Scarlets 14 Munster 17:It wasn't a beautiful game but the 2,000 travelling Munster supporters in a crowd of 13,185 at Parc y Scarlets won't care one whit; nor should they. The Irish province didn't need the broad brushstrokes of sweeping expansive patterns to prevail. They chose more earthy qualities to quarry a brilliant win.
It took courage, belief and wonderfully disciplined defence in the final throes of the contest, reducing their hosts to desperate gambits, forced passes and errors in contact. The Scarlets may have won their first two matches but they were handed a lesson in Llanelli today, about the distance they still have to travel to become genuine European contenders.
Munster smothered the Welsh side with suffocating defence, scrambled furiously and collectively, occasionally in the shadow of their own posts and when the opportunities arose; took them. Ronan O’Gara, playing his 100th
match for Munster in Europe, outshone Rhys Priestland in game management and place-kicking, but it was the visiting pack that decided the outcome.
The Munster scrum forced a succession of penalties and the pack provided relentless go forward ball, winning the collisions on the fringes and relentlessly grinding out the hard yards. Paul O’Connell was immense in every respect, ably supported by his cohorts in the pack and the bench once again gave the team momentum and fresh legs when it was required.
The Munster backrow did a marvellous job led by James Coughlan, in particular, and Niall Ronan in slowing down Scarlets’ ball. Denied this platform, their vaunted backs were made to look pedestrian.
The home side received a blow before the start, when teenage Welsh international wing George North failed a late fitness test on a dead leg he sustained while playing for the national side in the defeat to Australia. Dan Newton came in at fullback with Liam Williams switching to the right wing.
The opening 20 minutes was pockmarked by errors from both teams, the side in possession more often a liability to themselves. This was evident after just 87 seconds when Donnacha Ryan had possession stripped in a tackle and his team-mates infringed at the ensuing ruck.
Scarlets outhalf Rhys Priestland badly hooked the 35 metre penalty left and wide and was off target again three minutes later, albeit watching a conversion strike the right hand upright. The homeside’s try owed to an element of good fortune. Munster centre Will Chambers threw a poor pass which Cup debutant Simon Zebo fumbled on the halfway line.
Munster players dithered and this allowed Williams to fly hack the ball back inside and it bounced kindly for the supporting Scarlets’ flanker Aaron Shingler to cross for the try. The Welsh club increased their lead on eight minutes when Denis Hurley’s poorly directed up and under saw his team concede a penalty.
Priestland striking was unerring this time from 36 metres. A consolation of sorts for the visitors was that their lack of precision and handling errors were exclusively responsible for them trailing, rather than anything proactively excellent from the Scarlets: the latter were being handed the initiative rather than forging it through their patterns.
Gradually Munster began to address the spiralling error-rate and it was the home side that began to make mistakes. They should have been further ahead at this point but patience and accuracy were conspicuously absent.
O’Gara kicked a penalty and on 29 minutes Munster conjured a try of breathtaking beauty, that was completely at odds with the generally poor fare. O’Gara fielded a loose clearance, linked with Hurley, who made ground and then produced a beautiful offload out the side in the tackle. Johne Murphy straightened intelligently and flicked the ball to the supporting Niall Ronan.
The flanker tore down the touchline, neatly stepped inside a tackle and slid over the line for a great score. O’Gara missed the conversion but tagged on a penalty to leave the visitors 11-8 ahead at the interval.
The Munster outhalf posted two further penalties to one from Priestland, the latter also missing another decent opportunity. The visiting side were producing the type of hard-nosed forward play for which they were once synonymous and they made serious inroads, particularly around the fringes. It might not have won any awards for aesthetics but boy was it effective.
The Scarlets had begun to panic, emptying their bench and forcing the pass. Stephen Jones was introduced, Priestland moving to fullback, and the former initially brought a calm authority and direction, kicking a penalty to reduce the deficit to 17-14.
The home side had their dander up but, despite a full frontal assault in the Munster 22 for almost two minutes, could find no way through an impenetrable white wall of defenders. There wasn’t much guile but it doesn’t detract from some superbly disciplined defending by the visitors. Jones eventually knocked on, the Scarlets were penalised at the ensuing scrum and the siege was lifted.
The home side were a spent force mentally, broken by Munster’s unyielding will and ferocious tackling. They ran out of ideas as Munster’s defence snuffed out the desperate final embers of the Scarlets’ aspirations.
Scoring sequence
4 mins: Shingler try, 5-0; 8: Priestland penalty, 8-0; 25: O’Gara penalty, 8-3; 29: Ronan try, 8-8; 37: O’Gara penalty, 8-11. Half-time: 8-11. 49: Priestland penalty, 11-11; 55: O’Gara penalty, 11-14; 61: O’Gara penalty, 11-17; 67: Jones penalty, 14-17.
Scarlets: D Newton; L Williams, S Williams, J Davies, S Lamont; R Priestland, G Davies; I Thomas, M Rees (capt), Rhys Thomas; S Timani, D Welch; A Shingler, R McCusker, B Morgan. Replacements: J Edwards for Shingler 45 mins; S Jones for Newton 58 mins; T Knoyle for G Davies; K Owens for Rees 61 mins; P Johns for I Thomas 61 mins; K Murphy for Timani 61 mins; D Manu for R Thomas 75 mins; V Iongi for L Williams 75 mins.
Munster: D Hurley; J Murphy, W Chambers, L Mafi, S Zebo; R O’Gara, C Murray; W du Preez, D Varley, BJ Botha; D Ryan, P O’Connell (capt); P O’Mahony, N Ronan, J Coughlan. Replacements: D Leamy for O’Mahony half-time; D O’Callaghan for Ryan 55 mins; D Barnes for Chambers 55 mins; T O’Leary for Murray 61 mins; M Horan for du Preez 75 mins; J Hayes for Botha 76 mins.
Referee: R Poite (France)
