Almost as important as the result itself, amid the frenzied pursuit of bonus points in Limerick last night Garryowen reached their holy grail of a fourth try two minutes into injury time. In a typically no-holds-barred, fluctuating derby Barry O'Neill's potentially crucial 82nd minute try completed a compelling evening's entertainment at Dooradoyle.
By then the gloom and the teeming rain had been forgotten amongst a thoroughly absorbed 3,000 crowd. Despite being shorn half a first-choice pack as ever Munsters' spirit was utterly willing. The net result is that Garryowen stay a point above the holders in moving into fourth place, with just one point now covering four clubs from third-placed Lansdowne (on 29 points) to sixth-placed Ballymena (on 28 points). None of the top six are in the play-offs yet, but Garryowen know that five points at home to Ballymena will earn them a place in the top four.
Having manufactured a third, handsomely taken try on the hour, Garryowen were then pegged back inside their own 22 almost without a break for well on 15 minutes. In the end, Paul O'Connell's close-range try from Diarmuid Reddan's tap penalty must almost have been a relief to home connections. Mike Mullins made a couple of try-saving tackles after big cuts by Tom Tierney and the brilliant Jeremy Staunton; Paul McDonagh over-running the latter's offload in the tackle as the line begged, and it seemed Garryowen's chance had gone. O'Connell prevented a quick drop out with a trip, and was duly sin-binned for a third indiscretion. Another penalty ensued, and Staunton had another cut which was quickly recycled. Killian Keane straightened the line and released Kevin O'Riordan on half-way with a well-weighted skip pass, the winger chasing his own chip ahead in tandem with O'Neill to wrestle the ball from the covering Brian Buckley and despite being held back O'Neill reached out for the touchdown. Cue the celebrations, conversion and final whistle. Garryowen had laid out their intentions from the outset and Dominic Crotty's intrusions were always a handful for Young Munster. However, after 27 minutes, for all their good intentions all Garryowen had to show for their early endeavours was Keane's third successful penalty to a scraggy drop goal by Eamonn Buckley. They needed something special, and no better man that the gifted and unpredictable Staunton to provide it. From the recycled restart, he chipped over the quickly advancing line, beat Mike Mullins to the high first bounce, accelerated away from one tackle and took the covering effort of Denis O'Dowd to score his sixth try of the campaign.
From the next restart, it was Crotty's turn to break up the middle, forcing Munsters' to concede a close-in lineout from his ensuing chip ahead. In a well-rehearsed move, Shane Leahy gathered in the middle and deflected to his younger brother Ross, who was driven over. All the while, Keane was kicking beautifully to make it 23-3.
At last Young Munster began to get their close-in driving and continuity game going, with Mattte Pau and the pumped up Mick Fitzgerald and O'Connell making plenty of hard yards. A brace of penalties either side of the break for Tom Cregan were fair reward before Garryowen stealthily broke out. Staunton menacingly drew defenders and Keane took the skip pass to find a hole and release the supporting Crotty for a typically well-executed try.
They seemed odds-on then to make it a full five-point haul, whereupon Munsters' did more than just delay them. But deservedly, amid high drama O'Neill's try illuminated a grey old evening.
Scoring sequence: 3 mins: Keane pen 3-0; 6 mins: Keane pen 6-0; 12 mins: Buckley drop goal 6-3; 27 mins: Keane pen 9-3; 28 mins: Staunton try, Keane con 16-3; 31 mins: R Leahy try, Keane con 23-3; 35 mins: Cregan pen 23-6; 56 mins: Cregan pen 23-9; 60 mins: Crotty try 28-9; 75 mins: O'Connell try, Cregan con 28-16; 82 mins: O'Neill try, Keane con 3516.
Garryowen: D Crotty; P McDonagh, K Keane, B O'Neill, K O'Riordan; J Staunton, T Tierney; N Hartigan, P Humphreys, R Laffan, S Leahy, R Leahy, C Varley, P Hogan, P Neville. Replacements: (temp) A Bermingham for Hogan (4-19 mins), D Peters for R Leahy (50 mins), J Giltenane for Hartigan (60 mins).
Young Munster: M Mullins; D O'Dowd, M Lynch, L Doyle, T Cregan; E Buckley, M Prendergast; E Hann, M Hayes, M Fitzgerald, B Buckley, P O'Connell, H O'Neill, M te Pau, D McDonagh. Replacements: D Reddan for Prendergast (half-time), S McCahill for Buckley (44 mins), M O'Halloran for O'Dowd (61 mins).
Referee: B Smith (Munster).
