Paul Gustard responds to Munster's inflammatory 'late hits' accusation
Paul Gustard has defended his Harlequins players following inflammatory claims by Munster boss Johann van Graan that the Londoners tactically set out to target the opposition with late hits at Thomond Park last Sunday.
Harlequins, who lost the yellow card count 3-1 and the penalty count 15-10 in Limerick, bore the brunt of van Grann’s frustrations in the post-match fallout, the South African particularly unhappy that his reserve out-half Ben Healy was clobbered twice after the ball had gone during Munster’s hard fought 21-7 win.
Gustard, though, has defended his team’s approach, suggesting that the yellow-carded tackle by Harlequins back row Alex Dombrant would have been a legal challenge not so long ago while prop Joe Marler pulled out of the other tackle on Healy.
Asked what he made of the Sunday evening accusations from van Graan about Harlequins, Gustard said on Wednesday evening: “I’d like to think it’s probably heat of the moment type of thing post a game. Healy got tackled twice, once actually.
“Alex Dombrandt spots him out the back, (he’s) committed to the tackle just as Jean Kleyn was committed to the tackle, let’s say, for Mike Brown. We actually lost a player, Mike Brown has gone off concussed for HIA and Healy didn’t, he stayed on for the remainder of the game.
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“For me, Alex timed it slightly wrong but it was so marginal. Go back X amount of years and that would have been a legal tackle but now it’s obviously not. There was no decree from us in our planning for the week that we wanted to target Healy or target (JJ) Hanrahan any more than people trying to take away time and space from any nine and ten in a game.
“In the first half when the ball was bobbling around from a lineout Marcus Smith went to tackle Hanrahan and Damian de Allende came flying in and tackled Marcus Smith. Were they trying to go for Marcus Smith? No, I don’t think so. I just think it is one of those things.
“Joe Marler bailed out of a tackle and turned his back on him [Healy]. Joe Marler is 125 kilos, it’s like hitting a brick wall, and Alex got his slightly wrong. There was no intent from us, we don’t go out to injury or hurt a player. We go out to play hard and fair.”
Gustard, who suggested that Harlequins played with one hand tied behind their back due to the receipt of three yellow cards, added: “We gave away too many penalties in the second half which took away our opportunity to win the game which was frustrating because I think only five teams have won there the last 75 or something like that.
“We were in the game with a strong chance to compete. Marginally Munster edged it in terms of performance but we were at an away ground with two Irish ARs and TMO. I thought the boys played with courage, with a lot of desire and intent and it was disappointing that we gave away the penalties that we did because that took away our opportunities.”
Asked should the Champions Cup officials supporting a referee also be from a neutral country (last Sunday’s referee, France’s Pascal Gauzere, was backed by an all-Irish cast), Gustard said: “Look, it is what it is in the current situation. It was more tongue in cheek really, just a thing when you go to an away ground.
“But as I said, they intervened on certain things. There was a couple of things they didn’t intervene on that might have gone in our favour, knock-ons and little bits and pieces that went against us.
“It was just one of those things but look, our frustration comes from within, it doesn’t come from external. It comes from the things we had in our control and things that we did that took away the opportunity to have a platform for us to compete on a level playing field and compete to get a result.”
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Harlequins’ defeat was one of six for the eight English Premiership clubs that took part in the opening round of the Champions Cup. French clubs won seven of their eight games and the PRO14 won three. Gustard, though, didn’t read much into that pattern.
“The Premiership is a very, very tough competition. It’s not to say the other competitions aren’t tough, but the way our athletes are in our situation we are not centrally contracted, it’s a slightly different environment.
“I can only speak from our situation. I haven’t watched any of the other games to see why the Premiership teams weren’t more successful like Exeter. For us, we went with a good plan, we played against a very ferocious competitor, a well-coached team, a team that are well engrained in what they are trying to do.
“They had eight internationals returning from Ireland so we knew we were playing against a good team in their own back yard and to be able to compete, to be able to win, we had to be able to keep 15 people in the field and we had to execute when we had our opportunity.
“Unfortunately we got pulled back for a forward pass in the ten, 15 minutes we were camped on their line. We didn’t come away with a score. It ultimately led to a huge turnover and a fly-hack up the field and it cost us points. There were two pivotal moments in the game that cost us… it really hurts.”
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Comments on RugbyPass
Except for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
33 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
2 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
33 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
49 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
33 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
33 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
33 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
33 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
17 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
1 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
1 Go to commentsObscene that SA haven’t been knocking
1 Go to commentsChances of Blackadder being injured seem too high to give him serious consideration. ABs loosie combination finally looked good with 2 committed to tackling and clearing rucks in the centre and Ardie roaming. Hoskins/Ardie together would force one of them into where they don’t excel and don’t get to use their talent, or require a change in tactics. If we continue to evolve last years systems I would take Papali’i and Finau at 6 and 7 (conceding that Blackadder will be injured) and Ardie at 8.
33 Go to commentsArdie’s preferred position 7? Where do they get these writers from? I've no idea where he's playing in Japan, but the previous two seasons he wore the 7 jersey exactly twice.
17 Go to commentsNot good to hear Ulster described as “financially troubled”. Did not think it was getting to that level. I would hope the Irish system of spreading players of talent away from Leinster would kick in now. Better to have a Leinster fringe player with Ulster or Connacht, then getting only a few games a season in Dublin. 10, for example, would seem to be a case for spreading the talent. I would not be at all adverse to a SA man coming in as head coach/DR. Ludeke is worth trying. Certainly got a long and impressive coaching career at this level…..149 games in SR, then Japan, 30 years experience. And Ulster’s ledger of successful SA coaches and players is on the positive side. Is talk of Ruan Pienaar interested in coming back as a coach…..could be a good combination with Ludeke. And Pienaar and family would have no settling in to do, one would judge. He loved life in Ulster when there, by all reports.
1 Go to commentsSome thoughts to consider here, Sam. Thanks
2 Go to comments