There's no finer parish rivalry, and probably no two clubs are better supported than these age-old Limerick rivals. Given the enforced mid-season hiatus and the high stakes then, the turn-out of 4,000 was a mite disappointing. Clearly the provincial team has stolen the thunder of the clubs in Munster. Yet if the season were to pan out in the clubs' favour, then games such as this will help the rejuvenation of the AIL. Rustiness may have applied elsewhere, but not here, as Shannon in particular hit the ground running.
Young Munster, by comparison, were off the pace, and Shannon were seemingly out of sight by the interval at 25-6. That may have taken the edge off the crowd's attention, but in truth the exchanges were of a good quality and a good tempo, and ultimately Munsters' stirring comeback ensured a thrilling finale. Three tries to the good after 34 minutes, by rights Shannon ought to have gone on to claim a bonus point but, as is their wont, they ultimately slipped into minimalist mindset. Accepting that it was a mixed bag, their impressive new coach Conor McDermott commented: "All in all they have good form here and you have to be pleased with the win in the end." Especially as they were the only winners in the top five.
Acutely aware that Brian Buckley was out of position as an emergency full back after Mark Connolly failed a late fitness test, Shannon ruthlessly exposed Munsters' Achilles' heel with a succession of telling kicks into space.
With a slight wind behind him and an initially dominant pack in front (predictably Shannon's lineout superiority was a crucial factor), Peter Stringer pulled the strings, his box kicks probing with dead-eyed accuracy.
Deft little box grubbers by Stringer and Andrew Thompson enabled the predatory John Lacey to pounce twice, taking his tally to five tries from five games.
They were soft or opportunistic scores, depending on the crowd's perspective.
Likewise Stringer's alert try in between. Munsters having turned over the ball in running it out on their 22, Clem Casey was obliged to retreat and run the ball into touch by the corner flag. Quickwittedly, John Langford ripped the ball out of his hands, and Stringer was in position for the quick throw (more a flat pass really), with Dave McHugh right on cue as usual. Tellingly, there wasn't another Munsters player within 10 metres of his own line.
At the break Munsters regrouped. "Let's enjoy it, let's have a go at these guys," rallied the inspirational Peter Clohessy. The young players, such as Paul O'Connell and Kieran Gallagher, responded to the urgings and work-rate of Clohessy, Lynch and Matt Te Pau.
A turning point was the sin-binning of Shannon wing John O'Neill for a clumsy high tackle on Casey. Munsters upped the ante, offloading in the tackle in a high-tempo game. Buckley, having switched to outhalf, carved through the middle, the magnificent O'Connell drove it on and after Clohessy probed, Gallagher picked up and dived over.
Intense pressure eventually saw the ever-dangerous Mike Mullins burst past prop Donal Costello to take Munsters to within a score. But no-one puts up the shutters better than Shannon, as evidenced by a succession of trademark offensive tackles by John Hayes and Anthony Foley.
In what is something of a transitional year, the coaching triumvirate of Te Pau, John Moloney and Ger Clohessy have done a fine job. In knocking on the door of the top four, they have generally exceeded expectations.
"They (Shannon) are a very good side," said Te Pau, nodding respectfully toward the visitors' dressing-room, "and we're still not quite there. Until we are quite there I don't think the boys are going to be that satisfied and neither am I." Of the second-half display though, he said: "I was proud of them."
Scoring sequence: 6 mins: Lynch pen 3-0; 12: Thompson pen 3-6; 16: Thompson pen 3-6; 18: Lacey try 3-11; 21: Stringer try, Thompson con 318; 29: Lynch pen 6-18; 34: Lacey try, Thompson con 6-25 (half-time) 55: Gallagher try 11-25; 68: Mullins try, Lynch con 18-25.
YOUNG MUNSTER: E Buckley; C Casey, M Mullins, L Doyle, F Hogan; M Lynch, D Reddan; P Clohessy, T Lane, M Fitzgerald, P O'Connell, D Peters, M Te Pau, M Ngarimu, K Gallagher. Replacements: C Power for Peters (47 mins), PJ McLoughlin for Lane (49 mins), Lane for McLoughlin (74 mins).
SHANNON: J Lacey; J O'Neill, A Thompson, J Davis, M Lawlor; D Delaney, P Stringer; D Costello, F Roche, J Hayes, B Buckley, J Langford, A Quinlan, D Quinlan, C McMahon. Replacements: A Foley for A Quinlan (28 mins), M Galwey for Buckley (47 mins), J Hayes for O'Neill (63 mins). Sin-binned: J O'Neill (53-63 mins).
Referee: D McHugh (IRFU).
Shannon's AIB League win at Young Munster came at a heavy cost when the desperately unlucky Alan Quinlan suffered a first-half injury which will sideline him for at least a month and so rule him out of Munster's Heineken Cup semi-final against Stade Francais on April 21st.
Quinlan fractured his thumb and will require the insertion of a pin for the next four weeks, according to Munster team doctor Mick Griffin. This compounds the medial knee ligament injury David Wallace sustained in an Irish squad session last Monday, which jeopardises his chances of playing in that European Cup semi-final.
