Embarrassing Munster crash to new low and heads have to roll. So,  who must go? Who needs to come in? And why this coaching ticket was doomed to fail from the start…

This is as bad as it gets. A new low. The lowest of lows. Humiliating, demoralising, shocking. All of the above combined.

And perhaps the most embarrassing aspect to it all was this happened in the Challenge Cup – a competition Munster used to openly deride has now become the back alley, off–Broadway stage the province is now reduced to performing on. 

This is a tournament for the bin juice, the also rans, the ‘there but for the grace of God’ gang – and Munster still can’t hack it.

Don’t be fooled by the ‘fightback’ in Sandy Park, when Exeter had clearly switched off – it was reminiscent of those games against France in the early 2000s when the French would build up a massive lead and then lose interest, allowing Eddie O’Sullivan to talk about ‘winning the second half’.

Yes, the Munster bench provided some impetus and players kept trying to the end but is that what we are supposed to applaud now, effort? From professional sportsmen?

Munster won the second half 21–0. Big swing. They lost the first half 31–0 and Exeter did not feel the need to score again. 

They took off man of the match Immanuel Feyi Waboso just after half time – it was party time in Devon and the visitor’s little late rally did nothing to dilute the sense of despair that enveloped anyone with a vested interest in Munster rugby during a first–half captitulation as insipid as their (fittingly) white jerseys.

CUP RUGBY

The success of Munster rugby in the professional era was founded on the clubs and their affiliation with cup rugby.

Players were reared on the Munster Senior Cup – a win at all costs competition played with feral intensity.

It meant that when the All–Ireland League came along in the 1990s, the Munster clubs were far more prepared for the step up and claimed the first nine titles.

That transferred beautifully into the province’s European odysseys in the 2000s. Munster were set up to win knock–out matches and it was beautifully simple – solid set–piece, claustrophobic defence, a clinical territory and possession based game and take your points.

It was all epitomised by the legendary out–half Ronan O’Gara, who steered Munster to two European titles and countless European wins with his boot and nous and who, to this day as one of the most respected coaches in the game, talks about the importance of a cup rugby mentality.

There was none of that on show in the first half yesterday when the game was lost. 

The scrum and lineout were way off the standard required, the defence was risible and instead of building their way into the game and manufacturing scores, Munster faffed about with the ball rather than keeping it simple and were ruthlessly picked off by Exeter as they got increasingly desperate.

And it was all so static. Taking the ball from a standing start with zero momentum and zero intent.

And this from the province that gave us Keith Wood – a hooker who came out of Munchins and Garryowen in the early 1990s and revolutionised forward play the world over with the way he tore on to the ball at full tilt.

This is basic stuff that kids are taught from under 7s up – always come on to the ball from depth to generate momentum – Munster were like statues and Exeter could not believe their good fortune.

THE BRAVE AND THE FATEFUL

You felt most sorry for the supporters that travelled over to Devon to watch that excrement. 

We are in the midst of another cost of living crisis and going to matches is not a cheap exercise – to make the effort, financial and logistical, to be there for the team and then be greeted with that first half and a 31–0 half time scoreline is insulting.

Those supporters deserve a refund.

No wonder, Munster are struggling to fill Thomond Park if this is what they are offering as entertainment.

There was a time when the road from Cork to Limerick would be clogged with cars on game day, and the arteries extending to other counties around the province but why would you bother now?

Go back 20 years and Munster were one of the biggest brands in the game – the story around 2008 (the year the province won their second European Cup in three seasons) was that the Munster jersey was second only to the All Blacks in terms of global jersey sales.

Wearing the jersey then was a source of pride for thousands of supporters from the province, and even from outside the province (remember the ‘Lunster’ phenomenon) but no longer.

Now, after a performance like the first half in Sandy Park and two weeks after their 45–0 humiliation by the Sharks in Durban, the jersey has become a badge of shame for many.

WIELDING THE AXE

They say a fish rots from the head down and the focus now has to be on Ian Flanagan and his utterly uninspiring tenure as Munster CEO.

That is nothing against the man personally, it is purely a business call because, bar the surprise annexation of a URC title three years ago, Flanagan’s time in charge has been a disaster.

Last week, Flanagan held a zoom call where he outlined how the province was looking for up to 100 voluntary redundancies.

Flanagan’s should have been the first hand in the air.

Bar the odd soft–soap chat with local outlets, Flanagan avoids media scrutiny, yet there is no sense of coherency or structure or vision or strategy under his watch.

The pathways have long been flagged as a problem in Munster – lagging far behind the Leinster schools–driven system – yet there has been no major plan to tackle this issue or address it publicly and now with the redundancies expected to include a clutch of community officers, the situation is likely to worsen again.

