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Another bad day as Pirates hijack Munster A

BRITISH AND IRISH CUP FINAL Cornish Pirates 23 Munster A 14: MUNSTER FINISHED the season empty-handed as their British and Irish…

IAN BRANSFIELD
Mon May 17 2010 - 01:00

BRITISH AND IRISH CUP FINAL Cornish Pirates 23 Munster A 14:MUNSTER FINISHED the season empty-handed as their British and Irish Cup hopes were hijacked by the Cornish Pirates who scored two first-half tries to effectively seal the game at Camborne in southwest England yesterday.

Anthony Foley’s Munster men started the game well but fell behind against the run of play when Steve Winn found a gap in the defence to touch down for the opening try, which was converted by John Bentley.

Munster responded well, and enjoyed plenty of joy in the lineout where Dave Foley, Ian Nagle and Mike Sherry were all superb.

Declan Cusack knocked over a couple of penalties to keep them in touch, but they suffered a heavy blow just before the break when Rhodri McAtee found space in the corner to score the Pirates’ second try.

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Bentley once more converted and then added another penalty on the stroke of half-time to send the home side into the break leading 20-6.

Cusack knocked over another penalty just after the restart but Munster spent much of the second half on the back foot.

They failed to generate any amount of quick ball and were forced to defend for long periods.

Bentley nailed another penalty on the hour mark, and it wasn’t until the final quarter that Munster began to ask questions of the home defence.

Jeremy Manning began to exert some influence in midfield and fullback Seán Scanlon looked threatening on the counter-attack.

Captain Peter O’Mahony began to get his hands on the ball more, but each time the Munster ball carrier was hit by a white wall, and try-scoring opportunities were few and far between.

Even the ultra-reliable Munster lineout began to stutter as the half wore on, though replacement secondrow Dave O’Callaghan made a big impact in the loose.

Tempers then boiled over as O’Mahony locked horns with Chris Morgan on the touchline, forcing Mossie Lawlor to step in as peace-maker.

Danny Barnes eventually touched down for a Munster try late into injury time, but it was too little too late.

“It’s a disappointing way to finish the season,” said Foley, “but we’ve learned plenty about ourselves over the past nine months. We don’t have all the answers, but we’re certainly a lot better off because of our experiences.”

SCORING SEQUENCE: 17 mins: S Winn try, J Bentley con, 7-0; 20: D Cusack pen, 7-3; 25: Bentley pen, 10-3; 29: Cusack pen, 10-6; 36: R McAtee try, Bentley con, 17-6, 39: Bentley pen 20-6; 44: Cusack pen, 20-9; 60: Bentley pen, 23-9; 79: D Barnes try 23-14.

CORNISH PIRATES:W Davies; R McAtee, M Ireland, S Winn, N Jackson; J Bentley, G Cattle (capt); C Rimmer, R Elloway, A Paver; L McGlone, B Gulliver; C Morgan, D Ward, B Cowan. Replacements: M Myercough for McGlone (52 mins), S Betty for Elloway (58 mins), P Andrew for Rimmer (61 mins), J Doherty for Cattle, R Storer for Cowan (both 75 mins).

MUNSTER: S Scanlon; D Barnes, T Gleeson, J Manning, S Zebo; D Cusack, D Williams; D Kilcoyne, M Sherry, S Archer; D Foley, I Nagle; B Holland, T O'Donnell, P O'Mahony (capt). Replacements: D Ryan for Kilcoyne (41 mins), D O'Callaghan for Nagle, P Butler for O'Donnell (both 61 mins), C Murray for Williams, R O'Mahony for Cusack (both 63 mins), M Lawlor for Zebo (75 mins)

Referee: Leighton Hodges(WRFU).