URC: Zebre Parma 42 Munster 33
Munster head coach Graham Rowntree said it would take him all night to go through all that was wrong with his side’s performance after they were turned over by a Zebre side that they had beaten in all 20 previous meetings.
But the Italian side were full value for their historic victory – which they celebrated in the Parma sunshine as if they had just won the URC – by six tries to five as Munster, unlike last week against Connacht, were made to pay the price for a sloppy display.
Zebre’s win at Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi is probably just what the league needs as one of the near permanent residents of bottom place in the table turned over one of the heavyweights with a young squad which did not seem bothered by history.
Rowntree lavished praise on Zebre’s performance and did not hide his dissatisfaction with the display produced by his men.
“I could be here until it gets dark talking about things we need to do better,” said Rowntree. “That wasn’t good enough from us. We lost our way in the third quarter.
“But I don’t want to take anything away from Zebre. A spirited, brilliant performance from Zebre. Credit to them, they didn’t stop playing. They took their opportunities.
“They were great at the breakdown, credit to Zebre.”
It was an error-strewn opening half from Munster but yet they had plenty to celebrate by the interval, not least the bonus point already in the bag and a flattering 28-15 lead. Gavin Coombes crowned his 100th appearance with a brace of tries and Garryowen captain Bryan Fitzgerald, signed as cover in the centre on a short-term deal, marked his Munster senior debut by securing the bonus point in the right corner just before the break.
Add in four conversions from Tony Butler, three of them from difficult angles as he again made the most of the chance to impress at outhalf, and Rowntree should have been pleased with a lot of things at the break, the mistakes notwithstanding.
But behind those positives were a litany of mistakes from sloppy handling, poor defending, kicks going out direct and set-piece difficulties, which Zebre pounced on to deservedly hit the front.
Add in injuries to both wingers Shane Daly and Thaakir Abrahams, and there was much for the Munster management to focus on against a side which had lost 14 URC games in a row.
An early penalty from outhalf Giovanni Montemauri settled Zebre, while winger Jacopo Trulla was narrowly wide with one from long range as the Parma side tried to lay down a marker.
But mistakes were rife with both sides. Craig Casey found a superb 50-22 in the left corner but Munster made a mess of the lineout. But then Zebre were pinged for delaying at the base of the ruck and Munster made them pay, working off the resultant scrum for Coombes, as usual, to strike from close range after several phases.
Butler had to rush the conversion with confusion over the shot clock, but he nailed the kick.
Zebre hit back and after Butler kicked out directly after they had taken the ball back inside the 22, the Italians worked it across to create the overlap down the right for Trulla to score.
Montemauri overran the shot clock but he added the extras after 27 minutes when Italian scrumhalf Alessandro Fusco stepped inside Oli Jager and held off Fitzgerald’s tackle to score and lead 15-7.
Munster regrouped and Coombes took his haul to 44 tries in his century of appearances when he again struck from close range after a sustained build-up.
A good break by Ruadhán Quinn set up Munster’s third try, with Casey’s looping pass sending Mike Haley over in the right corner six minutes from the break.
Haley turned provider for Fitzgerald’s big moment as the 25-year old scored in the right corner for Butler, who kicked two vital conversions after coming on in the win over Connacht, to maintain his excellent run off the tee to lead 28-15 at the break. But he won’t be pleased with most other aspects of his display.
Trulla intercepted Haley’s long pass two minutes after the restart to cut the gap to eight when he ran in from almost halfway down the right. And they pushed on from there and deservedly got the bonus point and cut the gap to 28-27 after 52 minutes when they eventually wore down the Munster rearguard for number eight Giovanni Licati to squeeze over.
Munster just could not respond and it was Zebre who upped the tempo, constantly trying to play their way out of the tackle and go wide, and they were rewarded with some excellent scores.
They deservedly hit the front on the hour when Fusco repeated his dummy act, this time stepping inside replacement loosehead Jeremy Loughman to sprint home from 30 metres, with the conversion pushing them 34-28 in front.
It got better for them three minutes later when Trulla turned provider and fullback Giovanni Prisciantelli did the rest down the right to race through for their sixth try as the home crowd sensed a historic win in the offing.
Munster got a lifeline when Haley, Fitzgerald and Conor Murray, who came on at outhalf for Butler, combined to send Shay McCarthy over for a try in the left corner two minutes from the end.
Murray took over the kicking duties but he was off target with the difficult conversion from the left touchline, leaving them needing a converted try to save the day.
But Zebre were not to be denied, executing another superb turnover on the deck in the final place. And up stepped replacement outhalf Giacomo Da Re to land the penalty from 30 metres, sparking off great celebrations by the Italian side and their supporters.
That successful penalty robbed Munster of a second bonus point but they could have few complaints about the outcome and a painful review is on the cards on Monday morning.
SCORERS – Zebre: Trulla, Fusco 2 tries; Licati, Prisciantelli tries; Montemauri pen, 3 cons; Da Re pen. Munster: Coombes 2 tries; Haley, Fitzgerald, McCarthy tries; Butler 4 cons
ZEBRE PARMA: G Prisciantelli; J Trulla, S Gregory, L Morisi, S Gesi; G Montemauri, A Fusco; D Fischetti (capt), T Di Bartolomeo, M Nocera; M Canali, L Krumov; D Ruggeri, S Locatelli, G Licata.
Replacements: J Pitinari for Nocera (35-40 mins & 59); G Ferrari for Licati (53); F Paea for Morisi (58); G Ribaldi for Di Bartolomeo (59); A Zamboni for Krumov (60), D Ruggeri for Fusco, G Da Re for Montemauri (both 62).
MUNSTER: M Haley; C Nash, S Daly, T Farrell, T Abrahams; T Butler, C Casey; J Wycherley, D Barron (capt), O Jager; J Kleyn, F Wycherley; R Quinn, J Hodnett, G Coombes.
Replacements: B Fitzgerald for Daly (6 mins); S McCarthy for Abrahams (26); J Loughman for J Wycherley, J Ryan for Jager (both 48); N Scannell for Barron, J O’Donoghue for R Quinn (both 53); J Daly for F Wycherley (59-73); C Murray for Butler (71).
Referee: Hollie Davidson (Scotland).
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