Almost all of the excitement in the build-up to the Wasps game at the weekend was focused on the lesser-known names on the teamsheet. It’s a natural reaction. The Munster fanbase has taken a real interest in youth over the last few seasons – often as a counterpoint to the Conveyor Belt reputation up in Leinster – but also a genuine, burning desire to see young talent from the province make it big in a red jersey on big days in Thomond Park.
Sunday’s selection came a little ahead of schedule for some of these guys but their performance in the biggest game of their careers to date lived up to the expectation pre-game. Sure, elements of their game are still raw to an extent but that’s to be expected given their age and relative lack of elite experience at this level.
Were they shy out there? Not a chance.
They played with no fear whatsoever and really contributed in meaningful ways.
Munster’s OFFENSIVE RUCK WORK SCORE VS Wasps
- A Dominant Clean is an action that decisively secures possession when the ball carrier takes contact. A Dominant Clean does not have to be the first arrival at the breakdown but it is rewarded in the context of effectiveness. We will assign this action 3 points.
- A Guard Action is where a player plays a role in helping to retain possession after we have “re-won” the ball on the floor. Sometimes this can happen on a carry/ruck point where there is no active contention by the opposition. Let’s assign this action 2 points.
- An Attendance can be anything from standing as a “kick shield” on a ruck to adding a bit of bulk to ward against a counter-ruck. We’re marking this down as being worth 1 point.
- An Ineffective Action is a blown cleanout, a lean, a breakdown penalty or an action that I couldn’t see any direct benefit for. This will be worth -1 points.
If we start applying the points we’ve assigned to each action, we can generate an Offensive Ruck Work Score to get a proper view of Ireland’s offensive breakdown output.
| Dominant Clean | Guard Action | Attendance | Ineffective | Ruck Work Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kilcoyne | 1 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 18 |
| Buckley | 2 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 32 |
| French | 2 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 28 |
| O'Connor | 4 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 50 |
| Beirne | 0 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 17 |
| O'Mahony | 5 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 25 |
| Hodnett | 5 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 28 |
| Okeke | 6 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 43 |
| Murray | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Carbery | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Earls | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| De Allende | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| Farrell | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 15 |
| Conway | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Campbell | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Moore | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Donnelly | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Salanoa | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Forde | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Moloney | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Coughlan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Butler | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wren | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Not only did they contribute, but they also topped the charts for Offensive Ruck Work.
Top Five ORWS
- Eoin O’Connor – 50 points
- Daniel Okeke – 43 points
- Scott Buckley – 32 points
- John Hodnett – 28 points
- James French – 28 points
James French had a tough time in the scrum, sure, but his work around the collision points was really physical and effective. I rated John Hodnett above him because he made more Dominant Cleans, for me, but both players were really well balanced in their offensive output.
Scott Buckey’s five-star performance was balanced with a superb day at the offensive breakdown when you also consider how prominent he was in the carry. This is the type of rounded offensive production we’d expect to see from a player filling out the power hooker roleset, which is hugely encouraging.
Eoin O’Connor topped the charts with a really well round support forward performance where he balanced strong lifting and mauling, with good, physical defence, some decent carries and really consistent breakdown work.
Daniel Okeke, who ranked second on the chart gets mentioned last here because the quality of his breakdown work was enough for me to promote him to a ★★★★★ performance. When you consider the impact of his ball carrying, his high work rate and impact in defence AND this level of physicality and effectiveness, a really good performance becomes an incredibly special one for the young Limerick man.
This kind of power forward role activity showing so young is something that doesn’t come along very often and this level of accuracy and composure will not have gone unnoticed in the HPC. Hugely encouraging.
