Munster 17
Emirates Lions 10
Munster got back to winning ways in the URC on Saturday night thanks to a three try win over South African outfit the Emirates Lions. Five pointers from Thaakir Abrahams, Shane Daly and Alex Kendellen was enough to see Ian Costello’s men over the line in a game that went right down to the end.
On a night where Thomond’s arching stands looked sparse, and the rain played its part as always, it was the home side’s blue “alternate” strip that stood out before play commenced. That did not mean the action failed to catch the eye however, with Munster dominating the early possession with ball in play up around 90% for the first 10 minutes.
Just as this writer thought the game would live solely in the middle third, a spark was found as Billy Burns’ deft kick in behind pinned the visitors to their own 5 metre line. The Lions cleared but danger presented itself further. First Shay McCarthy got Munster on the front foot with a powerful carry, before Alex Nankivell teed up new man Thaakir Abrahams for an electric line break.
Patience was required as Munster haplessly juggled the greasy ball but a few phases later the aforementioned slippery South African Abrahams gathered a loose pass and ran in unopposed to cross for his first try for the club. Billy Burns added the extras, for a seven-point advantage approaching the end of the first quarter.
It looked like the advantage would be short-lived, a theme of Munster’s season thus far, but when Gavin Coombes held PJ Botha and the Lions maul up, and Adam Jones blew for a Munster scrum, a sigh of relief was released by the home support. The Joburg natives looked destined to cross moments later as speedster Edwill van der Merwe cut open the scrambling defence. Yet again Gavin Coombes was the hero with an excellent cover tackle, even if he benefited from Jarod Cairns’ untimely slip with the tryline at his mercy. It was a truly all-action start to proceedings, so, when the Lions finally got off the mark, you felt it was coming.
Fineen Wycherley’s misfortunate knock-on in midfield presented a wonderful counter attacking opportunity, and Henco van Wyk did the rest. The Lions centre beat about six or seven would-be tacklers on his way to the line for a highlight reel score. It was a stunning piece of individual excellence from the 23-year-old, but Munster were sure to be kicking themselves with half of the team looking to have taken their eye off the play at the wrong time.
Having bossed the early exchanges, the momentum was fully behind the visitors approaching the interval. Kade Wolhuter fought off a stiff breeze to put the Lions in front for the first time on the 33rd minute, and the previously boisterous crowd reflected the equally shell-shocked home team. Nothing was going the way of the hosts, with numerous handling errors punctuating the stop-start end to the first half. Mistakes led to scrums which the Lions turned into penalties, even if they failed to take advantage of these chances.
Ethan Coughlan’s clever kick in behind could have given Munster one final chance to finish strong, had it not beaten Mike Haley to the sideline. Munster trailed the visitors 10-7 at the break in an energetic battle, but neither side would have been overly happy with the end product or accuracy on show.
A little over 100 seconds had been played in the second half when the home side struck for a world class try of their own. Alex Nankivell’s breakdown turnover inside his own 22 was the catalyst, before Munster went wide and exploited the overlap. Thaakir Abrahams’ incredible speed set him away down the right touchline before he calmly offloaded to substitute Shane Daly for the go-ahead score. Billy Burns’ conversion attempt was dragged wide to keep the margin narrow at 12 points to 10.
Super sub Daly was on hand across an excellent second forty, including the buildup to Munster’s third try. His break from the back of the scrum brought the home side within inches, and now it was down to power. Up stepped Alex Kendellen, fresh from returning from Ireland camp, to borrow over for just his 4th try for his home province. Burns’ attempt at the extra two was again wide of the mark, keeping the Lions within touching distance.
With the subs rolling on and looking to make an impact, the Lions started to pile more pressure on. However, pressure has a tipping point. One loose pass destroyed an unlucky thirteen phases of patient attack, and Munster were away. Shay McCarthy and Paddy Patterson fly-hacked downfield and although no score came of it, this was a massive moment in the context of the game but also their season.
It was a second half that struggled to live up to the high octane first instalment, but it was gripping until the end. Both sides lost those important cohesion points with the tactical switches, while fatigue looked evident as the clock wound down. Still, it remained gripping in intrigue as Munster sought a bonus point try to put a bow on a much-improved night.
That score never came but no one in attendance cared much when Player of the Match Jack O’Donoghue secured a vital turnover of possession. The ensuing break saw number eight Gavin Coombes go free, but as the defence closed in, he opted for the boot, finding touch outside the Lions 22. Still there was time for more.
As the clock reached 80, the Lions made their way up field. It looked ominous until a knock-on killed their efforts, and Munster took the spoils to get back to winning ways.
Munster may not have left with the full five points but would be happy to end their four-game losing streak in front of a happier home crowd. New forwards coach Alex Codling made a clear difference to the Munster lineout, while Thaakir Abrahams was sure to be the name on everyone’s lips as they headed for home. Debutants Dian Bleuler and Evan O’Connell offered a commanding presence, with the latter making a whopping nineteen tackles in just seventy minutes of action. Elsewhere Shay McCarthy was his usual, physical self down the right wing, and the backrow tandem of Jack O’Donoghue, Alex Kendellen and Gavin Coombes proved to be the game winners with three stellar showings.
After the game Ian Costello was delighted to get back to winning ways. The interim head coach was quick to highlight that their “game management wasn’t where we wanted it to be”, but felt the second half performance was much improved and encapsulated the team’s “identity”. Captain Diarmuid Barron added that he felt they were “a phase away” from unlocking the Lions defence but he was also full of praise for the work of his fellow forwards for grinding out the result on the night.
The win moves Munster back up the URC table ahead of the start of their European quest next weekend. Munster kick start their Investec Champions Cup campaign on Saturday by welcoming Top 14 side Stade Francais to Thomond Park for the opening round clash (5:30pm on RTÉ 2 and Premier Sports 1).
Munster: Mike Haley (Shane Daly, 40’ {HIA}); Shay McCarthy, Tom Farrell, Alex Nankivell, Thaakir Abrahams; Billy Burns (Tony Butler, 60’), Ethan Coughlan (Paddy Patterson, 51’); Dian Bleuler (Kieran Ryan, 66’), Diarmuid Barron (Captain) (Niall Scannell, 60’), John Ryan (Stephen Archer, 55’); Evan O’Connell (Ruadhán Quinn, 70’), Fineen Wycherley; Jack O’Donoghue, Alex Kendellen (John Hodnett, 55’), Gavin Coombes.
Tries: Thaakir Abrahams, Shane Daly, Alex Kendellen
Conversions: Billy Burns (1/3)
Emirates Lions: Quan Horn; Richard Kriel, Henco van Wyk (Erich Cronje, 69’), Marius Louw, Edwill van der Merwe (Tapiwa Mafura, 72’); Kade Wolhuter (Sanele Nohamba, 44’ {HIA}), Morne van der Berg; Juan Schoeman (Morgan Naude, 55’), PJ Botha (Franco Marias, 55’), Asenathi Ntlabakanye (Conrad van Vuuren, 55’); Ruben Schoeman (Reinhard Nothnagal, 57’), Ruan Delport; Jarod Cairns, WJ Steenkamp (JC Pretorius, 69’), Francke Horn.
Tries: Henco van Wyk
Conversions: Kade Wolhuter (1/1)
Penalties: Kade Wolhuter (1/1)
Player of the Match: 6. Jack O’Donoghue (Munster)
Referee: Adam Jones (WRU)