22nd December 2012
Connacht 12
Munster
16
 |
| Munster prop Dave Kilcoyne on one of his many carries against Connacht at the Sportsground |
In a rain sodden
Sportsground played in difficult underfoot conditions, both Connacht and
Munster went head to head in this Inter Provincial derby with both sides trying
to cure the hangover of defeats in the Heineken Cup the previous weekend.
I had the pleasure of
being at the Sportsground two weeks ago to witness Connacht’s historic Heineken
Cup victory over Biarritz. On the night
outhalf Dan Parks game management skills were very much to the fore and again
tonight Parks produced a very O’Gara-esque performance in every facet but to
steer his team to victory. On the other
hand Munster coach Rob Penney will be pleased at how his much changed team
ground out this victory and the character shown by the younger members of his
squad once more.
Both sides re juggled
their teams for this encounter with the home side bringing in centre Danny
Poolman, hooker Jason Harris-Wright and prop Nathan White to their side. Munster rested the majority of their
international contingent with Denis Hurley, Ian Keatley, Pater Stringer, Billy
Holland and Stephen Archer coming in.
Prop Dave Kilcoyne also returned from illness and winger Johne Murphy
replaced captain Dougie Howlett for only his second appearance of the season
and first start, James Coughlan taking over the captains armband.
Typical of the close
encounters between these sides at the Galway venue over the past number of
seasons, both sets of forward packs were giving very little away in the early
stages. After Connacht outhalf Dan Parks
had overcooked his kick off which went straight in to touch on the full, he
made amends in the tenth minute when kicking the home side in to the lead after
Munster were penalised for coming in from the side.
The lead was short
lived however and after the Elwood’s men were penalised in the 16th
minute, Keatley converted and now the scores were tied at 3-3. Parks was continually pinning Munster back in
their own half with his astute kicking and the pressure told in the 23rd
minute with the men in red penalised once more.
Parks again converted and the home side held a well deserved 6-3 lead at
this juncture.
And it looked like the
home side were going to be given an early Christmas present in the 32nd
minute when Munster winger Luke O’Dea spilled the ball in midfield after a
crossfield backline move. The alert
Vainikolo picked up and sprinted along the touchline where it looked like he
would make the touchdown in the corner.
However, Munster’s Ian Keatley must be credited for his scrambling
defence and for bundling the bustling Tongan in to touch just before the corner
flag.
And Connacht were made
to pay in the 35th minute, when, after hooker Jason Harris-Wright
was penalised and yellow carded for going off his feet, Munster got the squeeze
on the resultant scrum and referee Dudley Philips ran under the posts to award
Munster a penalty try. Keatley converted
to give Munster a 10-6 lead and a major physchological boost. And after Park’s resultant kick off drifted
too long, the away side won a penalty from the following scrum back and Keatley
converted to give Munster a 13-6 lead going in at the half time break.
No doubt Connacht coach Eric Elwood would have stressed to his team at
half time that their game plan had been effective in parts but that they needed
to be more clinical and convert their possession in to scores. However, it was Munster who were out of the
blocks quicker, and after the home side were penalised for going off their
feet, Keatley converted to extend Munster’s lead to 16-6. This was to be Munster’s final score of the
game as they spent the remainder of the half trying to hold back the green
tide.
Connacht had an opportunity to reduce the deficit in the 44th
minute when Keatley was penalised for not releasing, but after kicking to the
corner, Munster defended desperately and cleared. However, Munster were penalised once more a
minute later for not rolling away, captain James Coughlan was warned by the
referee of this repeated offending, and Parks again converted to reduce the deficit
to 9-16.
And following a deft chip by Parks from a 22 drop out in the 52nd
minute, the home side gained a foothold in the Munster 22. From a resulting lineout which was well re-cycled
by the Connacht pack, Parks stood back in the pocket and dropped a goal to
reduce the deficit further to 12-16. The game was now really in the melting pot with
the vociferous home crowd doing their utmost to drive their team to victory.
