JOHANN VAN GRAAN said he was \u201cpretty happy\u201d and Joey Carbery is likely to have felt much the same after his Munster debut against the Cheetahs at Thomond Park.<\/p>\n
The Ireland international out-half played the closing 27 minutes of Munster\u2019s bonus-point Guinness Pro14 win on Saturday and must have enjoyed the excellent reception he received from the crowd as he replaced Shane Daly.<\/p>\n
Carbery made his Munster debut last weekend. Source: Oisin Keniry\/INPHO<\/p>\n
With Munster 17-0 up at that point and the Cheetahs already looking beaten, Carbery didn\u2019t need to light up the Limerick venue but his first outing in red gave the province\u2019s supporters a glimpse of what the future might look like.<\/p>\n
There were signs of Carbery\u2019s creativity and strong basic skills, as well as an encouraging link with fellow playmakers Rory Scannell and JJ Hanrahan, who moved from out-half to fullback when Carbery was introduced.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A try-assisting pass for Dave O\u2019Callaghan was a highlight for Carbery and had real echoes of the score Johnny Sexton created for James Lowe in Leinster\u2019s Pro14 final win over Scarlets last season.<\/p>\n
As we join play in the 71st minute below, Munster have had an initial mauling effort repelled and worked one phase infield through Stephen Archer\u2019s carry.<\/p>\n
In the shot below, Rhys Marshall has just picked to carry to the left of the ruck [yellow].<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
We can see that O\u2019Callaghan [white] is holding the width on the right-hand side, with Darren Sweetnam having moved infield to work with Carbery [blue].<\/p>\n
Munster\u2019s forwards held the width particularly well against the Cheetahs and it\u2019s a trend that will be worth following this season.<\/p>\n
Carbery is scanning the Cheetahs defence as these forward phases are being played out and just as Billy Holland makes the next pick-and-go for Munster, Carbery identifies the opportunity back down the short side.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Click here if you cannot view the clip above<\/p>\n
As we can see above, Carbery and Sweetnam are already moving off to the right as Holland carries the ball.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
While the Cheetahs do have another defender out of shot on the right of the shot above, Carbery feels himself and Sweetnam can create an overload on that side of the ruck as they team up with the lingering O\u2019Callaghan.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s exactly what happens as they sweep right and Carbery throws a well-judged skip pass to the flanker.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Click here if you cannot view the clip above<\/p>\n
One of the main issues for the Cheetahs here is that number eight Jasper Wiese is still getting up off the ground as James Hart is reacting to Carbery\u2019s switch and firing a pass to him.<\/p>\n
As we can see below, Weise [white] is the third defender out from the ruck for the Cheetahs.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
In an ideal scenario, this third defender would mark up on the opposition first receiver \u2013 Wiese on Carbery in this case.<\/p>\n
We can see on the left of the shot that Cheetahs lock\u00a0Walt Steenkamp is calling and pointing for Wiese to fulfil that role, but Wiese is unable to react in time.<\/p>\n
We can also see Cheetahs wing Sibahle\u00a0Maxwane moving to sweep in behind the defence [yellow] but he too has moved too late to prevent O\u2019Callaghan scoring.<\/p>\n
Carbery\u2019s running line is simple and effective. He gets outside Wiese and targets Steenkamp\u2019s inside shoulder, forcing the big lock to turn his shoulders in and tackle the Munster out-half [white below].<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
That, in turn, invites final defender Tian Meyer to bite in on Sweetnam, leaving O\u2019Callaghan free on the edge.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Carbery makes a fine read of the situation and opts for a powerful pass to O\u2019Callaghan, across the face of Sweetnam.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Click here if you cannot view the clip above<\/p>\n
As we can see, Sweetnam\u2019s right hand does make brief contact with the ball and while the official match stats might give the Munster wing an assist in this case, it\u2019s quite clear that Carbery is the creator.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Carbery had 14 passes overall against the Cheetahs and they were largely accurate after his\u00a0very first pass on a screen play was slightly behind Scannell.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The example below again underlines a simple execution of the basics from Carbery in phase play.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n
