RUGBY MAGNERS LEAGUE:OBLIGED TO dig deep into their A team and academy, and their reserves of famed togetherness, Munster were not found wanting. Featuring a team containing four full Magners League debutants, and another two debutants off the bench, Munster stemmed Connacht's resurgence 18-12 in front of a huge home crowd to post one of their most satisfying victories of the season at the Sportsground yesterday.
Coach Tony McGahan hailed the win as “without doubt our best away performance of the season”.
The victory puts them back in the play-offs, behind the Ospreys in third position on points difference and with a crunch game against the Welsh region at Thomond Park next Saturday.
Maintaining their tilt on both the domestic and European titles, that penultimate fixture should go a long way toward deciding home advantage in the semi-finals.
“We knew we had to physically be up front in our defence and that would be a cornerstone of getting a result here,” said McGahan. “The forward pack was pretty first-rate and there were a number of experienced players in the back-line. It was a tremendous show of depth and show of fighting qualities that Munster have.”
For Connacht, the losing bonus point leaves them four points adrift of Ulster, but with a much worse points differential. Having missed this opportunity to narrow the gap, their game in hand comes sooner than they would have wanted – against Leinster at home on Wednesday.
To compound their acute disappointment, they suffered a spate of injuries, with both centres, Niva Ta’auso and Keith Matthews, sustaining knee injuries, and prop Jamie Hagan also forced off.
“I don’t know if you have enough tape for the injuries. It’s not pretty in there,” said coach Michael Bradley.
“We said after the Leinster game that we wouldn’t have got anything in the past, and we said we were one point closer to Ulster. Now we’re another point closer although they got a handy one with Beattie’s lack of accuracy in front of the posts,” said Bradley in reference to the last-minute penalty in front of the posts which the Glasgow backrower missed to deny Ulster a bonus point on Friday. “It keeps the pressure on both of us.”
