Llanelli - 13 Munster - 20Marcus Horan may have had to live in the shadow of "The Claw" in recent years, but he emerged as a major contributor to a superb Munster victory at the home of the Welsh champions. With his side only two points clear, and on the rack as the Scarlets chased the score they needed to edge ahead, the Shannon prop put his skates on in midfield to not only catch the home side's Wales wing Mark Jones, but force him to lose the ball.
It was a vital moment in a nip- and-tuck clash of the highest quality. With the latest Llanelli attack broken down, Peter Stringer led the charge upfield and the Munster pack delivered it safely into the arms of Ronan O'Gara wide out on the right.
O'Gara had tormented the Welshmen all night with his goalkicking - five out of five penalties - and his pin-point kicking out of hand. This time he spotted Mossy Lawlor free some 50 metres away on the left wing and his incredible cross-kick bounced into the wing's hands and allowed him to cross in the corner.
Game over, points in the bag and back in the old Munster routine of winning against the odds. No wonder new coach Alan Gaffney was wearing a smile a mile wide.
"Munster have so much passion, they have an X-factor that I can't quite put my finger on just yet. We were as rusty as can be, but to come to a place like Llanelli and get a win like that shows the character of the side," said Gaffney.
"To get a result like that after only four training sessions is very pleasing. We weren't top drawer and there is room for improvement. That's what we are aiming for, but it wasn't a bad start."
Not bad at all. Llanelli were missing a few, but it was as close to their best side as it was to Munster's. That made it a true contest and one which Llanelli were kicking themselves for losing after throwing away two golden chances to score tries either side of the interval.
Having seen O'Gara edge Munster ahead with three penalties to two from Stephen Jones, Llanelli mounted one last raid at the end of the first half. Peter Stringer was forced to clear from his 22, but Jones charged down his kick. Not only that, the Wales outside half regathered and ran 15 metres before being hauled down.
He still had time to off-load in the tackle and with two men unmarked outside him a try seemed certain until Wayne Proctor dropped the simple pass.
O'Gara added a fourth penalty at the start of the second half before Llanelli lost another opportunity. This time it was Mark Jones who was the guilty party as he dropped a Guy Easterby box kick on the Munster 22 that would have given him a clear run to the line.
Jones at least made some amends when he squeezed over in the left corner after a driving line- out had finally created some space on the narrow side close to the visitors' line. In their defence, Munster were down to 14 men at the time following Mike Mullins dismissal to the sin-bin for a high tackle.
It was then that X-factor that Gaffney talked about came into play as Munster not only held the Scarlets at bay, but found a way to hit back and make victory secure.
SCORING SEQUENCE: 14 mins: O'Gara pen 0-3; 19mins: S Jones pen 3-3; 21 mins: O'Gara pen 3-6; 22 mins: S Jones pen 6-6; 30 mins: O'Gara pen 6-9; 46 mins: O'Gara pen 6-12; 60 mins: O'Gara pen 6-15; 70mins: M Jones try, S Jones con 13-15; 79 mins: Lawlor try 13-20.
LLANELLI: G Evans; W Proctor, M Watkins, M Cardey, M Jones; S Jones, G Easterby; I Thomas, R McBryde, M Madden, V Cooper (capt), P Clapham, S Easterby, I Boobyer, S Quinnell. Replacements: D Peel for G Easterby (60mins), J Davies for Madden (67 mins).
MUNSTER: D Crotty; J Kelly, M Mullins (sin-bin 66-76), R Henderson, M Lawlor; R O'Gara, P Stringer; M Horan, J Blaney, J Hayes, D O'Callaghan, M O'Driscoll, E Halvey, A Quinlan, A Foley (capt). Replacements: J Staunton for Crotty (64 mins),C McMahon for Halvey (70mins).
Referee: R Dixon (Scotland).
