seeking to inspire in the present, team coaches often refer to the past and that was certainly the case earlier this week in the Munster camp.

You can be certain that the Munster players up in Dublin last Tuesday were glued to the television sets. And maybe all their colleagues as well. But if the Ireland squad didn’t see it live, it should have been compulsive viewing in the run up to the game this evening. No harm either if it were followed by the Munster v All Blacks 2008 encounter.

Because in both cases, it would show that it’s not the dog in the fight, but the fight in the dog that can carry the day.

Ireland are underdog today although not to the extent Munster were on Tuesday or to a greater degree they were in 2008. But surely the brains trust that oversee our national side will find a few common denominators that can be used to good advantage today ?

Or maybe they've had a word with the man who masterminded both those performances Tony McGahan ?

Factor out the weather last Tuesday. Forget about the atmosphere in TPS in 2008. Rather focus on the Munster performance, individually and collectively and therein perhaps lies the route to success this evening.

Ireland: R Kearney; T Bowe, B O’Driscoll capt, G D’Arcy, L Fitzgerald; J Sexton, E Reddan; C Healy, R Best, T Court; D O’Callaghan, M O’Driscoll; S Ferris, D Wallace, J Heaslip. Replacements: S Cronin, J Hayes, D Toner, D Leamy, P Stringer, R O’Gara, K Earls.

All Blacks: M Muliaina; C Jane, C Smith, M Nonu, H Gear; D Carter, A Ellis; T Woodcock, H Elliott, O Franks; A Boric, T Donnelly; J Kaino, R McCaw capt, K Read. Replacements: A Hore, J Afoa, S Whitelock, L Messam, A Matthewson, S Donald, S Williams.