URC, round five: Munster 17 Connacht 15
There were times when Munster might have thought Connacht’s defence was never going to break. In the end, one second-half try, a muscled over effort from captain Jack O’Donoghue, was enough to separate the sides.
Connacht had the edge in the first half, while Munster dominated the second. As the Connacht line held in wave after wave of pressure, the edgy contest occasionally spilled over.
It was nothing unsavoury but demonstrated a competitive and abrasive tone as both sides played with urgency and a desperate will to win.
Not always pleasing to the eye, the derby was nonetheless compelling, Munster’s heart and persistence, their patience and accuracy holding out for an impressive five wins from five starts.
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Preserving their winning streak in the United Rugby Championship was vital to Munster after the heroics of last time out in Croke Park against Leinster.
“I think when you have a good win like that up in Dublin, backing it up is the only next thing you can do,” said O’Donoghue, who scored two of his side’s three tries.
“If we didn’t come out the right side of this, that’s all we’d be remembering.”
While ultimately deserved it was not without some anxious moments as a physical Connacht side led the match 15-12 at half-time after three first-half tries.
But O’Donoghue’s two tries and a breakaway from Diarmuid Kilgallen, converted by JJ Hanrahan, was enough to give Munster a satisfying, if not pretty, win. As if they cared.
Munster’s first chance came when Dan Kelly kicked the ball deep from their own half. Finn Treacy picked it up cleanly chasing back but his pass to fullback Harry West went over his head, causing a hectic defensive scramble. But a Munster infringement at the breakdown on the Connacht try line relieved the early pressure.
Munster’s opening score came on 15 minutes when again the lively Kelly broke the gain line to give Munster an extra man near the right touchline.
That man was O’Donoghue, racing outside in support. The simplest delivery put him in unchallenged for 5-0.
But that didn’t dim Connacht’s ambition and within five minutes Byron Ralston cruised through a wall of Munster bodies to take on a popped ball in the Munster 22 and the sides were level.
Munster head coach Clayton McMillan made seven changes from last week’s Leinster beating side, while Stuart Lancaster opted for nine alterations to his side that lost 28-27 at home to the Bulls.
But it was Connacht who were showing the cutting edge and just before the half-hour Sam Illo bumped off a few Munster men to narrow their defence.
A long pass wide to the alert Ralston, who was at hand again, allowed him to run in with nobody at home, giving Connacht a 10-5 lead.
Sensing blood, Connacht were pressing again within five minutes, pushing Munster into their 22. But a Josh Ioane short pass out was read by Kilgallen, who stepped into the space for the intercept.
The Munster winger ran almost the length of the pitch to touch down, Hanrahan converting to put Munster ahead again.
In a try-filled first half there was time for one more, with referee Andrea Piardi drawing the ire of the Munster crowd five minutes into the red. Initially he indicated a held-up ball before giving Connacht captain Paul Boyle the try as Connacht closed the busy half 15-12 in front.
The visitors were desperately unfortunate to lose two-try Ralston just minutes after the restart, with the match stopped for several minutes as he received attention from medics.
After that, it was Munster pressing forward with most of the game played in the Connacht half. The westerners bravely put bodies on the line and began switching in and out players, backs and forwards, on the hour.
Desperate to follow up Croke Park with a home win, Munster began to squeeze harder in the final quarter and come the 68th minute were throwing bodies at the Connacht line.
Phase after phase hammered in until finally O’Donoghue found the strength to force over for his second try of the match and crucially the lead, Tony Butler missing the conversion.
By then, the home side were the dominant force and although Connacht gamely kept competing, Munster sensibly played the game outside of their danger zone, relieved when the final whistle brought the game to an end.
SCORING SEQUENCE – 15 MINS: O’Donoghue try 5-0; 20: Ralston try 5-5; 28: Ralston try 5-10; 33: Kilgallen try, Hanrahan con 12-10; 42: Boyle try 12-15; Half-time 12-15; 68: O’Donoghue try 17-15
MUNSTER: S Daly; D Kilgallen, D Kelly, A Nankivell, T Abrahams; JJ Hanrahan, E Coughlan; M Milne, L Barron, J Ryan; J Kleyn, F Wycherley; J O’Donoghue, J Hodnett, G Coombes.
Replacements: S McCarthy for Abrahams (16 mins), R Quinn for Hodnett (47), J Loughman for Milne (56), N Scannell for Barron (56-65), E O’Connell for Wycherley (59), J O’Riordan for Coughlan, T Butler for Hanrahan (both 63), R Foxe for Ryan (65), Hanrahan for Nankivell (79).
CONNACHT: H West; B Ralston, H Gavin, C Forde, F Treacy; J Ioane, B Murphy; J Duggan, D Heffernan, S Illo; J Joyce, D Murray; J Murphy, P Boyle, S Jansen.
Replacements: S Naughton for Treacy (10 mins), N Murray for Joyce (34), S O’Brien for Jansen (41), M Devine for Ralston (43), P Dooley for Duggan, F Barrett for Illo (both 50), D Tierney-Martin for Heffernan (63).
Referee: A Piardi (ITA).
