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Peter Stringer puts boot in on Munster's lame URC exit
By Stefan Frost
Former Ireland great Peter Stringer slammed the lukewarm performance of Munster on Friday night as they crashed out of the URC playoffs following a 36-17 loss to provincial rivals Ulster.
Now out of both the Heineken Champions Cup and URC, the Johann van Graan era has come to an end in rather underwhelming fashion.
Stringer - himself a two-time Heineken Cup winner with Munster - was sad to see his former side flounder on their way to conceding five tries.
“It was very disappointing, it just seemed like the attitude wasn’t there [on Friday],” the former scrum-half told RTÉ Sport.
"From minute one the team seemed to be playing as individuals, there were a lot of errors. They were not focused on the game. For a Munster side in a knockout game, it felt like a pre-season game.”
Munster last won the league back in 2011, but managed to reach the Pro14 final last season, falling to Leinster at the final hurdle.
2021/22 has been a mixed campaign for Munster. Despite some impressive performances on the European stage, Munster's league form has been patchy. The loss to Ulster has now extinguished all hope of silverware, leaving critics to run the rule over Van Graan's mediocre rein as head coach in Limerick.
“The frustration lies around a couple of good games in Europe, Exeter and Toulouse, and the Ulster [regular-season] away game, some really good performances. There was so much at stake, this Munster side need to win something, they want to win something.
“They didn’t exude confidence. Those simple basics: aggression at the breakdown, carry hard, latching on, simple things that don’t take a huge amount of talent. Simple unforced errors. The players have got to put their hands up and take responsibility.”
Fellow pundit Bernard Jackman went on to question why Van Graan remained the figurehead at the club after he handed in his notice before Christmas to confirm a move to Bath.
“I think it’s a difficult task for [incoming head coach] Graham Rowntree,” said the former Leinster hooker. “I think Munster made a mistake not letting Johann go six months ago because now you don’t know how Graham is a head coach. He’s got to learn.
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John, McKenzie was 10 years ago and he only lasted 15 months until the disgustingly unfair affair that brought him down. I thought that if he didn't get another gig over Eddie V2 then he was done. I read that he had been approached but declined to put his name in the ring.
There are no potential Wallaby coaches outside of McKellar unless you have some inside info?
Go to commentsThe way they are defending is sometime pathetic to be honest. Itoje is usually on the inside of the rush and he is paired with a slower tight forward. Unable to keep up with the rush we have seen the line become disconnected on the inside where the big boys are. How many times have we seen Earl rush past the first receiver almost into no mans land covering no attacker. It looks like a system without any guidance. Tome Wright, Ikitau and a number of Wallabies went back to this soft centre as did Williams, Jordan and several others. Also when the line is broken the multiple lines of defence seems to be missing. The rush is predicated on a cover and recovery system with multiple lines of defence but with England you dont see it any more. Fitness and conditioning seems to be off as well as players are struggling to keep up with the intensity of the rush. Felix Jones has left a huge hole. The whole situation was and is a mess. Why they insist on not letting him go and having him work remotely is beyond me. Its leading to massive negative press and is a hot button issue thats distracting from the squad. Also the communication around Jones and his role has been absolute rubbish and is totally disjointed. While some say he is working remotely and playing a role others are saying theres been no contact. His role has not been defined and so people keep asking and keep getting different answers. England need a clean break from him and need to start over. Whatever reason for his leaving its time to cut the rope before the saga drags the whole Borthwick regime down. As for Joe El Abd well good luck to him. He is being made to look like an amateur by the whole saga and he is being asked to coach a system thats not his and which has been perfected and honed since 2017 by Nienaber, Jones, Erasmus and Co and which was first started by White in 2004. He is literally trying to figure out a system pioneered by double world cup winning coaches at the highest level and coach it at the same time. Talk about being on a hiding to nothing.
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