It was 27-3 by the time Simon Zebo replaced Alex Wootton in Munster’s Champions Cup semi-final defeat to Racing on Sunday.
Racing got off to a dream start and scored three tries in the opening 22 minutes to build what was ultimately an insurmountable lead as Munster were shredded by France international Teddy Thomas, or who may be better known to some on these shores as ‘the guy with the hair bun that cannot be trusted to defend your line’.
Thomas made four tackles and missed two in the win so his defence wasn’t exactly stellar but it was his two tries (and what should have been a third) that ultimately made a hot day at the Stade Chablan Delmas feel like standing around at the gates of hell looking for an exit sign.
Wootton was beaten on two of Thomas’ tries which only served to highlight the omission of Zebo from the Munster starting XV.
Zebo has never been accused of being a stout defender throughout his career, but then again, if you’re going to leave your club’s all-time leading try scorer on the bench, what’s the reason for selecting an internationally uncapped 23-year-old winger ahead of him?
“His ground breaks, his ball carrying ability, his defence,” van Graan replied when asked why Wootton received the nod to start.
“I think about the Glasgow game when he ran back to make that cover tackle…he’s been consistent, his off the ball work has been pretty exceptional.”
Coaches live and die by selection decisions and van Graan’s choice to start Wootton ahead of Zebo contributed to his side’s demise in a big way, just as Leo Cullen’s decision to select Scott Fardy ahead of James Lowe similarly contributed to so much of Leinster’s success against the Scarlets just a day earlier.
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Thomas made a mockery of Munster’s slide defence as Wootton tried to use the sideline as an extra defender before the French winger fended off his attempted tackle and rounded him to score the opening try of the match after just four minutes.
On Thomas’ second try, Munster again try and force Virimi Vakatawa and Thomas towards the sideline before Vakatawa cuts back on his inside and breaks the line.
The French international brushes off the cover tackle of Jean Kleyn while Thomas ghosts past Wootton to link up with the Fijian to cross for his second try of the match.
Thomas’ second score becomes a case of ‘how much can you criticise the defence vs. at what point do you just appreciate brilliant attacking play for what it is’.
Murray gets stood up with an excellent step, Thomas runs a sensational line to support him and a couple of seconds later and Racing have crossed the line for their second try of the game.
Their third try was arguably their most complete score of the match; a beautiful cutback from Thomas to beat Wootton and Billy Holland after some stellar build-up play and offloading.
Racing’s ability to keep the ball alive never really allowed Munster to realign defensively and the brilliance of Thomas created an opportunity for Maxime Machenaud to score the easiest try of his career.
"He is shredding Munster's defence right now!"
Teddy Thomas has been unplayable thus far… Two tries, it would have been a hat-trick if he didn't gift this score to a teammate 🤔
Munster have a mountain to climb… pic.twitter.com/EPAVr8dQvB
— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) April 22, 2018
What should have been a certain hat-trick to your opposing winger is never going to reflect well on your own performance but Wootton did actually have some good moments in the match.
He handled a Patrick Lambie crosskick with ease before popping the ball to an overlapping Andrew Conway, and moments before Thomas sent him scrambling towards the sideline, he made an excellent cover tackle on Racing full-back Louis Dupichot.
The problem for Wootton was that Zebo was one of Munster’s best players in the second-half.
He scored the try that kept Munster on life support and he provided the grubber kick for Conway that gave the scoreline some respectability in a game Munster were always chasing.
It would be unfair on Wootton to place the blame primarily on him, while it would also be unfair on van Graan to place the loss on Zebo’s omission, however, he must acknowledge in some capacity that leaving your best attacking player on the bench will raise questions that deserve answers.
Here was his defence:
“Not at all,” replied the South African when asked if he had any regrets about his selections. “I thought the seven replacements all made a huge impact. We always knew this game was going to go right to the end.
“We didn’t plan to be in a position where we were 24-3 down. But the ‘impacts’ did a brilliant job.
“The clock caught us at the end. Two or three minutes more, maybe we had an opportunity.
“But there are no excuses on my side. We weren’t good enough. To let a team score three tries in the first 20 minutes of a European Cup semi-final, you’re going to struggle to win.
“I’m very proud of the way the guys reacted at half-time. They kept going. Unfortunately we came up short.”
The emphasis must be on we as Zebo, van Graan or Wootton weren’t responsible for Munster’s maul being decimated in the lead up to a Machenaud penalty. They can’t be held responsible for the Munster pack not controlling their own ball in the scrum. They weren’t responsible for Sammy Arnold launching a forward pass to Keith Earls or knocking the ball on five metres from the line.
They weren’t responsible for Niall Scannell overthrowing his line-outs, Ian Keatley failing to make basic passes, Rory Scannell shanking drop goals, Machneaud and Vakatawa turning them over at the breakdown, JJ Hanrahan passing the ball to Simon Zebo’s feet or launching aimless bombs into the Racing 22.
Munster made mistakes in every facet of the game from basic passes, to ineffective clean outs to overthrowing key line-outs five metres from the opposition line.
Zebo’s omission hurt, especially when you were banking on defensive solidity from Wootton, but Munster repeatedly shot themselves in the foot and were still only five points off in the end.
Van Graan has done a terrific job with Munster this season and has picked up from the Rassie Erasmus era about as well as anyone could have expected but Munster folded when the stakes were highest.
The biggest shame was that they had an ace just sitting there in the hole.
