RUGBY:THIS WAS old school. A touring side, sprinkled with 11 Test players, were laid to waste on a foul night in Limerick by a typically ferocious lack of respect for reputations. Long before the Heineken Cup the Munster spirit was founded on nights such as these and despite the conditions both home team and 21,314 crowd alike were relentless.
The lift for the damaged Irish rugby psyche was timely, and built on old virtues. Winning the toss and electing to play into the wind in the first half, unsurprisingly a feisty Munster opted for trench warfare, especially into the elements, and having turned around at six-all turned the screw in a territorially dominant and ruthless display.
Munster – their breakdown work voracious as Billy Holland, Niall Ronan, Wian du Preez and co wrestled for every scrap of ball they could muster – used up vast chunks of time with plenty of close-in drives by the likes of James Coughlan and Damien Varley, and Sam Tuitupou up the middle. After his three-week suspension the ex-All Blacks centre was certainly up for this one, while outside him, Keith Earls looked the sharpest back on view.
At the base, Duncan Williams was outstanding, moving the ball away crisply, playing with aggression, and kicking superbly. Ditto Paul Warwick outside him. The Queenslander was in his element in both the conditions and against his compatriots.
The vagaries of box-kicking into the wind were demonstrated by the ball boomeranging behind Williams for the scrumhalf to retreat and collect his own kick – the only problem being it played his pack offside. The dangers in boxkicking with the wind were highlighted when the Wallabies’ scrumhalf Luke Burgess saw his effort take flight and then carry on rolling over the dead-ball line from half-way.
The Munster halves consistently outkicked their Test counterparts, Burgess and Berrick Barnes, and were true to the truest of old dictums on such nights in keeping the ball in front of their forwards by finding gaps with clever low kicks in the first half, and testing garryowens in the second.
On a nightmarish night for fullbacks and wingers, Johne Murphy, Doug Howlett and Denis Hurley, and their team-mates, were more comfortable under the high ball, not to mention the squirting ball along the deck. It helped too that their lineout worked better, with Ian Nagle ensuring a reliable stream of possession, if mostly from the front, off Varley’s darts in another all-round performance which added to the burgeoning reputation of the 22-year-old, 6ft 6in future Ireland international.
After Barnes had opened the scoring when Niall Ronan went offside, an early brawl added to the whiff of cordite in the air. When the pack recycled infield off Coughlan, Warwick took the snap drop goal from under the posts on offer.
A good old-fashioned rush, albeit led by the Canterbury tighthead debutant Peter Borlase, and continued by Earls, saw the latter only denied a try by the recovering Rod Davies. Australia were fortunate to avoid a yellow card when Bryce Lawrence deemed they had committed four offences – including three offside – in one sustained attack, though the siege was lifted when Borlase was pinged at the ensuing scrum. After an undistinguished start following his arrival last Thursday, Borlase grew into the game.
When Ronan afforded Barnes the chance to restore the Wallabies lead when coming in from the side, Williams put the home side on the front foot when leading the charge to his own grubber in nailing Lachlan Turner in the build-up to Warwick levelling the scores with a penalty.
Even so, it required a double tackle by Warwick and Peter O’Mahony to prevent Luke Morahan putting Turner over before Borlase and Ben Daly came up swinging from a scrum to inspire an almighty free for all. Australian flanker Scott Higginbotham would have seen yellow had he been identified as the man who dumped Ronan into the ground.
The teams having turned around, Warwick quickly restored Munster’s lead before a wondrous, monstrous touchfinder by Johne Murphy galvanised the crowd. Munster hammered away infield and the unfortunate Faingaa was penalised for coming in from the side, when he appeared to come straight through the gate. Warwick made it 12-6.
Warwick tightened the grip with a drop goal just past the hour.
Scoring sequence:2 mins: Barnes pen 0-3; 4: Warwick drop goal 3-3; 29: Barnes pen 3-6; 33: Warwick pen 6-6; (half-time 6-6); 42: Warwick pen 9-6; 49: Warwick pen 12-6; 61: Warwick drop goal 15-6.
MUNSTER:J Murphy, D Howlett, K Earls, S Tuitupou, D Hurley, P Warwick, D Williams, W Du Preez, D Varley, P Borlase, B Holland, I Nagle, P O'Mahony, N Ronan, J Coughlan (capt). Replacements: M Sherry for Varley, T O'Donnell for O'Mahony (both 62 mins), C Murray for Williams (67 mins), S Deasy for Murphy (72 mins), S Archer for Borlase, Br Hayes for Nagle, B Murphy for Earls (all 78 mins).
AUSTRALIA:L Turner; R Davies, P McCabe, A Faingaa, L Morahan; B Barnes (capt), L Burgess; B Daley, S Faingaa, S Ma'afu, D Mumm, R Simmons, S Higginbotham, M Hodgson, R Brown. Replacements: T Polota-Nau for Faingaa (46 mins), J Slipper for Daley, V Humphries for Brown (both 53 mins), P McCutcheon for Higginbotham (half-time), N Phipps for Burgess, P Hynes for Turner (both 57 mins). Not used: M Giteau , P Hynes.
Referee:B Lawrence (NZ)
RYAN BANNED FOR THREE WEEKS:
IRELANDS ALREADY depleted second row resources received another blow last night when Donnacha Ryan was suspended for three weeks having been found guilty of stamping in last Saturdays 20-10 victory over Samoa at the Aviva Stadium.
Ryan, a legal representative and Ireland team manager Paul McNaughton were unable to attend the hearing in London due to a delayed flight caused by fog. The Six Nations disciplinary committee, chaired by Roger Morris (Wales), and also comprising Achille Reali (Italy) and Simon Thomas (Wales), having reviewed video evidence, found the Munster lock guilty of a mid-range offence under Law 10.4 (b).
The Irish management will confirm today if they are to appeal.
