Champions Cup: Munster 17 Saracens 12
Munster managed to rise above the discordant performance notes that stifled their ambition for almost an hour to find the right pitch in the final quarter and with that uplift in the collective tone and content came the reward of victory against Saracens.
It fell a little short of an overture on the scoreboard, but it matters not in the short term as the playoff picture in the Champions Cup is alive with endless permutations going into next week’s final pool match against the Northampton Saints at Franklin’s Gardens.
Saracens, in rebuilding phase under Mark McCall shrewd stewardship, were tough, resilient, focused and aggressive in their defensive work around the maul and breakdown, won the aerial battle and could have snatched the game in a fraught end game if Liam Williams had given a scoring pass.
The Welshman’s decision to dummy, to try and squeeze through a rapidly closing gap, was compounded when he spilled the ball, perhaps spooked by hard scramble efforts of Jack Crowley and John Hodnett.
McCall acknowledged that while his team “blew it,” the prospect of victory in that instant, he was “proud” of the tenacity the visitors showed in an uncompromising, collision fest. “We made it a real scrap and we were winning that scrap until the hour mark really and then we had about seven minutes where they were able to take the chances they got.
“It is not an easy place to come as an opposition player and there’s lots to learn for the whole team really. But at the basis of everything we’ve got to be a team who fights and scraps no matter where we are, and I felt we did that.”
While there was very little subtlety to Saracens attack, Munster produced several defensive sets that demonstrated courage and technique, driving the visitors back at a time when one more score might have broken open the match in favour of the English club. The connection in alignment and the ferocity on the gain-line were key constituents.
Munster’s interim head coach Ian Costello singled out the work of Denis Leamy in preparing the team for the rigours of what ensued on game day. “Denis set us up this week to really focus on two [players] in the tackle.
“I spoke to [Saracens number eight] Tom Willis outside there, who I coached at Wasps, and he just said he found it so difficult to play against. That’s really good feedback for us to get. He just said that they [Saracens] couldn’t get any pace on the ball.
“What we felt all the time was actually we didn’t feel that stressed because it’s hard to get the ball to the edges off slow ball. So that was really pleasing. Denis did a cracking job setting the defence and the boys did a really good job executing that game plan.” Calvin Nash was a poster boy, one superb defensive read and crash tackle in the first half that snuffed out the prospect of a try, thwarted the Saracens hordes.
It was more of a fug than the freezing fog that clouded Munster’s thought process and ability to execute in the first hour. Knocks-on, dropped passes, missed kicks, poor kicks and some questionable decision-making saw the home side trail 9-3 and the frustration of the 22,000 crowd was palpable in the plaintive cries that greeted each mistake.
Crowley almost grabbed a try for the ages in the first half. He fielded a high ball, eluded Elliot Daly, grubber kicked through, regathered chipped over the next defender, took possession again, but as he broke the threshold of the Saracens 22, the ball squirted from his grasp: so near, yet in many respects symptomatic of the general fare.
Gavin Coombes, try scorer Dian Bleuler, Alex Kendellen, Rory Scannell and Nash made standout contributions while the impact of the bench, John Hodnett try scorer and try saver in particular, was pivotal as they brought energy and quality against a Saracens side that had started to look leggy and tired.
Coombes and Nash combined for Munster’s first try, the outstanding number eight thundered through and past several tackles, while Bleuler showed a predator’s instinct from close range. The hugely popular South African, who has excelled in his time at Munster, is coming to the end of his short-term contract.
Costello confirmed: “He is here for a set period and there isn’t any scope to extend beyond that. That is the agreement that we went in with at the start. The IRFU through David Humphreys were unbelievably accommodating at the start in terms of facilitating that process but we always knew there was an end date which we will share with everybody in the next week. He will be playing against Northampton.”
Crowley’s conversion gave Munster a 10-9 lead and five minutes later they stretched that advantage, the outhalf’s cross-kick picked out Scannell who linked with Tom Farrell, the industrious centre’s timing of the pass matched the gorgeous line chosen by Hodnett.
The conversion nudged the home side out to a 17-9 lead and despite Lozowski’s third successful penalty Munster survived the Williams escapade to eke out the win. While there was very little razzle dazzle it doesn’t detract from or diminish the outcome. Winning takes Munster where they want to go and that supersedes all other concerns for now.
Scoring sequence 1 min: Lozowski penalty 0-3; 10: Lozowski penalty, 0-6; 25: Crowley penalty, 3-6. Half-time: 3-6. 45: Daly penalty, 3-9; 59: Bleuler try, Crowley conversion, 10-9; 64: Hodnett try, Crowley conversion, 17-9; 69: Lozowski penalty, 17-12.
Munster: M Haley; C Nash, T Farrell, R Scannell, S Daly; J Crowley, C Murray; D Bleuler, N Scannell, O Jager; F Wycherley, T Beirne (capt), J O’Donoghue, A Kendellen, G Coombes. Replacements: D Barron for N Scannell 51 mins; S Archer for Jager 51 mins; T Ahern for O’Donoghue 51 mins, J Hodnett for Kendellen 51 mins; J Ryan for Bleuler 65 mins; B Gleeson for Coombes 71 mins; B Burns for Daly (HIA) 75 mins.
Saracens: E Daly; L Williams, A Lozowski, N Tompkins, L Cinti; F Burke, I van Zyl; P Brantingham, J George, M Riccioni; M Itoje (capt), H Wilson; JM Gonzalez, B Earl, T Willis. Replacements: T Dan for George 61 mins; E Mawi for Brantingham 61 mins; A Clarey for Rocconi 61 mins; T Elliott for Cinti 65 mins; N Michelow for Wilson 71 mins; O Hartley for Tompkins 71 mins.
Referee: P Brousset (France).
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Listen to our Inside Politics podcast for the best political chat and analysis
