Munster 16 Cardiff Blues 9:MUNSTER COACH Tony McGahon gave his side three out of 10 when asked about the performance in fog-shrouded and bitterly cold Thomond Park on Saturday evening.
The biggest cheer of the night greeted the introduction of Paul O’Connell for the last 25 minutes and when the Lions skipper rose highest to win his first lineout he earned another huge roar of approval.
McGahon said, “It was fantastic for Paul, Munster, and the supporters”, but he was cautious when asked if his skipper would start next Sunday in the Heineken Cup against Ospreys at Thomond Park. The coach said though O’Connell had played 40 minutes for Young Munster and 25 minutes for Munster his main concern would be to have the player available for the rest of the season and he would not be rushing him back to full action. “Fortunately we have plenty of depth in that area and we must wait to see if Paul has any after effects from tonight,” he said.
McGahon was pleased the game was out of the way and the result was a plus on a night when both sides made more mistakes than they might in an entire season.
“We had 20 changes to the group last week with so many players returning after the internationals and injury. Full marks to those who worked so hard to make the ground playable because with competition so condensed now a midweek game would have been difficult later on,” he added.
Referring to the Heineken Cup game he said, “Some players who started tonight might not necessarily start on Sunday and those who did not feature tonight will also come into the reckoning.”
Man-of-the-match Damien Varley said: “It was tough out there and any day you have to work hard and you grind it out and get a result is a positive and it will give us confidence for the Heineken Cup opener against the Ospreys next Sunday. Tonight was the first time we had the squad together and we have a lot of work to do this week and hopefully we will play better on Sunday. We are all delighted to have Paul back.”
Munster trailed after four minutes when Dan Parks put over a huge penalty from 50 metres and out on the touchline when Lifeimi Mafi was punished for going off his feet in a ruck. This spurred on Munster who exerted such pressure on Cardiff they failed to get inside the Munster half for 20 minutes. With Varley showing the way with two superb breaks, Munster camped close to the Cardiff line. Awarded a penalty, Munster opted to kick to touch right in the corner but Cardiff survived the attack.
The home side remained well on top but a wildly off-target drop-goal attempt by Niall Ronan saw Cardiff eventually end the siege.
On the half-hour mark Munster found themselves six points in arrears when prop Tony Buckley was sinbinned as Cardiff sought a try under the posts. Parks landed the penalty from in front of the posts. A late tackle by replacement Ben White on Ronan O’Gara led to the outhalf kicking Munster’s first points after 38 minutes.
The home side were fortunate not to concede a try straight from the resumption of the second half when Chris Czekaj sprinted clear down the left wing and Tom Shanklin was over but for a despairing tackle by Mick O’Driscoll to deny the Welshman.
Munster finally got the game’s only try when Alan Quinlan picked up from a close-in ruck and stretched his arm sufficiently to get the touchdown. O’Gara duly added the conversion.
Cardiff were not finished and staged a couple of dangerous attacks which led to a penalty which Parks again put over.
As the fog deepened and the game became a farce for supporters, O’Gara closed out the game with a late penalty.
MUNSTER: J. Murphy, Mafi, Earls, Tuitupou, Hurley, O’Gara, Stringer, du Preez, Varley, Buckley, O’Driscoll, O’Callaghan, Quinlan, Ronan, Leamy. Replacements: Warwick for Mafi (63), O’Leary for Stringer (49), D. Ryan for du Preez (76), Sherry for Varley (71), J. Hayes for Buckley (62), O’Connell for O’Callaghan (55), Wallace for Ronan (49). Not Used: B. Murphy.
CARDIFF BLUES: Czekaj, Mustoe, Laulala, Shanklin, Evans, Parks, Rees, Jenkins, G. Williams, Filise, Paterson, Tito, Molitika, Warburton, Rush. Replacements: Slater for Rees (69), Hobbs for Filise (77), White for Warburton (33). Not Used: R. Williams, T. Davies, Griffiths, Sweeney, Hewitt.
Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland).
