Munster just about maintained their winning ways at BT Murrayfield with a 16-14 GUINNESS PRO12 triumph over Edinburgh. Anthony Foley’s men survived a late onslaught from the Scots which very nearly saw them engineer a match-winning score.
The match’s first try came the way of Munster prop John Ryan in the opening half, and despite momentum and the lead going the way of Edinburgh early in the second period, the visitors did well to work themselves back into the lead.
That was before Edinburgh intercept in the final passage of play saw the province end the game camped on their own try-line. The hard-fought result sees Munster climb to second in the table, just one point behind new leaders Connacht on 27 points.
Despite the heavy rain coming to a halt before kick-off, conditions remained slippery but it was Edinburgh who suffered more of the handling errors during the opening 40 minutes – a statistic that is also testament to the strong defence shown by Anthony Foley’s side from the off.
Retaining most of the opening possession, Munster were almost in after five minutes. A well-executed garryowen from Ian Keatley and good aerial work from Ronan O’Mahony saw the incoming Jack O’Donoghue reclaim possession. From there, a neat kick through from Francis Saili for Simon Zebo almost saw the Corkman cross for his 40th Munster try. However, the Edinburgh defence just won the foot race.
Still, with an attacking scrum, Munster went through the phases and Ryan – making his first start of the season – touched down at the base of the left hand post with the support of his fellow forwards in the seventh minute. Keatley had the easiest of kicks to make it a full seven-pointer.
A penalty or not rolling away allowed the hosts to close the gap on 11 minutes, goal-kicking scrum half Sam Hidalgo-Clyne making no mistake.
When Gerhard van den Heever mistimed his tackle on Tom Brown, the Munster winger was sin-binned and Edinburgh looked to capitalise with the extra man. Despite being down a man, Munster snatched back possession on the back of a Donnacha Ryan lineout steal.
Rugby World Cup returnees Conor Murray and Keith Earls nearly succeeded in creating Munster’s second try, the scrum half kicking in behind the Edinburgh defence for the always threatening Earls who knocked on in the tackle from the cover defence.
Edinburgh tried to go wide and profit from their numerical advantage, but the Munster defence was more than up to the challenge with out-half Keatley kicking well in securing good field position.
In fact, as van den Heever returned, he found his teammates camped five metres from the Edinburgh try-line. In the end, Munster came in from the side and Edinburgh were off the hook.
With the province’s scrum suffering at the hands of their opponents, indiscipline also dogged the Munstermen at the breakdown and this was a pattern that continued all game.
Following Munster’s next ruck infringement, second row Ryan came to the rescue again in pinching the lineout inside the Munster 22. A knock-on from the clearing kick gifted Munster a scrum deep in the Edinburgh half, and Keatley made it 10-3 after the Scots coughed up a penalty in the set piece.
Losing a little composure, Alan Solomons’ charges were then pinged for holding on – Saili doing well to stay on his feet – and Munster went through the phases in the opposition 22. However, this time they got little change from the home side who sent Munster backwards in the scrum.
As the first half drew to a close, Edinburgh attacked with a bit more purpose and that pressure soon paid off with Hidalgo-Clyne reducing the deficit to 10-6 just before the interval.
It was very much game on when Edinburgh drew first blood after the restart. Damien Hoyland got the ball in space, with good support from Brown, before a well-worked switch with Will Helu saw the centre touch down on the left wing and hand Edinburgh the lead. Hidalgo-Clyne’s missed conversion kept the deficit to just one point.
Munster had the next scoring chance when the hosts infringed at the breakdown, but Keatley was unable to convert his second long range effort of the evening.
Continuing their dominance at scrum time, yet another penalty for the Scots brought them into Munster territory before not rolling away at breakdown saw Saili binned in the 55 minute. Hidalgo-Clyne landed the resulting penalty kick for a 14-10 scoreline.
The playing field was at least levelled in terms of playing numbers when WP Nel saw yellow for cynical play in the scrum. Shortly afterwards, referee David Wilkinson again blew for not rolling away. The Edinburgh offence allowed Keatley kick Munster back to within one point on 62 minutes.
The momentum was suddenly swinging back to the Munstermen, with the Scottish outfit becoming as guilty as the visitors when it came to giving away cheap penalties. Losing dominance in the scrum, they presented Keatley with the opportunity to boot the men in black back in front and he duly delivered the three points in the 67th minute.
A resurgent Munster in the final 15 minutes also saw them gobble up the lion’s share of both possession and territory, and gain parity in the scrum with Uruguayan prop Mario Sagario making his debut as a second half replacement.
A total of 19 phases saw Edinburgh unable to get beyond the halfway line, with an impenetrable Munster defence eventually forcing the knock on. Replacement prop James Cronin, in particular, showcased some excellent defence during this passage of play.
More drama was to follow, however. With 80 minutes on the clock and with possession from the scrum secured, the province chose to run the ball only for Edinburgh to intercept. Munster had to scramble back and suddenly found themselves within yards of their try-line from where the Scots used the pick-and-go for over 20 phases.
Knowing they would be well and truly be the masters of their own downfall were they to concede a try in a gripping climax, Munster’s desperate defence held firm when it mattered most.
With little penetration across 20 phases, Hidalgo-Clyne opted for a drop goal attempt, but with CJ Stander getting a brilliant block in and Edinburgh knocking on the loose ball, their chance for a late steal went a-begging and Munster got out of jail.
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