60 Minutes Of Waiting For The "Crack"

Read a member’s view of Saturday’s game from the terrace….

Some of the best matches that I have witnessed as a supporter of Munster Rugby are not the games you’d expect, for me the games that live long in my memory are when our team digs deep, hold out and resolutely refuses to bow in the barrage of physicality that is modern day rugby.

ROG summed up the game succinctly afterwards in saying the “first to crack” would lose – these “crack” moments occur at many times in a game and some teams thrive in those moments to expose a weakness in a team’s strategy, defense & skillset, while what is not seen on the tactical plan the coaches attempt to impart in the team room is the will to play for each other and your Club.

These are the bits that makes sport so intriguing and results in memories and images that can lift a week in our working lives. The biggest attendance of the first two European rounds (22,054) in Thomond Park on Saturday evening once again can be testament to the intangible heart of our players in red and from this the passion that the Support have for their work rate & honesty about representing us.

On the 52nd minute Racing introduced into the game Szarzewski & the Samoan mammoths Johnson and Afiatia which equates to 57 stone 12 pounds of power & mobility with a bucket load of International experience; we sent to counter John Ryan & Kevin O’Byrne from Cork. It is very easy in the modern day razzmatazz of match day to forget that most of our team are local men that have a linkage to our towns & counties that the global matrixes of Racing players may not be able to identify with.

So here is the thing that often enters my mind when watching a tight, upfront & physical match like last Saturday, the cracks will not appear when you represent yourself, team, your supporters, your club with a history of being brave, standing up for your province.

As the minutes rolled by and the tension grew as the star studded Racing 92 sought out that “first to crack” moment ….I know we would win, I just knew…

To support Munster Rugby in any game is a pleasure to be present on Saturday, be one of the MRSC faithful and watch our local Team hold the line and succeed is a privilege.