MAGNERS LEAGUE: Ulster 6 Munster 16:MUNSTER WON'T care one iota about the low-grade fare that pockmarked this clash as they managed a first win in Belfast since 2007, a victory accomplished with a team that might have travelled in hope rather than expectation. Peter Stringer will have enjoyed the outcome of his 200th cap for the province.
Damien Varley was released from the Ireland training camp and granted permission to play, his presence at hooker a late alteration to the team-sheet: Mike Sherry dropped to the bench.
Munster’s win was a homily to work-ethic, discipline and high-quality contributions from players like Niall Ronan, Paul Warwick, young Ivan Dineen and Wian du Preez.
They also benefitted hugely from Ulster’s frailties. Quite apart from the many mistakes – both sides were guilty – the home side were wasteful in possession. They lacked dynamism and penetration, too often laboured in their patterns and telegraphed their intentions.
But it would be wrong not to recognise Munster’s efforts, particularly in the second half. It was evident in the application of the pack in working hard on the fringes and the backrow in particular in closing down the spaces out wide. That grit would be rewarded.
Ulster’s greater early cohesion presented two try-scoring opportunities. The first followed Ian Whitten’s fine offload in the tackle that sent fellow centre Nevin Spence scampering into the Munster 22. Although he was collared by Scott Deasy, the home side rumbled forward through a series of rucks, inching closer to the Munster line.
Patience was required to guarantee a try, in continuing to work around the fringes, but the home side chose to move the ball wide and imprecise handling cost them the opportunity.
Scrumhalf Ruan Pienaar did kick the penalty on offer, but Ulster would have felt slightly short-changed.
Paul Warwick kicked a penalty for the visitors in a rare foray into the Ulster half, but Alan Quinlan’s decision to try to chip his way out of his 22 proved flawed when he put the ball into Willie Faloon’s midriff.
The Ulster flanker surged to within 10 metres of the line, but the pedestrian nature of one-out runners around the fringe of a succession of rucks coupled with Munster’s tenacity yielded only a second penalty to the home side, which Pienaar kicked. He would miss from long range just before the interval.
The fire of the opening throes of the contest quickly petered out amid a morass of errors, several basic, many unforced, even allowing for the greasy conditions. Neither team was able to sustain field position, and possession of the ball was more of a liability based on the handling.
The regularity with which the ball was turned over in contact ensured both teams reigned in whatever ambition they had to pursue expansive patterns and instead resorted to kicking the ball in the air and chasing it; it was pretty unappetising fare that was reflected by a funereal atmosphere.
Alan Quinlan departed injured after 19 minutes as Munster struggled to find any rhythm.
The proceedings were fitfully enlivened by moments of individual excellence, the most notable involving the excellent Spence. The 21-year-old Paddy McAllister impressed with his diligence in fetching and carrying even if he did concede two penalties at scrums.
If Munster shaded the set-piece they didn’t do anything to establish a platform. They relied on the home side’s shortcomings, with the exception of one fine break from Ronan. Both teams treated the ball like a pariah and the hope that the interval would allow both coaches to reinforce the importance of accuracy in discharging the basics was sadly not realised.
Warwick, a beacon of invention in a pitch-dark hinterland, kicked a second penalty three minutes after the restart to tie matters. That pre-empted Munster’s best concerted passage of the match, about eight minutes of pressure: in keeping, though, with the general malaise, it abruptly ended when Johne Murphy knocked on inside the Munster 22.
Ulster initially heeded the wake-up call and managed to sustain both field position and some continuity, but their back play was too lateral and allowed a disciplined defence to drift across the pitch without having to commit numbers, instead chaperoning white-shirted players towards the touchlines. There was plenty of huff and puff
An Ulster transgression allowed Warwick to kick a third penalty, and for such a young team, the visitors remained resolute in defence.
Pienaar had an opportunity to rescue a draw with four minutes remaining but pulled his 38-metre effort wide.
To rub salt into already livid wounds of the Ulster supporters – at one point a slow handclap articulated their displeasure – Munster’s young centre Ivan Dineen latched onto Ian Humphreys’s attempted flick pass from a quick lineout to intercept and canter under the posts.
Warwick’s conversion brought the game to a conclusion.
The home side were denied a bonus point, but perhaps more worrying is the nature of the defeat, their third in succession.
SCORING SEQUENCE: 6 mins: Pienaar penalty, 3-0; 9: Warwick penalty, 3-3; 15: Pienaar penalty, 6-3 ( Half-time); 43: Warwick penalty, 6-6; 70: Warwick penalty, 9-6; 80: Dineen try, Warwick conversion, 16-6.
ULSTER: A D'Arcy; M McCrea, I Whitten, N Spence, D McIlwaine; I Humphreys, R Pienaar; P McAllister, N Brady, B Young, J Muller (capt), T Barker, P Wannenburg, W Faloon, R Diack. Replacements: D Tuohy for Barker (16-26 mins); L Marshall for McCrea (27 mins); J Cronin for McAllister (52 mins); C Henry for Diack (56 mins); Tuohy for Barker (65 mins).
MUNSTER: S Deasy; D Howlett (capt), J Murphy, I Dineen, D Hurley; P Warwick, P Stringer; W du Preez, D Varley, J Hayes; B Holland, I Nagle; A Quinlan, N Ronan, J Coughlan. Replacements: P O'Mahony for Quinlan (19 mins); S Zebo for Denis Hurley (60 mins); T ODonnell for O'Mahony (71 mins); M Sherry for Varley (74 mins); Darragh Hurley for du Preez (75 mins).
Referee: Alan Lewis (Ireland).
Pens: Pienaar 2
Try: Dineen
Pens: Warwick 3. Con: Warwick
