Despite the shamozzles, it turned out to be comfortable victory over Zebre, writes Trevor Murphy
Last weekends match saw the Italian side Zebre make the trip to Thomond Park. Matches against the supposed smaller teams in the Rabo Pro 12 are amongst the more difficult in my opinion. Sometimes it is hard to bring the same level of intensity as say a Leinster fixture. Zebre had lost all of their previous fixtures and let’s be honest, that statistic was not likely to change much. At the same time, write these teams off at your peril. The normal ebb and flow of every game means that all teams have periods where they are in the ascendancy. No matter how poor you perceive teams to be, they are still made up of genuine hard men. You cannot play this game without toughness. The smallest rugby player has to contend with 100kg to 130kg players running at them at full speed intent on mayhem and destruction. For anybody reading this in the USA, that is 220 to 286 pounds running flat out and not a pad or helmet in sight! No disrespect to the NFL, I am a fan and have even donned the helmet and pads of a defensive line man!
The Munster team on the night are much changed from the previous weekends fixture. O’Dea was back on the wing with JJ Hanrahan starting at first centre. Hanrahan was an interesting selection at 12. He has the appearance of a player that is comfortable on the ball in any given situation. As an experiment I think it was a good one. He’s not shy in the physical aspect and his passing was sharp. The first half was a very scrappy affair with opportunities being snuffed out by errors and penalties. We had to wait until the twenty sixth minute to put points on the board. Keatley converted a penalty from between the Zebre 22 and 10m line.
A shamozzle developed in the thirty second minute, which took a few minutes to sort out. To be honest, considering there were two players from each side called over to the referee I was expecting a bit more of a bollocking to be handed out. The lecture served to further slow down a game that was already lacking fluidity. The TV coverage didn’t shed any light on the shamozzle so that is a few hundred words you don’t have to read!
The scrappy nature of the play so far was in large part down to Zebres line speed. Any team that has good pace to its defensive line will be hard to break down. It’s about limiting the space for the opposition to play in. Passes and decisions are rushed which leads to more errors and poorly executed plays. Zebre put their stamp on the scoreboard in the thirty ninth minute with a penalty by Halangahu. Given their effort in the first half they deserved parity on the scoreboard. Had their kicker being on slightly better form they may well have had the lead at half time! However much they deserved it you can be sure the Munster boys were in no mood to give Zebre anything without a fight. They would certainly have been unhappy with the results of their endeavours so far
Thankfully Munster came out of the sheds after half time in a far less charitable mood than the previous half. Four minutes into the second Zebre conceded a penalty after Munster disrupted their lineout. A few phases later Sherry popped a soft no look pass to release O’Callaghan down the left wing. In the next phase of play Hanrahan left the defence chasing shadows when he took on a forward on the outside. A couple of yards out an Italian defender was easily brushed aside for our first try of the game. Keatley added the conversion and the scoreboard stood at 10-3. Better late than never! More than thirty minutes to go and the first signs that Zebre are wilting.
The following few minutes were a bit more fluid but still the Zebre defence was proving tough to break. A lot of the play was between the two 22’s. Munster made their way into the Zebre 22 with a penalty after an infringement at a ruck. Unfortunately we butchered the opportunity losing possession at a lineout 5 yards from the Zebre line. Thankfully Zebre obliged us with another penalty to allow us to gain a foothold in their 22. The forwards rolled up their collective sleeves at this point, pounding away at the Zebre defence. We managed to retain possession at a ruck under the posts when the referee deemed the ball unplayable. This was in no small part to the hard work of the forwards because it looked like Zebre had good position over the ball at the beginning of the ruck. Zebre conceded a penalty at the scrum but Munster played on. It looked like Zebre had snuffed out an attacking play during the advantage. Laulala passed the ball to Felix Jones just outside the 22. From a standing start Jones darted left to wrong foot the defence. Within a few yards he turned towards the goal line and parted the defence like Moses at the Red Sea. It is no exaggeration to say the route Jones took was right through the centre of the Zebre pack of forwards. There was a flock of white jerseys left in his wake as he darted through to score under the posts.
25 minute left and two tries to get to score the bonus point. The old ticker could do without these helter skelter finishes to game... 17-3
Zebre make a break into our 22 with their big South African No 8 Schalkwyk. It came to nothing as Luke O’Dea displayed an open side’s instinct to get himself over the ball immediately in a strong position. Penalty Munster in front of our own posts inside out 22. Keatley missed the clearance to touch but the Munster defence stood strong to push the Italians into touch on the half way line. Another shamozzle and some handbags! Be still my beating heart
At the next ruck the Italian winger Pratichetti hit Butler with a cheap shot from the side and methinks he is lucky that Butler didn’t get a hold of him properly. I wouldn’t have fancied his chances! Play continued after this remarkable display of restraint by Paddy Butler. Munster continued to make life hard for themselves however. The midfield runners were receiving ball standing still and this is in no way conducive to attacking play.
On sixty minutes Munster lost possession at a ruck in midfield. How the referee missed the ample frame of David Ryan lying on the wrong side making no attempt to roll away... is beyond me. He didn’t budge an inch after making the tackle. Zebre gave up position soon after with another ruck penalty for diving over the top. Hanrahan was looking for ways to get behind the Zebre defence. He put in a nice grubber kick but was undone by the fact that a Munster player was a good five yards ahead of him when he kicked the ball.
On sixty five minutes Munster were again in the Zebre half on foot of a penalty kick to touch. Fifteen minutes to go and the finger nails were well and truly chomped. Munster managed to lose possession at the lineout but regain it on the floor within a minute. We pushed into the 22 with Marcus Horan after a decent pass from Murray which cut out the on rushing defence. Laulala burst through the line eventually being brought down by the fourth tackler. Johne Murphy avoided big tackle from Belardo to form a ruck. Quick ball from the ruck to Keatley allowed him the time to put through a beautifully weighted grubber for Hanrahan to pounce on. Try number three on the board. Keatley converted from the left touchline to make the score 24-3
Twelve minutes left on the clock. Munster try to up the pace but the handling gives Zebre possession in our half with a scrum. Munster put a big drive in but the scrum is reset. The Zebre loose head is penalised for turning in under pressure. Keatley pushed Zebre back to their 22 with the penalty. Munster coughs up possession again and Zebre break to the half way line before their handling lets them down. We kick away possession when attacking on the right wing but manage to push the Zebre man into touch. Another shamozzle... I can’t take much more of this excitement in a game! I thought Murray was going to unload on the Zebre winger at the tail end of that. I have never seen that much aggression on display without a punch being thrown. Usually there would be a couple of slaps long before it dispersed. Oh well we can’t have our cake and eat it As much as I may be enjoying the festivities it’s not the kind of arm wrestle that Munster need to be getting involved in. Happily the penalty goes to Munster after the referee talks to the linesman. Based on the report Pratichetti is luck it wasn’t worse than a penalty. After a couple of phases Laulala takes the ball to the line and pops a pass through traffic to find Luke O’Dea who beats the fullbacks despairing tackle to score the all important bonus point try.
I’m Trevor, 39. A passionate Munster and Irish Rugby Fan. I have strong opinions on this beautiful game of ours. Stand up and fight!