A further opportunity
to reduce the deficit to the minimum was spurned in the 63rd minute
when Parks was wide from a penalty after James Downey was penalised and yellow
carded for a high tackle on Connacht’s Mike McCarthy. With Munster now a man down there was never a
better opportunity for Connacht to drive home their advantage and gain a
victory in this fixture which has alluded them on all bar one occasion in their
past 38 meetings.
And their chance
seemed to have arrived in the 69th minute. After a further Connacht penalty which they
kicked to the corner, and after multiple phases from the resulting lineout,
substitute Eoin Griffin chipped through and it looked like big lock George
Naoupu had beaten Peter Stringer to the chase and touched down. However, after consulting with the TMO, a
decision of no try was given as Naoupu had failed to ground the ball when
skidding along the slippery surface. A
major let off for Munster and another of those perennial hard luck decisions
for Connacht.
However, there was
still time for the home side to score the crucial try which would surely seal
victory here. And they had one further
opportunity with a line out in the Munster 22 in the 77th
minute. Unfortunately the line out was
stolen by the away side who relieved the pressure once more. And in the dying seconds, after a tap penalty
and multiple drives around the fringes, Connacht were penalised for not
releasing and Munster closed out the game.
Munster Coach Rob Penney will be happy to take the points from this
fixture knowing that his side showed very little from an attacking point of
view but the character shown by his young charges in trying circumstances was
definitely a plus. James Coughlan now
looks to be fully back to match fitness and Sean Dougall also came off the
bench to strengthen the back row options once more. Mike Sherry’s all action display was also
rewarded with the Man of the Match award and a successful night in the set
piece with Munster winning 10 out of 11 of their own throws from line out ball.
Connacht Coach Eric Elwood will be disappointed with the
opportunities his side had to win the game in the second half and which were
not taken. I’m sure it will feel like 4
points lost to him as opposed to 1 point gained. However, in a season where some heavy hitters
have fallen at the Sportsground to date, he will hope that with a little more
luck, Connacht can continue to make strides forward for the remainder of the
season.
Munster now leap frog Leinster in to 3rd place in the play
off positions in the Rabo Pro12 before welcoming top of the table Ulster to
Thomond Park next weekend. Connacht remain
in 10th place and will travel to Dublin to face Leinster with
memories of their emphatic victory over the men in blue from earlier in the
season firmly in their minds.
Man of the
Match: Mike Sherry (Munster)
Teams and
Scorers:
Munster: D. Hurley, J.
Murphy, C. Laulala, J. Downey (D. Barnes 74 mins), L. O’Dea (JJ Hanrahan 75
mins), I. Keatley (3 pens, 1 con), P. Stringer, D. Kilcoyne (W. Du Preez 69
mins), M. Sherry, S. Archer (BJ Botha 69 mins), Donncha O’Callaghan, B.
Holland, P. Butler, T. O’Donnell, J. Coughlan (c)(S. Dougall 67 mins)
Replacements: S. Henry, W. Du Preez, BJ Botha, D. Foley, S. Dougall,
D. Williams, JJ Hanrahan, D. Barnes
Glasgow: R. Henshaw,
T. O’Halloran (M. Jarvis 25 mins), D. Poolman, D. McSharry, F. Vainikolo (E.
Griffin 67 mins), D. Parks (1 pen, Wight 49 mins), K. Marmion (P. O’Donohoe 67
mins), B. Wilkinson (D. Buckley 46 mins), J. Harris-Wright (E. Reynecke 66
mins), N. White (R. Loughney 18 mins), G. Naoupu, M. McCarthy, A. Browne (M.
Swift 50 mins), J. O’Connor (E. Grace 72 mins), E. McKeon Replacements:
E. Reynecke, D. Buckley, R. Loughney, M. Swift, E. Grace, P. O’Donohoe, M.
Jarvis, E. Griffin
Referee:
Dudley Phillips (IRFU)
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