Munster 17; Saracens 12
In currency terms, this was a battle of two old money sides but each showed enough to suggest that a route back to the big time in European rugby is not as far away as was suggested before this Investec Champions Cup clash at Thomond Park on Saturday.
If anything Saracens looked the slicker outfit for the first hour or so but once Munster got the bit between their teeth which yielded two tries, the chemistry between crowd and team rose exponentially to the status of old and they were comfortable enough in seeing off their England opponents while giving themselves a great chance of qualifying for the quarter-finals of this august competition.
Saraens 6-3 lead at the break following a poor first half of mistakes by both sides, not helped by the slippy ball and unsure ground. All the home crowd had to cheer was a solitary Jack Crowley penalty while the visitors shot two from Alex Lozowski.
When Elliot Daly extended the Sarries lead with a long kick on the changeover, it looked as if penalties might decide this dour encounter. But that was before the game burst into life.
Dian Bleuler and John Hodnett both showed great power, pace and bravery as they dotted down for converted tries and suddenly the whole atmosphere changed in the famed Limerick surroundings.
Lozowski kicked a consolation penalty to make the ending nervy for the 22,000 fans but the hosts held out to move into second place in Pool 3 and now face leaders Northampton away this weekend. A week indeed could be a long time for Munster but another win would give them the high ground in advancing with home advantage into the latter stages.
They will hope to have Peter O’Mahony able to play at least some part in this game but on Saturday it was another Ireland player Tadhg Beirne who was their talisman with a man of the match performance in leading his side to victory.
Head Coach Ian Costello expressed delight at his side’s attitude despite playing poorly for long periods. “We went 6-0 down, we were disappointed with two poor penalties, but the lads stayed really calm. I think we stayed really true to what we said we would do, and at times we have gone a little bit away from that at key moments under pressure.
“I thought we were unlucky in the first half not to score that maul up in the top left, we probably felt like we deserved that but we came in 6-3 down, and everyone was really calm at half-time. We focused on two things: outworking them and having to win the physical battle, and we set ourselves up to do that. Everything we did for the last 10 days has been about that challenge, and we made sure that lads were incredibly fresh, and we had huge energy from the bench to really finish strong. I thought that paid off tonight,” he explained.
Costello added that this time their victory was based on that defensive platform.
“I felt if they went beyond seven [point lead] it would have been difficult, and that was key, at 6-0 and 9-3 we had a couple of massive defensive sets. We didn't concede a try tonight and probably only once they looked like scoring which was pleasing.
“At half-time we took a lot of reassurance in that, and everything was about freshness. We set ourselves up in the last 10 days to be fresh for the type of battle that it was, and that probably came through in the end."
Said captain Tadhg Beirne: “Defensively we've been working hard on getting better there and I think we've seen that today. I think the conditions probably played into the defense both sides of the ball though in fairness, slippy ball and it just it allows teams to tighten up a little bit defensively and get off the line a bit more and I think you've seen that both sides of the ball,” he stated.
Munster: Tries - Bleuler, Hodnett: Cons - Crowley (2) Pen - Crowley
Saracens: Pens - Lozowski (3), Daly.
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, J Ryan, S Archer, T Ahern, J Hodnett, P Patterson, B Burns, B Gleeson.
