Damian de Allende gives mighty Munster the edge over Exeter
over 3 years in The guardian
Last-16 2nd leg: Munster 26-10 Exeter; aggregate 34-23Joey Carbery scores 21 points for MunsterPerhaps these two-legged knockout ties will catch on. The suspense of a tight, tense and relentlessly physical contest was prolonged into the final minutes in Limerick when it remained impossible to call a winner; at least until Damian de Allende’s try, eight minutes from time, that proved the knockout blow. Munster emerge battered but victorious from a high-class collision between unstoppable force and immovable object, and with a last-eight match against either Ulster or Toulouse looming into view.Joey Carbery, the Munster and Ireland fly-half, scored 21 of their 26 points but this was fundamentally a defensive masterclass by Johann van Graan’s side and one that evoked memories of the good old days when they won this competition twice in three seasons between 2006 and 2008. It was in particular a mammoth individual display by Peter O’Mahony in the back row, the captain who refused to allow Exeter time to settle at the breakdown and caused a nuisance at their lineout into the bargain. Continue reading...