Relentless as Munster gain ground

Munster 36 Clermont Auvergne 13:Few teams manage as well as Munster to retain a relentless diligence from first to final whistle, and at Thomond Park yesterday that diligence produced a typically honest and robust Heineken European Cup victory for the home side. They did not secure the bonus point until the 76th minute but it would have been a travesty had they not emerged with the five points.

ASM Clermont Auvergne offered doughty resistance for much of the first half but either side of the interval coughed up the 14 points that ended the match as a contest, soothing the nerves of most of the 12,800 supporters.

The venue may be undergoing a facelift but the core Thomond ingredient, the unbridled passion of the crowd, remains intact.

The French side needed a quick start to allow a side showing 14 changes from their thumping victory over Llanelli to foster self-belief. The game plan would not have encompassed having a player sent to the sinbin on seven minutes, but that was what transpired when Clermont's Fijian international wing Vilimoni Delasau saw yellow after a number of offside infringements.

It wasn't a particular heinous offence but it was the visitors' third transgression in their own 22 in the opening minutes of the contest. Referee Nigel Owens of Wales lost patience and Munster capitalised immediately when from the resultant penalty Ronan O'Gara kicked across the pitch for Shaun Payne, who gathered and touched down.

It was an intelligent and beautifully executed gambit from Munster's stand-in captain, and it was apposite that Payne, winning his 100th cap for the province, should mark the occasion with a try.

O'Gara converted and would proceed to demonstrate great accuracy throughout the encounter, missing just a single kick at goal.

Given the strong wind and the fact that kicking at Thomond Park has changed utterly during the renovations, it underlined his excellent form. He controlled the game, kicked judiciously and used his three-quarter line at every opportunity.

The only cavil was that in their urgency to go wide in the opening 40 minutes, the Munster backs rarely fixed the drift defence. Early passes allowed Clermont defenders to slide toward the touchline. Munster duly addressed the issue and thereby contributed to two of their second-half tries.

If the Munster backs earned the plaudits against Wasps, it was the pack who muscled their way back into the spotlight yesterday. They decimated the Clermont lineout, snaffling four opposition darts and reducing the Springbok captain John Smit to just a single successful throw in the first half.

Donncha O'Callaghan was especially effective, which, allied to Mick O'Driscoll's superbly assured handling of kick-offs, meant the home side ruled the air. The scrum was equally dominant, shunting and tweaking the opposing eight; denied this set-piece platform, Clermont rarely managed the continuity of possession they needed.

The one notable exception came just before the interval when, following a succession of drives, they inched to within feet of the Munster line. But they ended up turning over possession, and the player who forced the error was David Wallace, outstanding in a backrow in which Alan Quinlan and Denis Leamy also excelled.

Wallace put in some crunching tackles - so too did John Hayes - and carried ball to great effect, offering a target for his pack. The Munster eight as a unit deserve credit as all contributed in every facet of the game.

Behind Peter Stringer's brisk service, the backs ran aggressively, none more so than Rua Tipoki and the excellent Ian Dowling. They demanded multiple tacklers and provided space for others.

The French side will reflect on that missed opportunity just before half-time: at that point they trailed by just 10-6, outhalf Seremaia Bai having kicked two penalties.

As so often happens when teams fail to capitalise, Munster went straight up the pitch and scored two minutes into first-half injury time.

From a five-metre scrum Leamy was driven backward but cleverly offloaded to Tipoki, who jinked and powered his way over. O'Gara converted and at 17-6 the match had a different complexion.

The home side started brightly after the interval and were rewarded on 51 minutes, the origins once again a scrum. O'Gara raced to the short side and linked with Payne, whose perfectly floated pass allowed Brian Carney to scoot over untouched. The outhalf posted the conversion and the Munster faithful sat back awaiting the fourth try and bonus point.

The home side lost a little direction and Clermont, buoyed by wholesale changes in personnel, managed to keep the ball for longer periods without really creating anything. They were handed a lifeline of sorts when Marius Joubert charged down Tipoki's intended clearance and regathered to score a try, which Bai improved upon.

It served only to recalibrate Munster's patterns, and territorial pressure was rewarded with tries from Quinlan - a self-inflicted wound by the Clermont halfbacks - and Marcus Horan to embellish an encouraging afternoon's work.

There are still aspects of Munster's game that require tweaking but they have managed to get the foothold they wanted in this season's European Cup. Several passages of their play against Wasps last weekend and the victory yesterday suggest the 2005 champions are establishing a momentum that will stand them in good stead.

Clermont's ambitions for their trip to Limerick were articulated by their choice of team and they will present a far different prospect in the Stade Marcel Michelin in January. Munster though are content to live in the present, as they showed at Thomond Park.

SCORING SEQUENCE: 7 mins:Payne try, O'Gara conversion, 7-0; 11:Bai penalty, 7-3; 36:O'Gara pen, 10-3; 38:Bai pen, 10-6; 40(+2):Tipoki try, O'Gara con, 17-6 (half-time 17-6); 51:Carney try, O'Gara con, 24-6; 63:Joubert try, Bai con, 24-13; 76:Quinlan try, O'Gara con, 31-13; 79:Horan try, 36-13.

MUNSTER:S Payne; B Carney, R Tipoki, L Mafi, I Dowling; R O'Gara (capt), P Stringer; M Horan, J Flannery, J Hayes; D O'Callaghan, M O'Driscoll; A Quinlan, D Wallace, D Leamy. Replacements: T Buckley for Hayes (63 mins); A Foley for Wallace (69 mins); F Sheahan for Flannery (76 mins); J Paringatai for Quinlan, G Hurley for Stringer, K Lewis for Tipoki, P Warwick for O'Gara (all 80 mins).

ASM CLERMONT AUVERGNE:J Malzieu; G Esterhuizen, M Joubert, R Chanal, V Delasau; S Bai, A Pic; G Shvelidze, J Smit, D Zirakashvili; C Samson, P Vigouroux; F Alexandre, E Etien, S Broomhall (capt). Replacements: T Domingo for Shvelidze (45 mins); T Privat for Vigouroux (46 mins); A Audebert for Etien (50 mins); M Lozupone for Smit (55-58 mins and 63-67 mins); P Manuel Garcia for Chanal (60 mins); N Vonowale Nalaga for Joubert (74 mins).

Referee: N Owens(Wales).