Connacht 12 Munster 16:Munster ensured the traditional order continued at the Galway Sportsground, undoing any Connacht Christmas hopes this season. Although the home side had claimed some impressive scalps at the venue this year, they could only muster a losing bonus point against Munster on Saturday evening.
A penalty try awarded by referee Dudley Phillips and two try-saving tackles from the visitors was the difference.
Connacht were left to rue missed opportunities, and Eric Elwood said this failure proved costly. “The lesson is you have to able to take your chances. In tight ball games, decisions go for you or against you, but when you get opportunities to score, you have to take them. Munster were clinical when they got the opportunity and we had another couple of opportunities, but we didn’t take them.”
In contrast, Munster’s Rob Penny was delighted to have escaped “a potential banana skin” with a changed line-up. “We got the four points which is worthy reward for their effort. I am just as proud of our boys to secure the four points coming into the Christmas, and to have a couple of days to sit back and relax a little bit knowing we have secured the points in a tough battle.”
All but three of those points came in the first half after the home side had opened the scoring with a penalty from Parks after 10 minutes, before Ian Keatley responded.
After Parks potted a 22m penalty, they should have extended the lead when Fetu Vainikolo broke from half way after a breakdown in the Munster midfield. Keatley, however, forced the Tonga international into touch at the corner flag.
The turning point came minutes later when Harris-Wright was binned for an offence at the breakdown, and Munster sent Connacht’s scrum reeling. Phillips immediately signalled a penalty try and the conversion and two penalties both sides of the break gave Munster a 16- 6 lead. “It was not a penalty try — that’s my view on it,” said Elwood. “I don’t know where that came from to be honest, like a couple of other decisions, and it was the turning point in the game. Things like that can turn games . . . It’s a big seven points.”
Connacht went on to dominate the second half and started to claw back the lead with a Parks’ penalty and a drop goal, edging Connacht within four points. However a missed penalty after James Downey was carded for a high tackle, and a strong defensive effort from Munster, kept Connacht at bay until George Naoupu’s final effort from Eoin Griffin’s cross-field chip, when Peter Stringer did just enough with a defensive slide.
