Our Munster man Trevor Murphy runs the rule over Rob Penney’s first competitive game in charge…
Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;
At long last the 2012-2013 Rabo Direct Pro 12 season is upon us.
In the first six minutes the IRB directive to referees to operate a zero tolerance policy at scrum time was evident. Edinburgh conceded a free kick for going to ground. Munster then conceded a free kick for time wasting while setting up for a scrum. It seemed a little impetuous to me. Six minutes into a game is not when a team is intentionally trying to waste time! This was followed by a 10yard march for kicking the ball away from the Edinburgh scrum half.
Our defence was split wide open by the Edinburgh centre taking a ball close to the gain line and running a good angle. This put us on the back foot for a couple of phases but the Munster tackling and tenacity in the contact area was sufficient to force a knock on. The resulting clearance to half way was hauled back because the ball had been passed into the 22. The Edinburgh pressure broke down when the scrum half attempted an offload in traffic which found a Munster player.
Shortly afterwards we saw evidence of the new time limit at ruck time. Edinburgh lost possession for taking too long at ruck time. This was created again by the Munster tenacity at the breakdown. This rule will cause some controversy this year; it really needs the Referee to communicate effectively with players.
A quick burst from our outside backs saw us just getting the ball over halfway when we were pinged for a forward pass. The resulting scrum was to lead to Tim Visser touching down out on the left wing after a defensive lapse left Edinburgh with a two on one against Hurley.
The next major talking point came from a shuddering tackle by Casey Laulala. Unfortunately Casey came off worse because he seemed to get his head on the wrong side. It was a very worrying period of the game as he didn’t move for some time after. Thankfully he came around quickly and stayed on the field. The five minute evaluation period for concussion was made for an instance like this.
At the end of the first quarter Edinburgh were penalised at scrum time for losing their bind. It leads to a penalty attempt for Keatley who had no issue with the distance but just pushed it to the right.
Our first score came from the boot of Keatley after McInally was penalised for killing the ball in a ruck when Edinburgh were on the back foot. A penalty that would have drawn a yellow card from a lot of referees...
Vissers second try came from a Munster attack that was stymied by Edinburgh. Hurley was stopped short of the line and at the next ruck the Edinburgh open side pilfered the ball. McInally sailed through tackles to offload to Visser inside their own ten meter line. Visser pushed off a despairing Keatley tackle to stroll in. This was a real sucker punch and effectively a fourteen point swing.
Munster’s effort at ruck time led to a scrum on the Edinburgh twenty two. From this phase we conceded a scrum as the referee said the scrum had turned ninety degrees. It was pretty obvious to me that Munster were trying to drive straight and Edinburgh were pulling it around. The key indicator here is the Edinburgh loose forwards having to shuffle to the left to keep up with the wheel! The following phase sees us concede a free kick and have to build again from half way.
A trademark Downey offload saw Munster steaming into the Edinburgh half. Howlett was the beneficiary but had to hold up the ball and wait for support. O’Callaghan did well in the outside channels to maintain the momentum. A chip kick from Howlett then bounced very favourably for Keatley to score under the posts. The conversion was an easy one and Munster went into the sheds level with Edinburgh.
At the beginning of the second half we were fortunate that Edinburgh didn’t spin the ball wide. We had three backs standing guard at a ruck, 12, 13 and 14. Thankfully a combination of our line speed meant the ball didn’t travel too far wide. The next Munster score came from the boot of Keatley when an Edinburgh defender failed to release after affecting a tackle.
Our defence was again split wide open. We were lucky when Rennie hoofed the ball into the Munster in goal area when he had support on his inside. The resulting couple of phases see us under pressure in our own twenty two. Howlett is penalised for not rolling away. The score was tied at 13 all. Edinburgh would have been three point up had they taken a couple of other kicking opportunities. Mike Sherry joined the fray at this point.
After a bit of aerial ping pong Munster try and run the ball. O’Callaghan linked nicely in the wide channels to release Howlett, who just put a foot in touch to stop the move. Munster’s efforts in contact soon cause an Edinburgh knock on to relieve some pressure. Dave Kilcoyne makes his way onto the field for the next scrum. Munster again tried to run the ball with Laulala breaking a couple of tackles looking for an offload. The next Edinburgh aerial bomb sees Hurley catching on the full and storming up the field chasing his own kick and Visser is forced to clear into touch.
From the resulting line out Downey takes the ball up and while in contact with two defenders pops the ball beautifully into the path of O’Dea who sprints clear to score to the left of the uprights. Luke broke two tackles on route to our second try (pic).
Munster looked good for another try not long after but Hurley held on to the ball to set up another ruck. O’Dea was looking really lively at this stage. Edinburgh started to empty the bench as the game moved into the last quarter. Another chip kick behind the defensive line sees Hurley just being edged out by the retreating Edinburgh 7. The back move from the resulting scrum was undone by a forward pass on the Edinburgh 22. Edinburgh were subsequently forced into another aerial bomb by the Munster defence. Unfortunately O’Dea just knocked on after gathering the kick.
Dineen replaced Laulala in the 65th minute. Again Munster probed the touchline where O’Callaghan impressed with his link play. Showing the hands of a centre not for the first time in this game. A Munster chip kick was knocked into the Edinburgh in goal area and grounded for a Munster five yard scrum. With Munster two yards from the line the Edinburgh seven was guilty of a professional foul handing Keatley an easy three point opportunity.
With ten minutes to go Edinburgh were desperate and threw everything they had at Munster. Munster didn’t do themselves any favours with a hospital ball to Downey deep in our half. The clearance only just made the 22 and Edinburgh came flooding through with multiple phases trying to break our defence down. They were undone temporarily by a knock on around the 22.
Barry O’Mahony made his senior debut just on the 72nd minute. Barry was a product of the Munster academy and unlucky in that he was vying for senior honours when the Munster back row was at its peak. This is a great example of hard work being rewarded. He has excelled at club rugby and now looks ready to make a name for himself in the provincial setup.
Dineen was penalised at a ruck and Edinburgh kicked deep into the Munster half. Peter Stringer came on in the 72nd minute when Munster was under the cosh. Edinburgh kept the ball for repeat phases and eventually the outside centre found the space to put Visser through on the left.
In the 74th minute the ref signalled a knock on against Edinburgh, yet seconds later the ball comes back on the Scottish side and he allows play to carry on... Edinburgh made their way into our half with this possession and continued to probe the blind side. Eventually Cox ran into one of his team mates handing possession back to Munster. The following scrum in the 77th minute broke up with a bit of handbags between the front rows. Coughlan carried out a harry Houdini moment at the reset scrum with his front row coming under serious pressure. In the last minute of the game Munsters continued hard work in the tight was rewarded with two more turnovers at ruck time. Eventually clearing the ball off the field for the win.
Nobody really shone as a man of the match candidate for me. The work rate of the whole team makes them all deserving of special mention. Backs tackled like back rowers. Second rowers played like backs. Everyone that counter rucked put everything into disrupting the opposition. If I was really pushed I would almost always give the MOTM award to a back rower for their ability in the “dark arts”. For barely perceptible reasons my pick is Sean Dougall for his work rate. New to Munster but showing the tenacity of a seasoned player.
I’m Trevor, 39. A passionate Munster and Irish Rugby Fan. A champion of the underdog. I have strong opinions on this beautiful game of ours. Always analysing tactics and phases of play. I believe in the old saying “It’s not about the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the about size of the fight in the dog”. Stand up and fight!
