URC: Munster 30 Benetton 21
On a taut, tense and balmy night in Cork, a capacity crowd of 8,800 and everybody else associated with Munster could inhale and exhale a little easier, and even give a rendition of Stand Up and Fight. Munster had indeed lived to fight another day, this genuinely hard-fought win securing their place in the playoffs, away to the Bulls or Glasgow, and, vitally, their continued presence in the Champions Cup for a 31st campaign next season.
Anything less would have been unacceptable but their fate remained in doubt until this final URC regular season game. What is more, Munster trailed 14-10 at the break after a vibrant Benetton side had shown more creativity and cutting edge to lead through two Rhyno Smith tries while making the home side look comparatively blunt.
However, Munster regrouped and upped their intensity and physicality in the collisions after the interval. Their lineout and catch-and-drive became more forceful and they pulled clear thanks to two quick-fire tries. The first came from replacement hooker Lee Barron, who had a fine game, and the next came from Thaakir Abrahams, who provided some X factor with a little assistance from Jack Crowley and Diarmuid Kilgallen.
Soon after, Peter O‘Mahony was given a rousing ovation – Stephen Archer, also making his final home appearance, would get similar acclaim later – but Munster could only really breath easily when, fittingly, Conor Murray had the final say after replacing a limping Crowley at outhalf and kicking the ball dead.
Before the start here, the Stormers had completed a 34-24 win over Cardiff, meaning Munster kicked of in ninth place in the table, with Edinburgh climbing above them thanks to a bonus-point win over Ulster.
There were some nerve-jangling moments early on too, like when Jacob Umaga broke through off turnover ball or when mobile Argentinian prop Thomas Gallo latched on to his own chip. But soon the home crowd were given some cheer.
It originated in yet another break by Tom Farrell, who ghosted on to a deft no-look pass out the back from Tadhg Beirne to burst upfield. Kilgallen took a nice line on to a good pass by Gavin Coombes and offloaded for the supporting O’Mahony and, a few phases later, Jack Crowley stepped into a pass by Craig Casey to score untouched, although Nacho Brex was understandably furious that he had been blocked by John Hodnett’s lazy run. Crowley converted.
Benetton’s scrum then started to exert pressure and when Farrell was pinged for not rolling away, the Italians kicked to the corner. The maul was held up but the Benetton backs bunched the Munster defence; Kilgallen shot up but was unable to prevent Brex pulling his pass back for Smith to speed through and score untouched. Jacob Umaga drew the sides level.
O’Mahony won a penalty off Crowley’s hanging restart up the middle when he got to his feet quickly after helping Thaakir Abrahams hit Tomas Albornoz, the Pumas outhalf who replaced winger and HIA casualty Paolo Odogwu. Crowley knocked the penalty over.
When Farrell was penalised for playing the ball on the deck and Umaga kicked to the corner, O’Mahony managed a vital steal. Even so, Munster were playing too much rugby in their own half, and Brex found a fine touch to keep the pressure on.
Barron, on for another HIA-casualty in Scannell, hit Beirne with his first throw after Farrell lost the ball in contact when looking for an offload. Then Benetton struck again off first phase - this time off a scrum on halfway.
Casey read the move when sweeping behind the Benetton attack as Brex pulled the ball back for Umaga, but he bounced off the Benetton outhalf. Umaga spun and broke clear, drawing Calvin Nash and sending Smyth through for his second try.
Benetton’s defence looked comfortable as they made Munster’s attack look blunt.
The crowd’s concern was both palpable and understandable, but on the resumption Kilgallen popped up on Crowley’s inside and was caught high by Manuel Zuliani for a key penalty on halfway. Crowley drilled it up the line, and popped another penalty when the maul was collapsed into the corner. Barron hit Beirne and subsequently reached out for the line after the drive inched infield and forward, with Nash and Crowley joining in.
Crowley, by now hobbling slightly on his bandaged right leg, missed the touchline conversion. Soon after that, however, he weighted a crosskick from a strike play off a scrum perfectly for Kilgallen to gather, take Ignacio Mendy’s weak tackle and slip the ball inside for Abrahams to sprint clear and score from 50 metres.
Casey, who had another busily effective outing, took over kicking duties and landed a fine left-footed conversion from the left touchline. He then added a penalty after Coombes and John Hodnett hounded Mendy and Albornoz, the flanker winning a jackal penalty.
But Benetton were given injection off the bench and weren’t done. Crowley could do little other than concede an attacking penalty from Malakai Fekitoa’s kick ahead, and when they nudged a penalty into the corner substitute hooker Bautista Bernasconi cleverly twisted over the line. Umaga converted to make it 25-21.
Albornoz then fluffed a Crowley bomb, allowing Casey to kick ahead, and when Mendy was pinged for offside, Munster went to the corner again. Barron’s throw hit Thomas Ahern and the pack rumbled forward for Josh Wycherley to score the key try.
Casey’s missed conversion didn’t matter, especially as Umaga missed a 76th-minute penalty from 45 metres to leave Munster still two scores clear. The capacity crowd could breathe a little easier, and The Fields echoed around the ground before chants of Munster signalled all-round relief as much as anything.
Scoring sequence: 14 mins Crowley try and con 7-0; 19 mins Smyth try, Umaga con 7-7;21 mins Crowley pen 10-7; 28 mins Smyth try, Umaga con 10-14; (half-time 10-14); 44 mins Barron try 15-14; 48 mins Abrahams try, Casey con 22-15; 57 mins Casey pen 25-14; 68 mins Bernasconi try, Umaga con 25-21; 73 mins Josh Wycherley try 30-21.
Munster Rugby: Thaakir Abrahams; Calvin Nash, Tom Farrell, Alex Nankivell, Diarmuid Kilgallen; Jack Crowley, Craig Casey; Michael Milne, Niall Scannell, Stephen Archer; Jean Kleyn, Tadhg Beirne (C); Peter O’Mahony, John Hodnett, Gavin Coombes.
Replacements: Lee Barron for Scannell (33 mins), Tom Ahern for O’Mahony (54 mins), Josh Wycherley for Milne, Alex Kendellen for Hodnett (both 57 mins), John Ryan for Archer (63 mins), Fineen Wycherley for Kleyn, Conor Murray for Crowley (both 75 mins), Seán O’Brien for Farrell (79 mins).
Benetton: Rhyno Smith, Ignacio Mendy, Tommaso Menoncello, Ignacio Brex, Paolo Odogwu, Jacob Umaga, Alessandro Garbisi; Thomas Gallo, Siua Maile, Simone Ferrari, Scott Scrafton, Federico Ruzza (CAPT), Riccardo Favretto, Manuel Zuliani, Lorenzo Cannone
Replacements: Tomas Albornoz for Odogwu (11 mins), Bautista Bernasconi for Maile, Niccolò Cannone for Scrafton, Sebastian Negri for Favretto, Malakai Fekitoa for Brex (all 52 mins), Nicolò Casilio for Menoncello (57 mins), Mirco Spagnolo for Gallo (65 mins), Tiziano Pasquali for Ferrari (75 mins).
Referee: Mike Adamson (SRU).
