Viadana ... 22 Munster ... 55: From the Ponte di Son Giorgio the spire and cupola skyline of the province of Meravigliosa emerges from still waters around Viadana. It was here Benedictine monks once laboured to reclaim land from the shallows around Stadio PL Zaffanella. Johnny Watterson reports from Viadana
Sprung from a little sprawl in the same flat river basin on the outskirts of Parma, the Italian club had an altogether more difficult task than the monks with a Munster team in full spate. Munster, in attack, were immense against brittle opposition. Defensively, the second half video analysis may redden some faces.
For Viadana, January looks bleak too. It is now 245 points against in their four Heineken European Cup games and counting. On the 19th, Perpignan will arrive to rain down more grief while Munster now look on a European pool which has dramatically changed complexion. Their nine-try win combined with Perpignan's 33-21 victory over the previously unbeaten Gloucester leaves Munster and the English side leading the pool on six points each. The nine tries were more than useful.
Rather than the simple ritual slaughtering of last year's Italian champions, the earlier defeat of Gloucester had provided Munster with the chance to take charge of their own European Cup destiny.
Dominant in the loose and set pieces, where Donncha O'Callaghan and Paul O'Connell were unmatchable in the lineouts, the Irish side set the match tempo from the opening seconds, as they tore into their hosts.
Even breaking out of their own half proved an impossible challenge for the hosts, Mike Mullins speeding in on the right wing with the first try on two minutes, Jason Holland side-stepping a lumbering prop, Lee Lidgard, for the second and three more arriving after rolling mauls muscled, thundered and bullocked their way over the Italian line, Alan Quinlan, Frankie Sheahan and Quinlan making the contact for a 29-3 half-time lead.
In a match noted for princely dominance by the Munster forwards, Peter Stringer even broke from the back of the scrum three times, setting up man-of-the-match Anthony Foley for his second-half try, while Ronan O'Gara kicked everything to touch, his 10 points all coming from conversions.
But the three second-half Viadana tries, two of them in the last 10 minutes, set worried minds to ponder on Munster's next tranche of games after Christmas.
"I think we got through some reasonably good work but kind of fell apart at the end," said coach Alan Gaffney. "Our defence, which we've prided ourselves on in the last three weeks, fell apart. I'm very concerned about those tries, very disappointed.
"I thought we could have scored more but with nine tries and the preparation we had coming here, it probably wasn't that bad. Perpignan are a very hard team to beat at home. They've lost there once (in Europe) in the last three years so the enormity of that challenge faces us in January."
Anthony Foley was similarly unimpressed with the tending of their own line in the half. But Munster could hardly have expected a totally smooth transition having introduced all seven bench players, Fogarty, Kerr, O'Driscoll, Halvey, Prendergast, Keane and Lawlor, after 60 minutes.
"When we come back we've the Celtic league semi final, Perpignan away and Gloucester at home, three massive matches and we need to be going in there with a positive frame of mind. We don't need to be worrying about our defence, our scrum or our lineouts. We need to go into those matches hopping off the ground."
John Kelly, back for the first time since he limped off in Ireland's game against Australia, began the scoring as Mullins had in the first half, two minutes into play. Paul Roux then found the first Munster hole for Viadana before Stringer gifted Foley, Jason Holland took a switch set piece, and Sheahan again rolled over in a tangle of bodies.
The last 10 minutes finally got the lively crowd of about 1000 to their feet and scarred an otherwise triumphant night for Munster. Kiwi Harley Crane and left wing Roberto Pedrazzi punched through proving that the toiling Benedictine monks may well have been right in believing that continuous effort occasionally brings a little salvation.
Scoring sequence: 2 mins: M Mullins try 0-5; 5 mins C Steyn pen 3-5; 15 mins: J Holland try 3-10; 25 mins: A Quinlan try 3-15; 33 mins: F Sheahan try, O Gara con 3-22; 36 mins: Quinlan try, O'Gara con 3-29. Half-time. 42 mins: J Kelly try, O Gara con 3-36; 45 mins: P Roux try, Steyn con 10-36; 60 mins: A Foley try, O Gara con 10-43; 65 mins: Holland try, O Gara con 10-50; 69 mins: Sheahan try 10-55; 71 mins: H Crane try, R Pickering con 17-55; 80 mins: R Pedrazzi try 22-55.
VIADANA: C Steyn; M Dolcetto, G Frasca, H Crane, R Pedrazzi; R Pickering, P Roux; M Savi, V Jiminez, L Lidgard, F Gumiero, C Bezzi, G Vigna, A Persico, M Phillips. Replacements: C Spadaro for Steyn 50 mins; A Buhrmann for Vigna 55 mins; A Aio for Roux 57 mins.
MUNSTER: J Staunton; J Kelly, M Mullins, J Holland, A Horgan; P Stringer, R O'Gara; M Horan, F Sheahan, J Hayes, P O'Connell, D O'Callaghan, J Williams, A Quinlans, A Foley. Replacements: S Kerr for Horan 60 mins; M Lawlor for Mullins 65 mins; M O'Driscoll for O'Connell 66 mins; E Halvey for Quinlan 69 mins; J Fogarty for Sheahan, M Prendergast for Stringer, K Keane for Staunton all 79 mins.
Referee: A Ireland (Scotland).
