Scarlets 14 Munster 17: IT WAS a performance fired in the forge of traditional Munster virtues, shaped by perspiration and defined by cussedness in adversity. The aesthetics, rugby wise, of the contest won't matter a jot to a vociferous travelling Munster contingent in a Heineken Cup record crowd for the Parc y Scarlets cathedral of 13,185.
They craved a win and they got it, albeit without quite the same anxiety as previous games in the tournament. It was far from comfortable, just a little less fraught and in some respects a continuation of a theme. Three victories, two away from home, unbeaten and proudly ensconced on top of Pool One; the bald statistics read well.
Scratch the surface though and performance issues remain. Munster played horribly in the opening 25 minutes, an error-ridden morass, from which they might not have escaped had Scarlets outhalf Rhys Priestland been more accurate with the placed ball and his team-mates in their execution and ball retention.
Munster’s right wing Johne Murphy perfectly encapsulated the frustration when he reflected: “We didn’t start off very well. We did exactly what we were trying not to do, that’s give up the ball in our own half by stupid mistakes. We messed up in the first 10 minutes and to give them an eight-point start and still come back and win by three [was a good achievement].”
The team, though, is noted for its equanimity in trying circumstances and, brilliantly coaxed by their outstanding captain Paul O’Connell, they managed to wangle a foothold in the game. It was largely attributable to cutting back on the mistakes and then riding roughshod through the guts of the Scarlets’ pack.
Wian du Preez and BJ Botha were the granite cornerstones of a Munster scrum that forced a smattering of penalties and free kicks while the marauding Damien Varley, James Coughlan and Niall Ronan in particular were both excellent and effective in ensuring continuity. Munster won the collisions on the fringes of rucks with bristling intensity and single-minded purpose.
They relished the graft while their Llanelli counterparts, fanned out, pined for a more unstructured game. The visitors also managed to slow down Scarlets’ ball and in this respect Ronan and Peter O’Mahony, until his half-time departure with a jaw injury, excelled.
Scarlets’ coach Nigel Davies was less enamoured in the aftermath, believing that Munster had been permitted by referee Romain Poite to “seal off” at rucks.
The breakdown was largely a lawless outpost. Denied a snappy, front foot supply, the home side’s vaunted back play withered on the vine of frustration.
They pushed passes, sought contact when space was available and even when they did breach the initial white wall of defenders found themselves ensnared by Munster’s scramble defence. They also became bedevilled by errors.
Ronan O’Gara, playing with typical courage – he might have been bumped in several tackles but never shirked his duty – and directing intelligently, gave Priestland a lesson in place-kicking and game management in his 100th European match for Munster. Lifeimi Mafi carried aggressively and to good effect while debutant Simon Zebo offered snapshots of real ability in attack and that a little technical refinement is required without the ball.
Once again Munster coach Tony McGahan used the bench to great effect and elicited the desired response, manifest in the brilliant contribution of Denis Leamy. The Scarlets were slapdash in their execution, a malaise that affected both teams but was more keenly felt by the home side.
They couldn’t establish continuity or a platform up front and therefore much of their back play was either lateral or reliant on breaking the tackle. George North, a late withdrawal having failed to recover from a dead leg, was sorely missed.
The brio and fire of previous displays was doused by their own failings, any lingering embers of creativity extinguished long before the final whistle. They did briefly rally towards the end when Stephen Jones was introduced at outhalf and Rhys Priestland switched to fullback but almost two minutes of sustained pressure in the Munster 22 eventually dissipated as Jones knocked on; his side conceded a penalty from the ensuing scrum.
Scarlets raced into an 8-0 lead in somewhat fortuitous circumstances.
A Will Chambers pass was poorly directed and spilled by Zebo on the halfway line and as Munster dithered Liam Williams moved the ball back infield and into the path of flanker Aaron Shingler who crossed for a try. Priestland missed the conversion, having also failed with an earlier penalty.
O’Gara reduced the deficit with a penalty and then the visitors produced the one moment where vision and execution were harmonised. O’Gara counter-attacked from a loose clearance, Denis Hurley took out two tacklers and produced a sumptuous one-handed offload, Murphy straightened and Ronan glided down the touchline, stepped inside a defender and slid over the line.
O’Gara couldn’t convert but thereafter won the kicking duel, adding three more penalties to one apiece from Priestland and Jones.
The Scarlets – this is a 13th straight defeat to last Saturday’s opponents – will be better this weekend in Thomond Park but in all probability so will Munster.
Scoring sequence. 4 mins: Shingler try, 5-0; 8 mins: Priestland penalty, 8-0; 25 mins: O’Gara penalty, 8-3; 29 mins: Ronan try, 8-8; 37 mins: O’Gara penalty, 8-11. Half-time: 8-11. 49 mins: Priestland penalty, 11-11; 55 mins: O’Gara penalty, 11-14; 61 mins: O’Gara penalty, 11-17; 67 mins: Jones penalty, 14-17.
SCARLETS:D Newton; L Williams, S Williams, J Davies, S Lamont; R Priestland, G Davies; I Thomas, M Rees (capt), Rhys Thomas; S Timani, D Welch; A Shingler, R McCusker, B Morgan. Replacements: J Edwards for Shingler 45 mins; S Jones for Newton 58 mins; T Knoyle for G Davies; K Owens for Rees 61 mins; P Johns for I Thomas 61 mins; K Murphy for Timani 61 mins; D Manu for R Thomas 75 mins; V Iongi for L Williams 75 mins.
MUNSTER:D Hurley; J Murphy, W Chambers, L Mafi, S Zebo; R O'Gara, C Murray; W du Preez, D Varley, BJ Botha; D Ryan, P O'Connell (capt); P O'Mahony, N Ronan, J Coughlan. Replacements: D Leamy for O'Mahony h-t; D O'Callaghan for Ryan 55 mins; D Barnes for Chambers 55 mins; T O'Leary for Murray 61 mins; M Horan for du Preez 75 mins; J Hayes for Botha 76 mins.
Referee: R Poite (France).
