12th March 2013
Munster A
24
Leinster A 17
On a day when most
Irish eyes were tuned in to events in Prestbury Park, Munster’s own thoroughbred
Paul O’Connell made his long awaited comeback from injury in this inter provincial
derby between Munster A and their Leinster counterparts.
In what was a very competitive
and enjoyable game played on a chilly afternoon at the University of Limerick Bowl,
a stronger Munster A side ran out deserving winners over their more youthful opponents.
 |
| Munster Head Coach Rob Penney with more favourable viewpoint from behind the posts! |
O’Connell lasted until
the half time break and during that period showed many glimpse of his trademark
industry with many clean takes in the lineout and was constantly available to
carry ball for his troops. The player
himself will be delighted to get this run out under his belt without any
setbacks and so will his coach Rob Penney who will be planning to give him some
more badly needed game in the next Pro 12 game against Connacht on Saturday week.
The home side started
with purpose and a big roar went up from the sizable attendance when O’Connell
took the first lineout of the game cleanly and set the tone by being involved
in all the early exchanges.
J.J. Hanrahan was also
orchestrating matters in the early exchanges and kicked Munster in to a 3-0
lead in the 6th minute. The
Leinster A backline was dangerous on the counter attack and they responded in
the 11th minute when full back Andrew Conway burst through some
feeble Munster A tackling and he sprinted under the posts. Centre Noel Reid converted to give the men in
blue a 7-3 advantage.
Reid failed to extend
Leinster’s lead in the 14th minute when wide from a penalty after O’Connell
was penalised for handling the ball on the deck. It was a very competitive game at this
juncture with no shortage of big hits by both sides.
Hanrahan reduced the
deficit with a further penalty in the 21st minute after the visitors
were penalised once more following a deft layoff by O’Connell to hooker Sean
Henry. Munster continued to dominate
possession, but very much like the first team, they shifted the ball wide at
every opportunity but unforced errors continued to let them down when they got
in to good attacking positions.
The home side regained
the lead in the 32nd minute after Leinster A were penalised for
collapsing a scrum and Hanrahan converted with aplomb from the touchline to
leave Munster ahead by 9-7 at the half time break.
With a number of
changes made by both sides at half time they could be forgiven if there was no
major structure to the game in the second half.
Munster A stuck to their game plan however , and after a backline move
that went through many pairs of hands, winger Ronan O’Mahoney tip toed along
the touchline to touch down in the 42nd minute. Hanrahan once more converted from the touchline
to extend the home side’s lead to 16-7.
Leinster A fought
their way back in to game however within minutes, when, after a great back by
Hanrahan and an inside flip pass which did not go ahead, Leinster outhalf
Cathal Marsh was ever alert and he collected to sprint down the touchline from
the half way line and touch down. Reid converted
once more to reduce the deficit to 16-14.
The experienced men in
the Munster side rallied the troops once more, and in the 53rd
minute, after good work by C.J. Stander in sucking in defenders, Niall Ronan
showed great hands as the ball was passed out wide and the final pass to Danny
Barnes allowed him to touch down unopposed in the corner. Hanrahan converted once more to maintain his
100% record from the boot and extend Munster A’s lead to 21 -14.
Back came Leinster A
again, and after substitute Scott Deasy was penalised, and yellow carded, for
not rolling away, Noel Reid converted once more to reduce the deficit to 21-17.
After a raft more of
substitutions the game ebbed and flowed between both ends with more unforced
errors made by both sides. Munster A put
the game to bed however in the final minute, when after good patience, the ball
was fed back to Deasy who dropped a goal to leave Munster A the winners on a
final scoreline of 24-17.
Apart from the
importance of O’Connell’s comeback, best for Munster A on the day were J.J.
Hanrahan, who, with his 100% record from
the boot, brought his teammates in to the game at every opportunity. Dave Foley was also very impressive in the
second row, winning all his own line out ball and making yards with every
carry. Centre Danny Barnes also looked
sharp with ball in hand and took his try very well. Andrew Conway was ever dangerous for the
visitors and should be a useful addition when he joins the men in red for next
season. Centre Noel Reid was also
impressive with the boot and could not be faulted for his overall efforts.
Man of the
Match: J.J Hanrahan (Munster)
Teams and
Scorers:
Munster A: Johne Murphy,
Luke O’Dea, Danny Barnes (1 try), Ivan Dineen, Ronan O’Mahoney (1 try), J.J. Hanrahan
(3 pens, 1 con), Cathal Sheridan(c), James Cronin, Sean Henry, John Ryan, Dave
Foley, Paul O’Connell, Niall Ronan, Sean Dougall, C.J. Stander
Replacements:
Marcus Horan (for James Cronin H/T), Duncan Casey (for Sean Henry H/T),
Niall Scannell (for Duncan Casey 63 mins), Kevin Griffin (for John Ryan 64
mins), Brian Hayes (for Paul O’Connell H/T), Willie Ryan (for Niall Ronan 78
mins), Brain Slater (for Cathal Sheridan 74 mins), Scott Deasy (1 drop gl)(for
J.J. Hanrahan 54 mins), Cian Bohane (for Ivan Dineen H/T), Corey Hircock ( for
Ronan O’Mahoney 68 mins), Sean Scanlon (for Johne Murphy H/T), Johnny Holland (
for Danny Barnes 68 mins)
Leinster A: Andrew Conway
(1 try), Andrew Boyle, Jordan Coughlan, Noel Reid (1 pen, 2 con’s), Sam
Coghlan-Murray, Cathal Marsh (1 try), John Cooney, Jack O’Connell, Aaron Dundon(c),
Martin Moore, Mark Flanagan, Quin Roux, Ben Marshal, Conor Gilsenan, Leo Auva’a
No comments:
Post a Comment