There are people in the province, involved in the the underage and club games, who came up with a strategy involving funded centres of excellence schools spread around the province with local talent funnelled in on scholarships from around the clubs.

But nothing has been acted on as Flanagan remains firmly in the shadows.

He was brought in with a background in finance and marketing in the world of professional football from his time with Leicester City.

But on his watch, Munster’s finances have plummeted with a noted shortfall in major sponsorship, while the failure to get a significant naming rights sponsor for Thomond Park, surely an open goal if ever there was one, is a major black mark.

Finally, it was widely known and reported that Flanagan put his name in the ring for the FAI CEO role recently, not a move to inspire confidence – and, with the way Munster are going now, if he wants away, he should be sent on his way.

THE GREAT DIVIDE

The Cork–Limerick divide in Munster continues to rip the province apart and nothing is being done to correct it.

Every week, you hear about the latest falling out or dispute between rival factions and all of them are holding the province back at a time when unity has never been more important.

Former IRFU high performance director David Nucifora spoke recently to Brendan Fanning in his book Touching Distance about the parochial, tribal carnage he was exposed to in Munster and he said the province would never progress as long as the warring factions continued to clash.

There is massive resentment around the province about Limerick being the self–proclaimed ‘home of Munster rugby’ with the other five counties, especially Cork, feeling excluded at a time when rugby in Limerick is at a particularly low ebb with hurling so prominent.

The sense is that the other counties are being ignored while Munster are squirrelled away in their den of failure up in UL and it is leading to a massive disconnect that is transferring onto the pitch.

How do you tackle this? Well, there is no quick fix to the Gordian knot of Cork-Limerick divide but there are easy steps the province can take to increase goodwill and collegiality.

For a start, take the team around the province, the way Leinster do. Hold Munster training sessions in Cork, Killarney, Clonmel, Cappoquin and Kilkee – bring the team to the people, make them feel involved and maybe that will help fill the vast banks of empty seats in Thomond Park. 

There is also scope to play more games away from Limerick – why not Semple Stadium or Fitzgerald Park, the way Munster have done so successfully in Páirc Uí Chaoimh. 

This issue can no longer be ignored – there is a siege mentality in UL and refusal to face the truth.

RIP UP THE TICKET

This coaching ticket was doomed from the start. And that is not hindsight talking. Back when Clayton McMillan was appointed last year, we raised serious concerns about the fact he was inheriting his assistant coaches, rather than bringing in his own people.

Any rudimentary knowledge of professional sport would show this policy rarely works and it was another flawed strategic decision in a province full of them.

To compound the error, the coaches McMillan inherited were led by Mike Prendergast who had gone public about his desire to get the top job.

Prendergast is a popular and talented coach with strong Munster roots from his own playing days but he was rejected in favour of McMillan and then told to work alongside the Kiwi – with some token ‘senior coach’ promotion. Brutal planning whatever way you look at it.

The other assistants – Denis Leamy, Mossie Lawlor and Ian Costello – are tight with Prendergast and, while nothing was ever said, it looked like a deeply awkward situation for all concerned, especially McMillan as he tried to find his way in the new job.

So, with that backdrop, it was no great surprise when it was announced recently that Prendergast will be leaving at the end of the season to work elsewhere – the question is now will the other assistants also exit.

Based on the display in Exeter, the level of coaching in Munster is not exactly high end and McMillan – a highly regarded coach who looks like he has the right stuff – deserves the chance to work with his own people.

The IRFU might look to Ulster as an example – Richie Murphy initially struggled as head coach until he got to bring his own coaches around him and suddenly the province was revitalised.

THE GREAT REDEEMER

The four words that should be ringing around the province as Munster pore over the entrails of their disastrous season are: Where is Declan Kidney?

The man who led the province to their two European titles is back home in Cork and available after his time at London Irish was ended by their financial difficulties.

There is no one better suited to calm everything down and to start knitting the province back together.

Not as head coach – that job should be McMillan’s – but as an overseer, working on the issues raised above – man managing, mending bridges and moulding talent.

And the good news is that there is talent coming through.

Munster had a healthy representation on the Ireland Under 20s and the PBC Cork team that just coasted to the Senior Schools title has some generational players destined to go to the very top (keep an eye out for exceptional centre Alex Moloney).

Still only in his early 60s, Kidney knows every inch of rugby in this province. He played it, coached it at school, club and professional levels and he knows the politics of it – for Munster, Declan Kidney is the great redeemer.

And this province needs redeeming. Let the first half in Exeter be a line in the sand.

Heads need to roll, attitudes need to change and they need to start again.