On Saturday 1 January, a journalist acquaintance from Limerick tweeted: “This New Year, I am thankful for Bath Rugby Football Club.”

Sadly, our resolution to be less pedantic than before wasn’t very resolute and we had to inform him that, like Munster powerhouses Cork Constitution and Garryowen, Bath were initially established as “Football Club”, with no rugby identifier, though nowadays they just go by Bath Rugby.

That was of course a side issue to his main point, that Bath’s decision to appoint Johann van Graan as head coach from 2022-23 onwards was good from a Munster point of view, given that he was far from pleased with what he was watching in their game against Connacht.

The 10-8 scoreline in favour of the hosts at the Galway Sportsgrounds probably flattered Munster more than Andy Friend’s side, though Connacht won’t be that disappointed to have shown that they can win ugly. Unfortunately for Munster, it showed they could lose ugly in a game that featured 27 penalties and four yellow cards.

In a piece published before the game in The Echo, former Munster and Ireland out-half David Corkery said that, if he was given the opportunity to play one more game, he would always choose to do so for Munster, but if the chance arose right now he might be inclined to sit it out, so lacking in imagination is the game plan. He theorised that van Graan’s pre-match chats would be along the lines of: “Right lads, today we will have Conor Murray kicking the ball as high as he possibly can from the base of every scrum, line-out, and break down. Earlsy, you and the fastest flanker we have will chase after it like cheetahs and if we win it back, we will pass it to the first forward who gets there and keep doing that until we knock it on, they turn it over, or after 46 phases of inching our way forward, we manage to score or eke out a penalty.”

despite Munster having talented backs, there is a reluctance – regardless of who the man in charge is – to go for an expansive brand of rugby

Certainly, there is a time and place for the classic ball-up-the-jumper stuff, but despite Munster having talented backs, there is a reluctance – regardless of who the man in charge is – to go for an expansive brand of rugby, as Leinster and latterly Connacht have showed can be successful.

The top teams are capable of mixing it as necessary and Munster might be capable of such evolution but for the fact that van Graan is in the final months of his stint, despite it being indicated in the autumn that he was about to sign a two-year contract. With the Australian Stephen Larkham also bound for the exit, there will be a fresh start on the coaching front in the summer.

Obviously, everybody in the camp is a professional and there will be no downing of tools, especially as the Heineken Champions Cup campaign has begun so well, but it can be hard mentally to be fully driven when you know at the back of your mind that, rather than building towards something special, you’re winding down to the end and another resetting.

The next fortnight will ultimately determine whether van Graan will leave on a high or if the season will meander towards its inevitable conclusion

Munster host Ulster on Saturday in another inter-provincial clash before facing into European action again the following Friday with a trip to France to face Castres and then a home clash against Wasps.

The next fortnight will ultimately determine whether van Graan will leave on a high or if the season will meander towards its inevitable conclusion.

A Master of all

Eamonn Ryan. \ Sportsfile

Forgive the perceived exaggeration, but one of the worst sayings in the history of humanity is: “Nice guys finish last.”

I’m not just saying that because I’m a nice guy, but because it’s the kind of attitude that has given us Donald Trump and Boris Johnson in positions far above their stations and has given rise to the stultifying “culture wars” that impinge on so much of the discourse around major events and occurrences.

And anyway, it’s something that is empirically wrong. The greatest golfer of all-time, Bobby Jones, was successful because of his kind character rather than in spite of it; and closer to home the likes of Dermot Earley and Mick O’Connell combined great feats with great humility.

Éamonn Ryan is another who can be added to that list and it was encouraging to see the resoundingly positive response to the TG4 documentary of his life, Éamonn Ryan: An Máistir, on 30 December.

A record of 10 All-Ireland ladies’ football titles in 11 years with Cork – a county that had never claimed the Brendan Martin Cup before that – was testimony to his leadership qualities but that was just one part of his life and, as his brother Jim related, when the approach was made regarding a documentary, the family wanted his whole life to be covered.

And when he was coaching, he would have taken a holistic approach. He would have looked at the person more so than the athlete

“He was involved in men’s teams, ladies’ teams, club, inter-county, underage, and schools,” he said.

“And when he was coaching, he would have taken a holistic approach. He would have looked at the person more so than the athlete.

“You get one shot at this [documentary] and we felt it was important that a whole broad aspect of his life was shown, from being involved at home in Watergrasshill to ending up in Ballingeary. All of that is in it, so that’s fantastic from our perspective.”

A player – and later manager – with the Cork men’s football team, Ryan’s involvement with any team usually left it in a better state when he left. That was proven best with Cork’s 2016 All-Ireland ladies’ win – he had created something that could succeed without him.

Ryan’s infectious enthusiasm and the effect he had on those who played on his teams was clear from the contributions of the former players in the documentary, expertly directed by Ronan O’Donoghue.

As Rena Buckley says: “I remember at Éamonn’s funeral, there was a sign saying: ‘Farewell to The Master. A good coach can change a game, a great coach can change a life’.” He certainly did that.