Munster 19 Scarlets 13:BY THE epic standards of Euro evenings in their Limerick citadel, this was not a vintage Munster performance, but for all the subdued reaction in both the ground and the home dressingroom, a fourth successive win was still the best way to ensure some festive cheer. The turkey will taste all the better now.
Job done and move on. Munster are not a team of all the talents and they would have liked to have taken a stranglehold on this group with more of a flourish, or at any rate without recourse to another nervous one-score endgame.
They largely subdued a dangerous Scarlets side who, not unexpectedly, sought to play to their running strengths out wide by swinging from the hip, while also targeting Ronan O’Gara.
Munster didn’t allow the game to become too loose and fancy, as Northampton had done in that freakish second round game in Franklin’s Gardens when the Scarlets obtained their bonus point.
After the early hiccups, they played to their set-piece strengths, and attacked in fairly narrow channels through the immense Paul O’Connell and co, with the superb Conor Murray also taking up a truckload of ball, before electing to go wide to the dangerous Keith Earls and Simon Zebo.
Come the early lunch-time kick-off (more a brunch-time kick-off really) there was a fair scattering of empty seats and, try though the diehards did, it undoubtedly felt unusually subdued by the standards of this renowned Euro bearpit. Soon though, the stands filled out and the place livened itself up, thanks in the main to O’Gara activating the scoreboard.
Setting the tone of an encouraging return after a five-week absence, Earls danced up the middle to set a target over the gain line – invariably more difficult to achieve in the early exchanges – and from O’Gara’s ensuing up-and-under, James Coughlan was blatantly obstructed by Gareth Davies. Cue O’Gara.
Alas, Munster retained their irritating habit of letting opponents back into the game after scoring, although this came in the main from a very strong Scarlets scrum inside halfway. From the ensuing penalty and lineout, Rob McCusker made a good carry in handing off Donncha O’Callaghan to have the home side scrambling.
Munster were very competitive in the tackle area, winning turnovers with the speed of their poaching, although it also came at a cost as it twice afforded Stephen Jones kickable penalties. The first, he tapped over to level matters, though he hooked the second from 40 or so metres near the end of the half.
By then, O’Gara had eventually inched Munster back in front, although the failure to secure either of two lineouts and a scrum in opposition territory left them living off scraps for the remainder of the half and the defence at times remained crooked and porous.
On 23 minutes, Munster had their second piece of possession just inside the Scarlets half from a tap penalty off a scrum and again punched their way deep into Welsh territory. Their policy of running the ball back through their back three also paid dividends by earning a penalty and attacking lineout, before a sustained scrum by Botha and co enabled O’Gara to restore the lead.
It might have been more after Earls first set a midfield target again and then, several rumbles by the pack later, superbly took out two players to release Simon Zebo with a well-timed pass only for Dave Pearson to penalise the winger, correctly, for a double movement.
Even a penalty against the upright by O’Gara effectively counted for nothing as play continued up until he landed a penalty from almost the same point when Scott Williams infringed, albeit after two Munster players had appeared to go off their feet.
By contrast, Munster punished a fairly amazing miss by Rhys Priestland, after his three the previous week, and a yellow card for Johnathan Edwards when blatantly coming round offside to kill ball close to the Scarlets line.
This had followed a sensational counter run and offload by Murray, who was also on hand to keep the move alive when gathering Murphy’s speculative offload. O’Gara tapped the ensuing penalty into the corner, Damien Varley located Paul O’Connell and James Coughlan was driven over. Just like that.
O’Gara converted, but, after a Priestland penalty, Munster missed the chance to put the game to bed when going through 17 phases inside the Scarlets 22 after Paul O’Connell, superhuman as usual, gave the move its impetus. But among the many pick and go drives by forwards, Lifeimi Mafi – who just had one of those days when little went right – failed to put the supporting Niall Ronan over and Earls was held up inches short when going for the line.
A penalty by O’Gara was scant consolation, all the more so when they ill-advisedly turned over possession in their own half through Tomás O’Leary and Zebo when O’Gara maybe ought to have played territory.
Priestland’s wicked grubber deceived Denis Hurley and though Johne Murphy denied McCosker a try, a sequence of drives off the ensuing scrum resulting in a converted try for Owens.
A nervous Sunday hush fell over the ground as it became a one-score game and the Scarlets kept knocking at the door, but a costly fumble by Tavis Knoyle at the base and a mighty touchfinder by Zebo provided some relief.
It still required Donncha O’Callaghan, outstanding in that defensive endgame, to collar Priestland and when Rhys Thomas was binned for punching that enabled Munster to safely run down the clock.
Scoring sequence: 5 mins O’Gara pen 3-0; 13 S Jones pen 3-3; 34 O’Gara pen 6-3; (half-time 6-3); 44 O’Gara pen 9-3;
52 Coughlan try, O’Gara con 16-3; 57 Priestland pen 16-6; 66 Owens try, Priestland con 19-13.
MUNSTER:D Hurley; J Murphy, K Earls, L Mafi, S Zebo; R O'Gara, C Murray; W du Preez, D Varley, B Botha, D O'Callaghan, P O'Connell (capt), D Leamy, N Ronan, J Coughlan. Replacements: D Ryan for Leamy, T O'Leary for Murray (both 63 mins), M Horan du Preez (71), T O'Donnell for Coughlan (77). Not used: D Fogarty, S Archer, I Keatley, D Barnes.
SCARLETS:R Priestland; L Williams, S Williams, J Davies, S Lamont; S Jones, G Davies; R Jones, M Rees (capt), R Thomas, L Reed, D Welch, R McCusker, J Edwards, B Morgan. Replacements: V Longi for S Jones (half-time), K Owens for Rees, G Maule for L Williams (both 63 mins), P John for R Jones, S Timani for Welch, T Knoyle for Davies (all 66 mins), K Murphy for McCosker (71 mins). Not used: D Manu. Sinbinned: Edwards (51-61 mins), K Owens (79 mins).
Referee:Dave Pearson (England).
