URC Round 1: Munster 35 Connacht 33
Time was when opening weekends would lack cohesion, be riddled with errors and make for anticlimactic starts. Not any more seemingly. Debutants and new combinations abounded at Thomond Park but both sides showed ambition, skill and guts aplenty in a thrilling interpro derby to launch the season.
Certainly the attacks looked more finely tuned than the defences. The sides traded five tries apiece in a helter-skelter game in which the lead changed hands five times. Connacht shot into a thoroughly deserved 12-0 lead but Munster were repeatedly stung into action by the blows which rained on them by their neighbours and the home crowd.
Ultimately, it came down to one missed conversion at the outset and the coolly taken last conversion by Tony Butler, who was a replacement for Billy Burns as a result of an apparent shoulder injury.
Connacht, supremely physical and after a more match-hardened preseason, might well regard this as a missed opportunity for a rare win here, albeit two points were of some consolation, and they look like they will be a good watch and more competitive this season.
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Each side displayed their positive intentions but each were repelled in turn by strong defensive sets before the game exploded into life in the 14th minute after John Hodnett failed to hold a difficult offload by Alex Nankivell.
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From the quick scrum ball which ensued, Ben Murphy accelerated beyond the Munster backrow and stepped inside the trailing Craig Casey before passing wide to Shayne Bolton, who offloaded inside for the supporting Josh Ioane to finish in the corner. His missed kick from the touchline would prove the only missed conversion of the match.
Instead, Connacht brought their sharper line speed to bear. Darragh Murray won a penalty in the jackal which was kicked to the corner and after Cathal Forde trucked it up as he does, Mack Hansen came off his wing to take Cian Prendergast’s pullback and line with Ioane.
His offload went to ground when tackled by Thaakir Abrahams, and was initially called forward by Chris Busby, but not before Ben Murphy had skilfully scooped up the ball and arced around the posts, and on review the try was correctly awarded.
Connacht were full value for their 12-0 lead, and having led the chase to tackle Mike Haley, Josh Murphy engulfed Gavin Coombes in the tackle.
But Munster were again stung into life, Tom Farrell’s inside pass releasing Nankivell before Casey was tackled short of the line by Piers O’Conor before the half flipped after good hands by Haley and superb offload by Farrell enabled Ruadhán Quinn to release Casey.
He was stopped in his tracks by Santiago Cordero and then fumbled with a second attempted pick short of the line, but on review Cordero was yellow carded for the high hit. In mitigation, Casey’s stepped late and the fullback was also leaning back.
But in his absence, Munster made hay of the additional space. Although their resultant maul was driven back, Nankivill stooped low to bounce Conor Oliver and a huge gap opened up for him to saunter over.
Munster were alive now, Farrell fending his former midfield partner for a 40-metre gallop before being hauled down short of the line and then Fineen Wycherley was held up over the line. But when they attacked again and Burns’s pass went to ground 45 metres out, Hodnett scooped the ball off the deck for Haley to splinter a stretched defence and step Hansen to score. Bolton was injured in making the tackle and had to be replaced.
Suddenly Munster were ahead, but a loose pass and fumble on the deck by Farrell gave Connacht a reprieve. Nankivill was fortunate not to be penalised, and binned when flapping down an offload by Hansen to David Hawkshaw, which was missed by Busby and the nearside assistant Andrew Cole.
In any event, Connacht struck again with the last play of the half, Hansen gathering Casey’s box kick, Oliver and Prendergast carrying hard before Ioane saw a gap calling for the pass from Ben Murphy, who’s snipe drew attention, and steaming on to the ball before giving a return, try-scoring pass to Murphy and a 19-14 interval lead.
Munster had better joy when turning to their power game on the resumption, the catch-and-drive gaining traction before Hodnett crashed over from John Ryan’s pass off the base.
As both teams began turning to their benches, Connacht drew energy from theirs, particularly Sean Jansen. When Ioane’s penalty hit the upright, Hansen brilliantly reclaimed the ball, and after Oisín Dowling was held up over the line by Coombes and Burns, Jansen carried back the goal-line restart and good hands by Ioane, Forde and Dave Heffernan led to Hawkshaw accelerating clear for a fine try. Clutching his shoulder in clear pain, Burns was replaced by Butler.
This madcap game had assumed a tit-for-tat pattern, and true to its narrative Jack O’Donoghue took a strong line on to Casey’s pass before offloading for Coombes to muscle over.
Connacht came back again, of course, and Forde trucked up a five-metre scrum to burst the tackles of Butler and Abrahams for a fine try. But Munster, now roared on by the home crowd, weren’t done yet either. Hodnett’s typically strong, twisting carry put them on the front foot for Nankivill and Haley to work the ball to Daly for a try wide out, Butler landing the difficult but decisive conversion.
Connacht’s last chance effectively went when Iaone’s ambitious penalty to the corner was athletically kept in by Haley. The roar which greeted the full-time whistle was a backhanded compliment to Connacht.
Two bonus points was the least they deserved. Munster were ecstatic with their five-point haul.
SCORING SEQUENCE – 14 mins: Ioane try, 0-5; 20: Murphy try, Ioane con, 0-12; 29: Nankivell try, Burns con, 7-12; 32: Haley try, Burns con, 14-12; 40: Murphy try, Forde con, 14-19; (half-time 14-19); 45: Hodnett try, Burns con, 21-19; 54: Hawkshaw try, Ioane con, 21-26; 59: Coombes try, Butler con, 28-26; 64: Forde try, Ioane con, 28-33; 70: Daly try, Butler con, 35-33.
MUNSTER: Mike Haley; Thaakir Abrahams, Tom Farrell, Alex Nankivell, Shane Daly; Billy Burns, Craig Casey; Jeremy Loughman, Diarmuid Barron, John Ryan; Jean Kleyn, Fineen Wycherley; Ruadhán Quinn, John Hodnett, Gavin Coombes.
Replacements: Seán O’Brien for Daly (37-40 mins) and Farrell (74 mins); Josh Wycherley for Loughman, Oli Jager for Ryan, Alex Kendellen for Quinn (all 51); Tony Butler for Burns (54); Jack O’Donoghue for Kleyn (55); Niall Scannell for Barron (63). Not used: Ethan Coughlan.
CONNACHT: Santiago Cordero; Mack Hansen, Piers O’Conor, Cathal Forde, Shayne Bolton; Josh Ioane, Ben Murphy; Denis Buckley, Dave Heffernan, Jack Aungier; Joe Joyce, Darragh Murray; Josh Murphy, Conor Oliver, Cian Prendergast (capt).
Replacements: David Hawkshaw for Bolton (33 mins); Peter Dooley for Buckley, Sam Illo for Aungier, Oisín Dowling for Joyce, Shamus Hurley-Langton for Oliver, Sean Jansen for Murray (all 52), Caolin Blade for Murphy (63), Dylan Tierney-Martin for Heffernan (67).
Referee: Chris Busby (IRFU).
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