THOMOND PARK MATCH: Munster 24 Ulster 10:MUNSTER TURNED an important corner here but Ulster assisted this process with a near total collapse in what was supposed to be the realigning of an ancient rivalry beneath dark Limerick skies on Halloween night.
The Munster scrum was down to bare bones with Cork Constitution tighthead Stephen Archer rapidly promoted due to the suspension of John Hayes and injuries to Tony Buckley and Dave Ryan. For many seasons, when Hayes was learning on the job how to be an effective scrummager, Munster always managed to find a way to survive, thrive even, in south of France hell-holes. There seemed to be a return to that mindset.
The scrum buckled on several occasions but it helped that Denis Leamy was back to his rampaging best, picking quickly when required, while Alan Quinlan’s abiding belligerence saw off any snooping from Isaac Boss.
But it was the Ulster lineout that truly crumbled with hooker Nigel Brady having a direct hand in two of Munster’s four tries.
On 35 minutes the visitors led 10-7 with the Munster problems of recent weeks still evident for all to see. Then Brady stalled too long for Alain Rolland’s liking with a lineout deep in his own 22. Man-of-the-match Tomás O’Leary’s quickly tapped free kick saw David Wallace driven over.
Then on 46 minutes Munster moved two scores clear when Brady’s rush-of-blood throw to the back of an unprepared lineout was gathered by the alert Leamy. He was stopped but Munster went to their favoured short side, with Ronan O’Gara feeding Keith Earls who slid under Timoci Nagusa.
Ulster had other worries. Ian Humphreys is a quality footballer and halfway through the game people were openly questioning Declan Kidney’s decision to omit him from the Irish training squad.
Yet, Humphreys defence remains a serious problem, on a par with O’Gara’s, while his kicking game also disintegrated right when Ulster needed him to manage their comeback. A missed penalty on 51 minutes would have made it 19-13 and a captivating last half hour. Next he dropped a straight-forward garryowen way before the excellent Paul Warwick could follow it up. Andrew Trimble saved a certain try.
It got worse. At the death, Humphreys presented Munster a bonus-point opportunity with a suicidal run from behind his own line. Straight into Paul O’Connell’s warm embrace. From the ensuing, and now solid scrum, Munster went blind again for Warwick to dive over. O’Gara missed a second conversion but there were occasional signs that his line-kicking is returning to its expected standard.
Fijian winger Nagusa was another to come in for special treatment on the night as aerial balls were regularly sprayed over his head. So slick in attack, back-tracking, Nagusa was ruthlessly exposed, joining Sebastien Chabal and a host of others who have been given the de-luxe Thomond experience. Simon Danielli was in for him on 51 minutes. Brady lasted 62 minutes before former Munster player Andy Kyriacou took over the hooking duties.
On a more positive note, Paddy Wallace looks a shoo-in for the number 12 jersey against Australia after another impressive display, with sharp hands and, crucially, solid defending.
Stephen Ferris, in his first game back after injury, was a shade below his world-class best. Still, he creased plenty of big men and the mere sound of his breathing seemed to prompt an aimless kick from O’Gara in the first half.
The early exchanges gave false promise of a classic encounter. Archer was twice lifted out of the scrum by Tom Court; to the aspiring prop’s credit he remained industrious. But Munster drew first blood. O’Leary exposed the lack of an Ulster ruck pillar to dart into space, drawing the last man before sending Jean de Villiers over for a try in his new outside centre role. Lifeimi Mafi was back doing damage at inside centre.
There followed some Humphreys brilliance as Rolland signalled for advantage near the Munster line, the outhalf chipped over to touch down one-handed. A conversion and penalty, for O’Gara not releasing, put Ulster into a 10-7 lead on 23 minutes. Munster went back to basics, racking up 11 phases in the penultimate attack before Wallace burst the damn.
O’Connell was guilty of a few handling errors but a massive steal near his own line snuffed out Ulster hopes of a late revival. So did Darren Cave’s late sin-binning for catching Ian Dowling in the air as Munster’s simple approach yielded full value.
Scoring sequence:15 mins: J de Villiers try, 5-0; R O'Gara conv, 7-0; 18 mins: I Humphreys try, 7-5; I Humphreys conv, 7-7; 23: I Humphreys pen, 7-10; 35: D Wallace try, 12-10; R O'Gara conv, 14-10. Half-time. 46: K Earls try, 19-10; 80: P Warwick try, 24-10.
MUNSTER:P Warwick; I Dowling, J de Villiers, L Mafi, K Earls; R O'Gara, T OLeary; J Brugnaut, D Fogarty, S Archer, D OCallaghan, P OConnell (capt), A Quinlan, D Leamy, D Wallace. Replacements: D Varley for D Fogarty (69 mins), N Ronan for D Wallace (inj, 76 mins).
ULSTER:C Schikofske; T Nagusa, D Cave, P Wallace (capt), A Trimble; I Humphreys, I Boss; T Court, N Brady, B Botha, E ODonoghue, R Caldwell, S Ferris, C Henry, W Faloon. Replacements: S Danielli for T Nagusa (51 mins), A Kyriacou for N Brady (62 mins), B Young for T Court, R Diack for W Faloon, P Marshall for I Boss (all 65 mins).
Referee:A Rolland (IRFU).
