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Edinburgh 10 Munster 22
Munster made light of the torrential rain and strong wind to produce a largely assured performance, shrewdly employing their superior power up front, especially in the scrum to forge a deserved victory over Edinburgh.
Connacht’s bonus point win over the Cardiff Blues trimmed Munster’s lead on top of Conference B to nine points but Johann van Graan will be happy with his side’s victory.
Billy Holland celebrated his 240th appearance with a man-of-the-match performance, a fitting accolade for a player who led his team superbly and contributed handsomely. Jack O’Donoghue would have run his captain close; indeed the pack in general earned the collective plaudits for underpinning the win.
Craig Casey was sharp at scrumhalf, while Chris Farrell and Mike Haley, particularly in the first half, were others to excel. In a brief aside to the main event it was great to see Joey Carbery take part in the pre-match warm-up, a suggestion that his return to the match environment isn’t too far away.
Edinburgh dominated from the opening whistle, albeit facilitated somewhat by Munster’s initial indiscipline that gave the home side possession and free access to the visitors’ 22.
Munster conceded four penalties in the first eight minutes, two at the breakdown, one at the first scrum and another for offside. From the last one Edinburgh outhalf Jaco van der Walt tapped it over from close range to give his team a 3-0 lead.
One positive for the visitors in those early exchanges was the authoritative manner in which they stopped their opponents’ maul. Munster were afforded a route back into the game as Edinburgh fell foul of referee Mike Adamson. O’Donoghue’s excellent work at the breakdown was rewarded when JJ Hanrahan kicked an equalising penalty on 15 minutes.
A high ball error from Andrew Conway and a fine break by Eroni Sau, were precursors to some valiant goal-line defence, the pressure eventually relieved when Edinburgh scrumhalf Henry Pyrgos knocked on at a ruck three metres from the Munster line. The visitors made the most of the reprieve by winning a scrum penalty.
Munster fullback Haley twice kicked beautifully, from the first Edinburgh escaped a charge down but less than a minute later a well judged grubber kick put the home side in trouble again deep in their 22.
The visitors won a penalty from the first lineout, O’Donoghue couldn’t ground the ball following a maul from a second, but the flanker did power over after good work initially from number eight Gavin Coombes. Hanrahan kicked the conversion to give Munster a deserved 10-3 lead on the half hour.
An error from van der Walt from the kickoff - he kicked the ball dead - gave Munster a scrum on the halfway line from which they forced a penalty. Hanrahan brought play into the Edinburgh 22 and there followed yet more ill discipline from the home side, conceding penalties like confetti.
Chris Cloete tapped and surged for the line and although he was repelled, as were a couple of others, Casey demonstrated to his larger colleagues that speed of thought and an appreciation of space could unlock the goal-line defence, wriggling over from a metre or so. Hanrahan kicked the conversion and Munster headed for the dressing room with a 17-3 lead.
Apart from the first 10 minutes it was an impressive half of rugby from Johann van Graan’s side, intelligent in the way they played the conditions and manipulated their opponents.
Sharper
Edinburgh coach Richard Cockerill may have had a few choice words at the interval because Edinburgh looked more attuned and sharper on the resumption, reducing the deficit with a try through the excellent Bill Mata on 45 minutes after Pyrgos’ clever kick had brought play deep into the Munster 22. The visitors coughed up a penalty and from that initial platform, Edinburgh worked the try.
Munster’s response was to force another scrum penalty: a kick to the corner, and following a fine half-break from Casey, Coombes powered over for his seventh try in 11 matches. Edinburgh then engineered a passage to within five metres of the Munster line on foot of two penalties.
Four re-set scrums and a free kick - both teams had made wholesale changes during this sequence - culminated when Edinburgh replacement hooker Mike Willemse conceded a free kick for not striking in the scrum. It was a seminal moment in the contest. Edinburgh for all their huffing and puffing lacked a cutting edge outside of Mata and Sau.
O’Donoghue stole an Edinburgh throw inside the Munster 22 and following another scrum, the visitors once again forced a penalty, kicked to touch on the home side’s 22 and then spent the last six minutes chasing a bonus point try. Despite Farrell’s muscular efforts, Munster could not manufacture one more defensive breach. It was a minor cavil on a very good night for the Irish province.
Scoring sequence - 8 mins: Van der Walt penalty, 3-0; 15 mins: Hanrahan penalty, 3-3; 30 mins: O’Donoghue try, Hanrahan conversion, 3-10; 36 mins: Casey try, Hanrahan conversion, 3-17. Half-time: 3-17. 45 mins: Mata try, van der Walt conversion, 10-17; 56 mins: Coombes try, 10-22.
Edinburgh: D Hoyland; J Blain, M Bennett, C Dean E Sau; J van der Walt, H Pyrgos; P Schoeman, D Cherry, L-R Atalifo; A Davidson, G Gilchrist; N Haining, L Crosbie, B Mata.
Replacements: M McCallum for Atalifo 53 mins; M Bradbury for Haining 55 mins; C Shiel for Pyrgos 58 mins; M Willemse for Cherry 63 mins; B Venter for Schoeman 66 mins; A Miller for Crosbie 66 mins; M Currie for Bennett 72 mins; N Chamberlain for Davidson 84 mins.
Munster: M Haley; A Conway, C Farrell, D de Allende, S Daly; JJ Hanrahan, C Casey; J Cronin, N Scannell, J Ryan; J Kleyn, B Holland (capt); J O’Donoghue, C Cloete, G Coombes.
Replacements: J Loughman for Cronin 65 mins; S Archer for Ryan 65 mins; F Wycherley for Kleyn 65 mins; J O’Sullivan for Cloete 65 mins; K O’Byrne for N Scannell 66 mins; B Healy for Hanrahan 67 mins; R Scannell for De Allende 72 mins; N McCarthy for Casey 76 mins; Cloete for Coombes 80 mins.
Referee: M Adamson (Scotland)