Shannon dig deep for O'Donovan

There are many ways they go about it, and the motivational factors vary too, but invariably it all adds up to the same result, a Shannon win. And usually by a narrow margin, which is in turn usually misleading.

On a hot day at the end of a long hard season, their post-match mood was one of relief more than elation. They had to dig deep for this one, but then again they were always likely to.

"This one was for Niall (O'Donovan)," admitted Eddie Halvey. "That was the message all week."

Anthony Foley concurred, admitting that O'Donovan would be a "big loss" in the light of his commitment to Munster next season as assistant coach to Declan Kidney. "He's been a massive influence in the way we play," said Foley.

The record books will show that Shannon emulated their unique achievement of two years ago when completing an AIL-Carling Munster Senior Cup double by the narrowest of margins at Thomond Park on Saturday. But as one-point wins go, this was as deserved and decisive as they come.

Ger Earls, the Munsters' captain and flanker who capped another typically ubiquitous and allaction display with a try in the corner which Jonah Lomu would have been proud of, has now played in six of the club's seven Cup final defeats of the last eight years. And it showed.

Earls rued his side's inability to build up a bigger lead than the 1211 advantage they accrued from a barnstorming first-half display. His coach, Brian Hickey, echoed similar sentiments, along with "some aimless kicking in the last 20 minutes. They're gutted inside there, but I can have nothing but pride in the way my players performed today, especially in the first-half."

Unlike previous big occasions this season, most notably the AIL showdown with Shannon at this venue and their anti-climactic bout of stage fright in the AIL semi-final with Garryowen, this time Munsters' played the true Munsters' way.

The Wasps swarmed all over Shannon in the first period, rousing their vocal contingent in a sun-kissed 5,000 Thomond Park crowd. They controlled the throw-in, and proved themselves one of the most competitive line-outs around on the opposition throw.

Most of all though, they drove Shannon back repeatedly off the takes of Brian Buckley and Denis O'Meara (once by fully 40 metres) with brilliantly controlled mauls which were clearly the product of many hours on the training ground.

Shannon, surprisingly, were standing off, and were also on the back foot when Munsters' applied their quick rucking game as well. Munsters' varied their target runners in the channels between the half-backs, the Clohessys, Hayes, Earls, Buckley, Mick Lynch (floating from a nominal right-wing position) and, before he gave way to his rib injury, the strong-running Peter Boland.

Boland's muscular crash-ball try from 10 metres after 15 minutes encapsulated their strengths and kick-started a flurry of scoring which saw Earls' respond to Alan Quinlan's opportunistic solo effort off a tap penalty 22 metres out.

Thomond fairly throbbed by the interval yet the feeling persisted that Munsters' had probably played as well as they could, and were only a point to the good.

The only problem about shaking Shannon like this is that it usually stirs them as well. They dominated the second-half in many ways, only Munsters' famed resistance, Leo Mayne's fastidiousness and a couple of penalties kept the game theoretically alive.

Although their backs still couldn't click in the face of Munsters' midfield defence, the inspiration came in bucketloads up front.

McDermott augmented his typically accurate throwing with an all-action display in the loose, matched by the morale-lifting surges of John Hayes, Mick Galwey, Foley and the brilliant Eddie Halvey. Munsters, by contrast, didn't have that individualism.

Besides, if the starting XV don't get you, then the finishing XV invariably do. Lately, that's the way it's been working, especially with the 20-year-old flyer Colm McMahon to bring on. As open side tearaways go, this fella is the genuine article.

While the peerless Shannon back-row are too good not to start with, McMahon is too good to keep on the bench. He has transformed games, and straight away he was pressing up and leading the tackle count around the fringes where before Shannon were standing off.

Within eight minutes of his introduction, Foley did the damage with a pick up and charge off a scrum 45 metres out, off-loading in the tackle for the supporting McMahon to arc around two would-be tacklers and transfer the ball from right to left hand with a wingers' sprint into the corner. "He's a full-back's nightmare," said O'Donovan.

Scoring sequence: 13 mins: Thompson pen 3-0; 15: Boland try, Tuohy con 3-7; 18: Thompson pen 6-7; 20: Quinlan try 11-7; 26: Earls try 11-12; 51: C McMahon try 16-12; 55: O'Halloran pen 16-15; 57: Galvin drop goal 19-15; 77 O'Halloran pen.

Shannon: Jason Hayes; J Lacey, A McGrath, R Ellison, A Thompson; J Galvin, F McNamara; N Healy, M McDermott, J Hayes, M Galwey,, K Keane, A Quinlan, A Foley (capt), E Halvey. Replacements: C McMahon for Keane (43 mins), M Horan for Healy (47 mins), B Roche for Jason Hayes (50 mins), P McMahon for McGrath (67 mins).

Young Munster: P Boland; M Lynch, N O'Meara, A Honan, N McNamara; S Tuohy, M Prendergast; D Clohessy, M Hayes, P Clohessy, M O'Halloran, D O'Meara, B Buckley, D Edwards, G Earls (capt). Replacements: A O'Halloran for Tuohy (half-time), T Cronin for Boland (54 mins), A O'Herlihy for Edwards (68 mins), N Hartigan for D Clohessy (74 mins).

Referee: L Mayne (Munster).