Alan Quinlan played a massive part in Munster’s win over Toulouse at the weekend and in their run to the Heineken Cup Final.
Yet to notice this you have look at the small things he gets done. The counter-rucking, the sneaky drop-out in the second-half, The way he continuously niggled the opposition, the way he knows exactly when the ref isn’t looking at him at the scrum so he doesn’t have to bind properly. All this forces even the most experienced of players, like Pelous and Kelleher, to fold under immense, invisibly applied pressure.
I think this comes from experience. Knowing what you can do and what you can get away with in the course of a game. There are definitely similar players out there who would be no where near as cute about it as Quinlan.
I just wonder is there any way you can coach this, or is it a gift, or something you just learn-by-doing?
