MAGNERS LEAGUE: Scarlets 6 Munster 13:PERHAPS NOT Munster's most glamorous win of the season, but for Tony McGahan it represented one of the most satisfying.
A 67th-minute try by man-of-the-match Simon Zebo eventually proved enough to separate the sides and finally secure a home semi-final for the long-term league leaders.
Who they will meet on the second weekend of May remains to be seen, but with this type of momentum they’re unlikely to lose much sleep guessing.
Munster have won their last seven fixtures since defeat against Treviso, with four of those coming on the road.
And while Saturday’s performance may have lacked the attacking fluency displayed in Brive seven days prior, the overall context of the fixture made it that bit more rewarding for the management team.
The Scarlets had made no secret of their intentions to win all of their remaining games in a late push for a play-off spot, and fielded a largely full-strength side.
Munster, by contrast, used seven players aged 23 or less over the 80 minutes, but without ever compromising their ambition.
“It was a fantastic result to win away from home against a really competitive Scarlets side who had a lot to play for,” said an upbeat McGahan. “It was undoubtedly one of our most satisfying results of the season, to be honest.
“I was delighted with the spirit and the ability to find our way through the 80 minutes, and the result was defined by the hard work and the honesty that the players put in.”
There were several strong performances, not least that of Denis Leamy, who was bristling and brutal throughout.
Mick O’Driscoll also shone, as did Paul Warwick, who landed three sumptuous kicks.
But the old-timers were upstaged by the rookies on this occasion, and in particular by 21-year-old Zebo, who further enhanced his reputation with a nearly complete performance on the left wing.
“He looked dangerous every time that he had the ball,” agreed McGahan.
“He worked extremely hard off the ball to put himself in position to create opportunities. His defence was excellent and he showed great skills of anticipation. He will certainly have an important role to play with us.”
Zebo’s try had more footballing merit than rugby, hacking on a loose ball amid a cluster of bodies before hacking on a second time to take him over the line.
The try, when converted, pushed Munster 13-6 ahead with a quarter of an hour to play, during which time the Scarlets came on strong.
The visiting defence proved unyielding, however, with Zebo’s fellow winger Danny Barnes deserving of particular praise for the way he dismantled the threat posed by Sean Lamont.
“Danny has a contrasting style to Simon,” acknowledged McGahan. “He is a very physical player. He’s really solid in defence, he works hard at the breakdown, and carries with great venom. They are two different wingers,, but both were certainly very effective.”
And so, another home semi-final for the proprietors of Limerick to look forward to. But, before all that, Munster still have two league fixtures to fulfil, and a score to settle against the Ospreys next weekend.
“We were really disappointed with the result over there in round four of the Heineken Cup, and so we’ll be looking to get a result.
“I think you have seen from our games against Cardiff, Leinster, Brive and Scarlets that the application in the squad is high, and so is our ambition. You don’t drop down for anyone, and we certainly won’t against the Ospreys.”
SCARLETS: M Stoddart; G North, R King, G Maule (S Williams 68), S Lamont (S Jones 60); R Priestland, T Knoyle (G Davies 70); I Thomas (S Gardiner 68), M Rees (capt) (E Phillips 68), R Thomas (R Jones 77), L Reed, J Turnbull (A Shingler 68), R McCusker, J Edwards, D Lyons.
MUNSTER: P Warwick; D Barnes, J Murphy (S Deasy 44), L Mafi, S Zebo; D Cusack (S Tuitupou 41), P Stringer(D Williams 68); M Horan (D Hurley 66), M Sherry (D Fogarty 55), S Archer (J Hayes 55); D Ryan, M O'Driscoll; T O'Donnell, N Ronan (A Quinlan 57), D Leamy (capt).
Referee:Alan Lewis (Ire).
