Scarlets deny Munster in physical battle

Munster lost out on the chance of making history and then found out they had lost top spot in the RaboDirect Pro12 after suffering only their third defeat of the season.

It’s hard to know what hurt most of all – failing to turn a complete half of domination into a single point, and suffering three refusals for tries from the TMO, or seeing arch-rivals Leinster take over at the top of the table. Either way, the Munster players and coaches will be hurting today.

That hurt will be down to the aggression displayed by Scarlets, who threw the kitchen sink into a classic St David’s Day contest, and the fact they could, and probably should, have won the game.

Victory at Parc y Scarlets would not only have kept Munster at the top of the table, but also made them the first team to complete an eight-match whitewash of the Welsh regions at home and away.

“We talked about the record against the Welsh regions . . . but the Scarlets used that as well,” admitted Munster’s head coach Rob Penney.

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"They didn't want to be the ones that handed that record over and they are a quality side. We made a couple of crucial errors

. . . You get over the line three times, none of which are awarded, and a couple of crucial calls that don’t go for you, a couple of bonuses that just elude you and that’s the ball game.

“There is a lot of football to go yet and we have Treviso at home and then Leinster, Ulster and Glasgow to come. We aren’t certain to be anywhere yet and we’re just concentrating on winning the next one. There has been no talk about finishing at the top of the table.

“You could just see by the endeavour and effort going in there was no lack of focus . . . I thought we deserved a better outcome and played well enough to get a better outcome, It just wasn’t to be.”

The second half lasted 56 minutes so often did Irish referee Dudley Phillips consult with his Welsh TMO as Munster laid siege to the home line. But time after time the answer came back, "no try".

A penalty apiece was the only reward in the opening quarter before home scrumhalf Gareth Davies darted to the narrow side of a maul 10m out, fended off James Coughlan and sid-stepped inside Johne Murphy and Duncan Williams to cross for a brilliant individual score.

By half-time, though, the Scarlets had blown their lead. A dropped pass in midfield allowed Gerhard van den Heever the chance to race 35m to the posts for a sucker try that Ian Keatley converted and then the Munster No 10 struck a penalty to make it 13-8 to the visitors at the break.

Ten points in two minutes turned the game on its head. Aled Thomas kicked a penalty before backrow John Barclay flew off the back of a line-out won at the front by Coughlan and intercepted Williams’ pass before it reached Keatley.

He ran 60m to score and Thomas converted to make it 18-13 on 52 minutes. There were no more points from either side, just a series of close shaves for the Scarlets.