Click here if you cannot view the clip above<\/p>\n
Carbery is at first receiver and the work outside him makes his decision easier.<\/p>\n
As we can see below, Scannell [white] is a viable option to receive the ball, running a hard line back against the grain and to the inside shoulder of Meyer.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Sweetnam [yellow] is bouncing out the back of Scannell to provide an apparent option for Carbery to pull his pass back.<\/p>\n
Meyer sits down on the threat posed by Scannell, opening up the space\u00a0for Carbery to pass out the back.<\/p>\n
The sharpest part of the play, though, is that Hanrahan [red above] is also working out behind Scannell and arrives from a slightly hidden starting position onto the ball.<\/p>\n
With Sweetnam sliding wider to accommodate Hanrahan, Cheetahs centre Nico Lee is left in the exposed position below.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
He has to bite in on ball-carrier Hanrahan [white], allowing the Kerryman to slip Sweetnam into space.<\/p>\n
Cheetahs wing Maxwane adjusts in from the outside late and tackles Sweetnam, but his footwork gives him time to offload to O\u2019Callaghan \u2013 who is again providing the width on the right.<\/p>\n
With Neil Cronin\u2019s positive support play meaning he\u2019s the first arriving player to the breakdown after O\u2019Callaghan beats Meyer with a nice step, it\u2019s interesting to see Carbery stepping in as the halfback.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Click here if you cannot view the clip above<\/p>\n
Van Graan spoke post-match about how he wants all of his backline playmakers to be comfortable stepping in as makeshift scrum-halves when Munster are pursuing tempo in their attack.<\/p>\n
Carbery certainly fits the bill, having played much of his underage rugby as a scrum-half, and his pass here is accurate and released with the minimum delay.<\/p>\n
Carbery follows up by playing scrum-half at the next ruck too, underlining Munster\u2019s desire to keep the tempo high with their foot on the Cheetahs\u2019 throat.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Click here if you cannot view the clip above\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
We can see a glance over the shoulder from Carbery as he approaches the ruck \u2013 just checking where Cronin is \u2013 and then there is no hesitation as he heads for the ball and fires off another excellent pass from the ground.<\/p>\n
Hooker Rhys Marshall is the receiver and he plays a sharp screen pass behind academy back row Gavin Coombes to Scannell, who in turn shifts it to Hanrahan, with the fullback exposing more poor defensive work-rate and decision-making from the Cheetahs to step back inside and cross under the posts untouched.<\/p>\n
It was intriguing to see Munster using lots of pull-back passes like this one from Marshall throughout their win on Saturday, particularly from forwards.<\/p>\n
Van Graan has stated his ambition to make Munster a better passing team and the early signs this season are positive, even if the province will understand that far greater tests of their skills lie ahead.<\/p>\n
It was also promising to see Carbery creating in tandem with Scannell and Hanrahan, as was the case on a couple of other occasions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The fact that Scannell has history as an out-half means he provides playmaking quality \u2013 three passes for linebreaks against the Cheetahs underlines that again \u2013 and he will\u00a0be an important foil for Carbery or whoever plays in Munster\u2019s 10 shirt this season.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Click here if you cannot view the clip above<\/p>\n
As we see above, Scannell is a willing ball-carrier when Carbery opts for the front-door option and the Cork midfielder is likely to be a vital cog for the province again this season.<\/p>\n
All in all, it was a positive first outing for Carbery at Thomond Park, although he is likely to be self-critical about losing possession in contact inside the Cheetahs 22 in the 62nd minute.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Click here if you cannot view the clip above<\/p>\n
There was the excellent linekick above from one Munster penalty \u2013 providing the platform for O\u2019Callaghan\u2019s try \u2013 and he made three basic tackles without\u00a0fuss.<\/p>\n
It will be fascinating to see how Carbery builds on his debut and also how he handles goal-kicking duties this season.<\/p>\n
With Munster travelling to Glasgow on Friday to take on Dave Rennie\u2019s Warriors, Carbery will be hopeful of taking over in the 10 shirt to lead his new team from the start.<\/p>\n
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