THOMOND PARK TIE:MUNSTER WILL once again field a mixture of youth and experience against Ulster this coming weekend after Tony McGahan's scratch side put Connacht to the sword at Thomond Park on Saturday night.
Munster came into the match with only two survivors from the starting XV which beat Perpignan in France six days earlier yet cruised to victory against Michael Bradley’s men in a one-sided contest.
Tries by Ian Dowling, Damian Varley, Paul Warwick and a late effort from Jean de Villiers eventually paved the way for a bonus-point win to move Munster back into contention for a play-off spot.
They now lie in third position in the Magners League table, level on points with the Ospreys and just a single point behind Michael Cheika’s Leinster.
Speaking after the game, McGahan said he was delighted with the resilience and patience his side showed to eventually secure the winning bonus point, particularly after losing their way for long spells in the second half.
“I was pleased with our effort and our control in the first half,” McGahan said.
“The second half left a little bit to be desired, especially at the breakdown for that first 30 minutes, but then we got some semblance of shape to hold onto the ball for the last three or four minutes and get a well-worked try.
“To put these guys out on the park and say go out and play, it does take a little bit of time to gel but I thought they were tremendous from the start tonight.
“I thought they showed a real fortitude and a real strength to grab it by the neck when it really needed to be done.”
Munster now move on to Ravenhill to play Ulster this Saturday where they will hope to make amends for a disappointing display at the same venue last season, a game which they lost 22-6.
McGahan looks likely to once again choose his side along similar lines after he confirmed he will not be selecting his front-line Irish international players who will once again be rested in accordance with IRFU guidelines.
He said: “Well it’s the way we like to keep things going because you really can’t play the same pool of players every week.
“When there is such a big group of them you really need to provide opportunities for the squad to shine and I thought we did that last year and we certainly have plenty of faith in what they are doing.
“The senior internationals of the IRFU programme are on another week off,” he continued, “so we’ll go up there next week with pretty much the same side.
“We’re really looking forward to that because it hasn’t been a great ground for us to get a result in.
“We’ve really struggled up there for any number of reasons so it’s a real challenge for us and one that we’re really looking forward to this week to build on the last couple of weeks’ work.”
Scorers:Munster: Tries: Dowling, Varley, Warwick, de Villiers. Cons: O'Gara 2, Warwick Pens: O'Gara 2, Warwick. Connacht: Pen: Keatley
MUNSTER:F Jones (P Warwick 16); D Hurley, T Gleeson, J de Villiers, I Dowling; R OGara (S Deasy 41), P Stringer (D Williams 73); J Brugnaut, D Varley (M Sherry 77), T Buckley; M ODriscoll, D Ryan; B Holland (T O'Donnell 64), N Ronan, N Williams (J Coughlan 64).
CONNACHT:G Duffy; T Nathan, N Taauso, K Matthews, L Bibo; M Nikora (I Keatley 38), C OLoughlin (K Campbell 66); B Wilkinson (R Loughney 41), A Flavin (D Murphy 50), J Hagan; M Swift, B Upton (A Browne 41); M McComish, J OConnor, G Naoupu.
Yellow card:Nathan (32).
Referee:D Keane (Ireland).
