by McCloud</span></font>
Back to Thomond Park this Friday, where Munster will be hosting Perpignan
in what may be a season defining game as far as Munster are concerned.
Munster are currently sitting on top of the pool on 6 points with
Perpignan right behind them on 5 points. Friday's game, and the return
fixture the following weekend, may decide who qualifies from Pool 1 for
the knock out stages of the competition. </span>
A quick look at Perpignan's form in the Top 14, where they are
currently lying in second place just behind Castres, shows a mixed bag
of results: a shock defeat away to Albi 2 weeks ago, where their pack
struggled at times, was turned around last Saturday as normal service
was resumed with a demolition of Montpellier in a powerful display by
their forwards, who went over for 2 tries during the game.
[img]..//uploads/images/Ozoyo/44E_usap3.jpg[/img]
Munster V Usap quarter final 2006 was played under difficult weather conditions</span>
Many people
are of the opinion that French teams do not travel well and a look at
the Top 14 results so far may well confirm that view.In the five games they have played away
, Perpignan has only managed to come away once with a win. Add in the
result from Perpignan's trip to Treviso and it leaves Munster
supporters wondering just what type of team will turn up in Thomond
Park. However, as current French Champions and 2 points behind the
current leaders of the Top 14, they must be doing something right.
Perpignan have a strong pack and are well able to throttle the life out
of the opposition when they put their mind to it, as shown in their
game against the Saints when the pack collected a penalty try in the
first half. Perpignan's coaches will have been reviewing tapes of
Munster with great interest as they prepare for their visit to Thomond
Park, and will have developed a game plan on what they will have
gleaned from their viewing. At this stage the Heineken cup holds no
mysteries for USAP and they will come to Thomond knowing what exactly
they need to do to cut short Munster’s season.
USAP fans do travel</span>
Munster comes into this game as a bit of a mystery. Since the start
of the season they have been struggling to find some sort of form and
consistency. Originally it was thought that the patchy form was due to
the staggered return of Munster’s Internationals. But now four months
into the season Munster still continue to seem to be a team that is not
exactly sure of what it wants to do - rather than playing as a team
with a common plan, Munster seem to be playing as individuals. While
injuries and suspension may have played their part in Munster’s
performances to date, we are getting to the time when the team should
have a more settled look to it and be once again a force to be reckoned
with.
Current areas of concern for Munster are still what they have
been all season, and to date there does not seem to have been any
remedial actions to fix the problems. The short term signing of du
Preez as cover for Marcus Horan will hopefully bolster Munster’s scrum,
as so far this season it has been nothing to write home about. For
Munster to win on Friday they will need a big improvement in the scrum
and in the performance of the pack around the pitch. Perpignan will be
targeting the Munster scrum and the breakdown, as these areas have been
seen to be weaknesses in Munster’s armoury this season.
So for Munster to win this Friday, a big improvement will be needed
in the scrum and the forwards will need to bring a higher level of
aggression and intensity to the breakdown - we need to meet Perpignan
head on in this area to hopefully cause some doubt on t
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