Munster 29 Benetton Treviso 11:CHAMPIONS MUNSTER got their RaboDirect PRO 12 campaign back on track as they finished strongly at Thomond Park on Saturday night to secure a bonus-point win.
It was the perfect way for Munster to set themselves up for the final segment of Heineken Cup games, although coach Tony McGahan knows there is plenty of room for improvement.
But he was pleased with the way they finished strongly to kill off the spirited challenge of a Treviso side who took the game to the champions up front from the outset.
“You have to give credit to Treviso the way they came here with a full-strength side,” said Munster coach Tony McGahan.
“They’ve been travelling very well in the RaboDirect, gathering some wins on the road while their Heineken Cup form has been extremely good.
“They’ve made tremendous progress in this competition since starting from scratch this time last year, they’re a very formidable side and players and coaches from various teams have worked out what a good side they really are,” he added.
His side struggled initially but their perseverance eventually saw them get on top, although McGahan knows they will need to improve in several areas.
“The set piece would have been a concern, lineout and scrum, we would have liked to have been a bit more clinical but when you’re bringing a group of players back in there was always going to be a lack of fluency, but to create the opportunities and still come out with a bonus point is a good reflection of the playing group.
“I’d have been concerned this week if we didn’t have a work rate or intensity about our play, we were pushing ourselves through, there were good support lines there which is a huge plus, we just need that last bit of the puzzle and while there was evidence of that, we just didn’t get that last pass to stick. But we’ll draw on those positive experiences,” said McGahan.
Munster recovered from poor lineout and scrums and hit back with a game-changing 35-metre maul and 14 phases that ended with Ronan O’Gara getting their first score when he slotted a penalty from close range after 18 minutes.
Simon Zebo, Lifeimi Mafi and Keith Earls started to punch holes in the Treviso defence, but Munster struggled to convert that dominance to the scoreboard.
Scrum-half Conor Murray picked the wrong option in not passing to Peter O’Mahony with the Treviso defence exposed and his delayed pass to Niall Ronan was forward.
But Munster got it right after 24 minutes as Murray and Mafi combined in midfield for Ronan to take possession and race in from 35 metres for a fine try, which O’Gara converted.
Ronan had to go off with a knee injury after that and they led just 10-6 at the break as Kris Burton bookended the half with penalties.
Earls took an inside pass from O’Gara and skipped through the weak challenge of Burton after 50 minutes to extend the lead, with the conversion making it 17-6.
However, it was Treviso who reacted better and they scored with a penalty to the left corner and a good drive off the lineout which resulted in number eight Manoa Vosawai diving over after 54 minutes.
But Munster showed commendable composure and they produced their best rugby in the final 10 minutes to kill off the Treviso challenge and claim the bonus point.
The impressive James Coughlan broke off a five-metre scrum to score after 63 minutes after the television match official had ruled against Murray.
Zebo secured the bonus point four minutes from time when he took a pass from replacement Ian Keatley to get the touchdown in the left corner.
MUNSTER: D Hurley; J Murphy, K Earls, L Mafi, S Zebo; R O’Gara, C Murray; W du Preez, D Varley, BJ Botha; D Ryan, P O’Connell; P O’Mahony, N Ronan, J Coughlan. Replacements: D O’Callaghan for Ronan (34 mins), D Barnes for Murphy (62), T O’Leary for Murray (62), M Horan for du Preez (62), D Fogarty for Varley (65), S Archer for Botha (65), B Holland for O’Connell (74), I Keatley for O’Gara (75).
BENETTON TREVISO: L McLean; L Nitoglia (A Di Bernardo, 73), T Benvenuti, A Sgarbi, B Williams; K Burton, T Botes; M Rizzo, F Sbaraglini, L Cittadini; A Pavanello, C Van Zyl; G Padro, A Zanni, M Vosawai. Sin bin: Picone, 80. Replacements: E Gori for Burton (57 mins), D Vidal for Sbaraglini (64) I Fernandez Rouyet for Cittadini (64), V Bernabo for Pavanello (64), E Pavanello for Van Zyl (70), S Picone for Vosawai (70).
Referee: N Owen (WRU).
