Crunch match

But first, Munster. Back in October, the sides met in a tight encounter in Limerick which Saracens were just shading, enjoying some pressure and the kicking game of Owen Farrell posing problems for the home side, but disrupted by the sin binning of Rhys Gill from which they never recovered, posing only a sporadic threat. On a cold and damp night, free-flowing rugby was at a premium, as the hosts earnt a 14-3 win, claiming a try when the visitors were down to 14 men, but relying heavily on kicking for touch in a conservative display which might not have looked out of place in Saracens' 2009/2010 season. The similarities don't end there either. Much as with Saracens, Munster have kept in contention in their league by grinding out results in some tight games, and the 27-26 escape from Sale Sharks after being 20 points down in the opening European tie compares interestingly with Sarries' late shows against Wasps and London Irish early in the campaign. That said, there have been the signature wins too, home and away successes against Leinster rekinkled pre-2009 memories when Munster were the dominant province and their Dublin rivals had yet to win a single one of their four European titles. The 34-23 win in Dublin was a perfect follow up to a subdued September, as the opening day reverse to Edinburgh meant that Munster had lost three games in a row at Thomond Park, A 21-10 success at Benetton Treviso preceded a home bonus point win over Zebre to halt the run of poor home form, only for another defeat in Limerick to follow, at the hands of an impressive Ospreys side.

 

The province's first win at the Aviva Stadium, which showcased their attacking prowess and defensive resilience, preceded a narrower home win against Scarlets, and the memorable European success at Sale, which was settled by Keatley's drop goal in the last play of the match. This was then backed up by the home win over Saracens. Significantly, they won their last match on an artificial pitch, just, as a last gasp Paddy Butler try, augmented by seven penalties from Northampton Saints-bound fly half JJ Hanrahan, snatched a 28-24 victory at Cardiff Blues. They returned to South Wales during the Autumn Internationals as a modified side demonstrated the strength in depth at Munster by earning a 38-12 bonus point success at Newport Gwent Dragons. Munster would return to the summit in somewhat odd circumstances at the end of November. Trailing 8-12 at home to Ulster at the break, they fought back to lead 21-12, but only held onto the win as the visitors' Ian Humphreys missed a relative easy conversion, ending the match with a 21-20 home win, in which the hosts had got away with it, although they would pay for not closing out matches in the coming weeks. That wasn't the case in the two matches with Clermont, as despite the French side scoring two early tries, Munster at least claimed a losing bonus point in Limerick, and claimed another with the last kick in the away match. How decisive these two points will be, if at all, remains to be seen. Back in the Pro12, the Irish side looked set for an impressive win at Glasgow Warriors, where they lost by a point in last season's play-offs, scoring two tries in the first half for a 18-9 interval lead, but failing to collect a single point in the second, as they fell to a 21-18 loss, missing a golden opportunity to consolidate at the top. A win against Leinster is always the perfect tonic, though, even if there was disappointment that both sides were not at full strength due to IRFU player management, but a 28-13 victory remained an important success nonetheless. Connacht, though, have been a difficult proposition this campaign, though Munster's record in Galway is impressive, and that looked set to continue as the visitors carved a 16-7 interval lead, only to concede 17 unanswered points in the second half and not even hold a losing bonus point, ironically with a stronger line-up than the one which beat Leinster. A 31-7 bonus point win at Zebre brings the story up to date.

 

Onto the match, and the build-up has seen contrasting fortunes, For Saracens, the blow of George Kruis' three week ban has been countered by the news that the influential trio of Brad Barritt, Owen Farrell and Charlie Hodgson should all return from injury. In contrast, Munster have faced the news that promising fly half JJ Hanrahan has opted for a move to Northampton next season, so more than a few Saints will watch this game with interest. With Ian Keatley preferred at fly half for European matches, the Saint in waiting will probably feature at centre, and will look to him to provide something of the unexpected. Given the balance of the two sides, and the return of players, Saracens look to have far greater creativity, with Barritt adding a timely boost to the side's defensive solidity, However, in the context of this game, this may not be the decisive factor. In a hugely impressive Six Nations and Autumn International series for Ireland, players such as Paul O'Connell, Peter O'Mahony, Conor Murray and Simon Zebo played vital roles as Ireland may not have always been free-flowing, but found a way to win. as the two sides have done throughout the season, even when not at their best.