Late collapse by Belvedere

WITH 12 minutes remaining it looked like Old Belvedere had done enough and were riding their luck. After some sweet breaks and one wonderful try, tails were high. The home crowd was all smiles and Young Munster were staring at the second defeat of their All-Ireland League campaign.

In the minutes after half time, the Limerick side's Dermot Mullane had come in for the flu-hit Des Clohessy. Dermot Maher had stepped in for hooker Mark Fitzgerald, and Aidan O'Halloran watched a protracted conversation between the linesman and French referee Gerard Borreani result in a reversal of his drop goal.

Centre Mick Lynch followed up with a penalty that rebounded off the upright and into the hands of the Old Belvedere defence.

Old Belvedere's Craig Bewley had set the game alight with the first try when he received from Willie Norse via John Philpott, booted ahead after a jink or two and ate up the ground quicker than the Young Munster cover. It was 11-3 for the Dublin side in the 68th minute and Neil Francis was winning just about every lineout.

Not much fun for Young Munster. They could at that stage have believed that the missed penalties of O'Halloran and Mick Lynch in the first half were costing them dearly. Playing into a biting wind they had initially kept in touch, holding Belvedere to a three-point margin at half time.

It was the home side, though, who should have been less content about the profit of the first 40 minutes. While that 6-3 advantage seemed paltry enough, few games this season will end in such a fashion where one short phase overwhelmingly decides the outcome. If it does happen again no doubt Old Belvedere, who suffered enough late match defeats last year, will expect that it will be they who are again in the eye of the storm.

And a storm it was as Young Munster reinforced the caricature of Limerick rugby and washed over the home side in the last 12 minutes. It was O'Halloran who first ate into the Old Belvedere lead when he landed his second penalty to take the margin back to 11-6 in the 72nd minute.

Centre Mick Lynch four minutes later went charging into the heart of the home side and, with Ger Earls in support, punched a substantial hole. Lynch's powerful running left a number of Belvedere tacklers behind but he was finally to ground. Noel O'Meara then snatched at the ball near the goal and despite a lunging effort which clipped his heels he managed to scramble over under the posts. O'Halloran converted.

Three minutes later, Young Munster were again mining away around the Old Belvedere line. An overthrown home lineout went beyond the flapping Francis and into the hands of captain Declan Edwards. Edwards, loitering at the end of the lineout, was as surprised as anyone when he found himself diving, almost unopposed, over the Belvedere line for his side's second try. O'Halloran again converted.

Belvedere then had neither the time nor the appetite to chase. Young Munster were hitting hard and had the momentum, enough perhaps to carry them up to their game against Cork Constitution next week. Old Belvedere are now left to contemplate the type of collapse that cost them so dearly last season and with Blackrock on the way in seven days time.