As embarrassments go, it wasn't quite on the scale of Ireland's first-choice 1991 World Cup squad going down to Gloucester. Nevertheless, if it was a kick up the rear Ireland were looking for, then they got one with hobnails on it at a raucous Musgrave Park last night.
The Irish XV began well enough, and after regaining the lead entering the final quarter looked set to go on and win. But taking Munster on is always a risky business, and with so much wounded pride at stake arising from World Cup exclusion, the home side rolled up their sleeves to peg Ireland back for the remainder of the game. They utterly deserved their win.
Munster were up for it and Mick Galwey would have marked this one out on his calendar, as would the entire back-row. Not surprisingly, a more match-hardened and fitter David Wallace eclipsed Kieron Dawson, but so did his comrades in arms. Alan Quinlan was his mighty self, tackling huge and making big yardage, and with Munster playing the game close-in and controlling the pace (helped by Alan Lewis' quick use of the whistle) Anthony Foley could be seen beavering away in the nitty-gritty stuff.
Even allowing for Munster's predictable spoiling, the Irish rucking was deplorable. If not turned over then it had to be excavated by Brian O'Meara. By comparison, Munster's presentation improved as the match wore on, and they increasingly spreadeagled an increasingly bedraggled Ireland with pick and go charges. Peter Stringer grew impressively into his first full outing of the season and outside him, Ronan O'Gara was the master of ceremonies in one of those typical Munster performances usually reserved for touring sides.
The out-half, like his more esteemed forward colleagues, will have enjoyed this game. Aside from an increasingly confident performance which yielded 16 points, O'Gara ran the second-half with his pinpoint, wind-assisted line-kicking; obliging Eric Elwood and company to resort to futile catch-up which was meat and drink to Munster's voracious beyond-the-gainline tackling.
In truth, Ireland were full value for Elwood's early penalties even if O'Gara had had a little dart inside O'Meara and Jason Holland had been showing up well. There was a clear fractious edginess to the exchanges, but tellingly when Ireland opted for a close-in scrum rather than another three-pointer Munster first repelled them at the put-in and then out wide.
The key score was arguably Munster's opening try, when O'Gara followed up his own up-and-under in tandem with Dominic Crotty to nail Conor O'Shea. The lively Frankie Sheehan won turnover ball and Holland's long flat pass gave Wallace the chance to round the cover; O'Gara converting.
A couple more Elwood penalties re-asserted Ireland's wind-assisted pressure, but Munster finished the stronger; Quinlan and Holland leading the charge which eventually led to O'Gara's penalty making it 12-10 at the break.
O'Gara's boot quickly began pinning Ireland deep in their own territory in a masterful demonstration of line-kicking. After O'Gara had kicked Munster back in front, Ireland put together their one sustained passage of rehearsed play. Ross Nesdale drove through the middle of the line; Elwood looped around Mike Mullins and brought James Topping into the line at speed and though the first recycle was again slow, from the second Jeremy Davidson (one of Ireland's few forwards to emerge with much credit) offloaded in the tackle for Mullins to score with a well-timed support run.
However, when Wallace broke off an attacking scrum within five minutes, Stringer's switch pass to O'Gara led to Crotty breaking O'Meara's tackle for Munster's second try. But for Anthony Horgan dropping Crotty's pass after a momentous John Kelly-led drive and then handling across the Munster line, they would have killed the game after 72 minutes.
As it was, O'Gara landed a neat drop goal off a scrum and, in a microcosm of the second-half, an Irish turnover led to O'Gara finding a deep touch whereupon Justin Bishop was nailed behind the gainline by Kelly when Ireland moved it wide and O'Gara kicked another penalty.
Bishop had one excellent late dart, but the game ended with Quinlan leading a Munster four-pack which drove Keith Wood over the touchline. A fitting finale.
Scoring sequence: 2 mins Elwood pen, 0-3; 5: Elwood pen, 0-6; 18: Wallace try, O'Gara con, 7-6; 30: Elwood pen, 7-9; 36: Elwood pen, 7-12; 40: O'Gara pen, 10-12; 51: O'Gara pen, 13-12; 59: Mullins try, Elwood con, 13-19; 64: Crotty try, O'Gara con, 20-19; 77: O'Gara drop goal, 23-19; 80: O'Gara pen, 26-19.
MUNSTER: D Crotty; C McMahon, J Kelly, J Holland, A Horgan; R O'Gara, P Stringer; M Horan, F Sheehan, J Hayes, M Galwey (capt), J Langford, A Quinlan, A Foley, D Wallace. Replacements - K O'Riordan for McMahon (28 mins), I Murray for Horan (76 mins), M McDermott for Sheehan (76 mins), P Bracken for Hayes (81 mins).
IRELAND XV: C O'Shea (capt); J Topping, K Maggs, M Mullins, M Mostyn; E Elwood, B O'Meara; R Corrigan, R Nesdale, A McKeen, J Davidson, M O'Kelly, D Corkery, E Miller, K Dawson. Replacements - D O'Cuinneagain for Miller, A Ward for Dawson (both 52 mins), J Fitzpatrick for Corrigan (56 mins), R Casey for O'Kelly (65 mins), K Wood for Nesdale (67 mins), J Bishop for Topping (74 mins).
Referee: A Lewis (Leinster).
