Tough get going one more time

Last week in the Stradey hailstones, Munster faced their moment of truth in the last quarter and the pack responded by playing like eight brothers. Pitted into a similar searching examination of their spiritual, physical and mental resolve yesterday in the rematch when Marcus Horan was sinbinned, the remaining 14 men in red rolled up their sleeves again.

"I don't know how much more we can tap into each other. It's difficult at times for the boys to keep raising their game but it's a sign of a quality team," said Ronan O'Gara, who commended the try which followed Horan's yellow card with the rider: "the reverse of that is why aren't we doing that with 15? Do we need a kick up the arse to do that, but the way the players reacted was brilliant. We needed a try because I don't think penalties were going to be good enough.

"There was a great work ethic and the forwards really lifted their game. The second half was a good performance individually and collectively. We tackled well, we got a turnover and we executed well. The try looked like a good try from where I was watching anyway."

There will have been no more relieved man in what O'Gara described as a satisfied but tired home dressingroom than Horan, though there's little doubt the Munster management will take a dim view of his latest loss of cool, all the more so as he flirted with a red card when becoming engaged with Dwayne Peel upon his return from the sin bin.

"Yes of course we'd be disappointed to get a yellow card," said coach Declan Kidney afterwards, carefully choosing his words, "and the players would be disappointed with themselves. We'll take a look at it and deal with it in our own way."

Kidney conceded there was "loads to work on" in light of a scratchy performance and O'Gara bemoaned the unacceptable "breakdown in communication" which led to Stephen Jones's early seven pointer, yet the Munster captain maintained: "To achieve what we have achieved over Llanelli is a big, big boost to this squad.

"We knew this week that coming home was going to be very difficult. People expected us to turn up and win but that wasn't, at all, the atmosphere in the camp. They made some changes and I thought Stephen Jones gave them a big presence in their team when they were playing into the wind."

Admitting that Munster would have elected to play into the elements in the first half had they won the toss, O'Gara quipped: "Axel (Anthony Foley) lost the toss. I was warming up for the second week in a row."

Excited about the prospect of three world-class players joining the annual crusade at various junctures in the new year, namely Doug Howlett, Alan Quinlan and Paul O'Connell, O'Gara spoke of the improved standards amongst Celtic teams this season.

"It's so competitive, it's unbelievable this Heineken Cup, especially some of the groups, so it's a big game every week. The Magners League has got its credibility back too."

Relief at becoming the first side to beat Llanelli back to back is augmented by the belief that the Scarlets might yet damage the hopes of Wasps (away) or, perhaps more plausibly, Clermont at home, although Kidney made the valid observation that because of their EDF Cup involvement, Llanelli will have to play three matches in a week prior to playing Wasps.

Nevertheless, the hope will be that Llanelli will take a scalp, or ideally two, from their remaining games.

Expressing no doubts that Llanelli will continue to give it their best shot, Kidney commented: "We've nothing but the height of respect for Llanelli and if we didn't have that respect for them there's no way we would have won today."

Phil Davies said he was proud of his team's performance in such a physical and intense game, and maintained: "Like I said to the players today, we want to win this competition, and I feel that sport and especially rugby is all about momentum and we've got to try and keep our momentum going in this competition. That's what we'll do in these next two games.

"We've got to keep on the journey, keep improving and eventually come to places like this and win."