Rugby European Cup: When referee Tony Spreadbury ran to the posts and raised his arm, signalling a penalty try, the crescendo of noise at Thomond Park was born more of relief than exultation. Munster had huffed and puffed, fumbled and foostered their way to three tries but that fourth that would seal the bonus point and Pool Five honours was proving elusive.
It was a white-knuckle ride for a strangely subdued Thomond crowd, more prawn sandwich than of late. The French have a word, largesse, that has been appropriated into the English language. Bourgoin would probably choose a stronger term to describe Spreadbury's awarding of a penalty try on 76 minutes.
The visitors had one man in the sin bin, second-row Pierre Jullien, and faced a scrum five metres from their own line. Munster got the nudge on, the surge gathered pace and as the Bourgoin pack began to crumble concertina-like, the English official scuttled for the posts.
The French were incredulous; several Munster players jumped for joy, probably at the realisation the task had been completed for them. At the time it appeared a ludicrously generous decision. The forensics at the scene suggest otherwise.
Munster second-row Paul O'Connell explained: "The loose-head prop broke his bind to push the ball back with his hand as it was about to come back on our side. It was done deliberately."
No one would doubt it happened just so, but it's unlikely this decision would have been given at the other end or if the match had taken place in Bourgoin.
It was the first scrum and 99 times out of 100 would have been reset with a warning to the Bourgoin pack.
It was a galling slight on a gallant Bourgoin performance. For a team that saw their coach Philippe Saint André sacked during the week, they displayed great character and tenacity.
They certainly rode their luck as Munster spurned chance after chance but Bourgoin deserve credit for their aggressive defence, notably Sebastien Chabal, Julien Bonnaire and centres Mikael Forest and Grant Esterhuizen.
They spoiled, they infringed, they lived offside, but therein lies the rub - Spreadbury allowed most of it go unpunished.
They did have outhalf Alexandre Peclier and second-row Jullien shown yellow cards, but given the frequency of their transgressions a skip would have been more apposite than a (sin) bin.
Spreadbury though brandished yellow only when left little option by persistent offending.
For all Bourgoin's esprit de corps, it would have been a travesty had the home side not accomplished their four-try assignment. They created enough opportunities to win the rest of the tournament but spurned one after another, spilling the final pass or, worse, ignoring numbers outside in a rush for personal glory.
A few faces matched the colour of the jersey they wore. O'Connell and John Kelly were the most obvious culprits but there were others also culpable. It may be glossed over because Munster did what was required but Alan Gaffney will reiterate that good habits invariable lead to good decision-making.
There was, nevertheless, much to admire in Munster's performance, particularly that of the pack. James Blaney is settling into the team and his work-rate was excellent.
Perhaps most pleasing was the return to top form of the halfbacks. Peter Stringer's delivery was back to its best while Ronan O'Gara controlled the game beautifully. His distribution was excellent, his kicking offering slide-rule precision, and he varied the game intelligently. He deserved his man-of-the-match accolade, though that could also have gone to David Wallace or either of the second-rows, O'Connell and Donncha O'Callaghan.
It was left to O'Gara to explain why Munster stuttered.
"We were in a no-win situation in the sense that everyone expected us to get four tries no problem. We were creating chances and not taking them and that can get in on a team a little bit. The crowd began to get restless and we just snatched at a few chances.
"There was an anxiety there and there was almost a cloud hanging over us in the sense that if we didn't get the four tries it would be like a defeat. I wasn't worried, just conscious of maintaining the intensity. When things weren't going to plan, that's where the experience this team has kicks in.
"It was a different pressure. No disrespect to Bourgoin but we expected to win. It was all about the four tries."
Munster had two by the interval, the excellent Mike Mullins brushing aside two tackles for the first and O'Connell driven over from a lineout for the second. The penultimate try was a fine piece of opportunism from Stringer, who spotted a gap and disappeared through it like a stoat down a rabbit hole. And Spreadbury made it four as the clock wound down.
No one would begrudge Gaffney's men a bit of good fortune after all they have had to endure in previous years. They now have the home quarter-final, Christian Cullen should be fit long before April and, injuries permitting, they look well placed to write a new chapter in European lore.
Scoring sequence: 2 mins: Peclier penalty, 0-3; 22: Mullins try, O'Gara con, 7-3; 35: O'Connell try, 12-3. Half-time: 12-3. 62: Stringer try, O'Gara con, 19-3; 74: pen try, O'Gara con, 26-3.
MUNSTER: J Staunton; J Kelly, M Mullins, R Henderson, A Horgan; R O'Gara, P Stringer; M Horan, J Blaney, J Hayes, D O'Callaghan, P O'Connell, J Williams (capt), A Foley, D Wallace. Replacements: G McIlwham for Horan (33 mins); J Holland for Henderson (30-38 mins & 76 mins); M Lawlor for Horgan (80 mins); D Pusey for O'Connell (80 mins); S Keogh for Wallace (83 mins).
BOURGOIN: F Gengenbacher; K Zhakata, G Esterhuizen, M Forest, JF Coux; A Peclier, M Campeggia; O Milloud, B Cabello, J Bouic, P Jullien, M Stolz, J Bonnaire, P Raschi (capt), S Chabal. Replacements: A Petrilli for Raschi (56 mins); A Forest for Coux (70 mins); B Barbato for Bouic (79 mins). Sin-binned: A Peclier (39 mins); P Jullien (71 mins).
Referee: T Spreadbury (England).
