Munster recovered from a shaky start to battle past the Scarlets and post a timely 19-7 win over the defending GUINNESS PRO14 champions at Thomond Park.
Tries at opposite ends of the second half from Robin Copeland, who won his third man-of-the-math award in as many home games, and Alex Wootton sealed a hard-fought victory for the province who host Champions Cup quarter-final opponents Toulon at the same venue in a week’s time.
The Scarlets also have European matters on their mind, entertaining La Rochelle next Friday night, and they were looking for a big result on the road with Leinster currently leading them by three points in the Conference B table.
They burst out of the blocks with scrum half Aled Davies’ barnstorming try in the seventh minute, but his opposite number James Hart cut the gap to 7-5 at half-time after muscling over from a five-metre scrum.
Munster turned in a superior final 40 minutes, their powerful pack forcing the issue and Copeland’s 47th-minute effort, coupled with Wootton’s closing score from a pinpoint long Stephen Fitzgerald pass, proving crucial.
This hard-edged repeat of last season’s Championship final, which saw the Scarlets put 46 points on Munster in a famous win in Dublin, was ideal preparation for the sides’ European encounters next week.
The visitors showed that sort of form early on when full-back Tom Williams scythed through a gap, James Davies popped up at the link man and he fed scrum half Davies who showed speed and strength to score, with a combination of Wootton and Calvin Nash unable to stop him from a few metres out.
With Rhys Patchell converting, the Scarlets’ wide game continued to cause problems for Munster but Johann van Graan’s men, aided by a dominant scrum, soon found their feet.
A TMO decision ruled out a 70-metre intercept try for Wootton, the ball having come off the winger’s bicep for an initial knock-on, before the set piece efforts of John Ryan and Jean Kleyn, in particular, had Munster mauling for the line. They were held up before Hart did just enough to get the ball down from the ensuing scrum.
Ian Keatley missed the conversion and Patchell’s subsequent penalty attempt came back off a post as Wayne Pivac’s side went off at the interval with a two-point advantage.
Number 8 Copeland was key to Munster’s upping of the intensity on the restart. He produced a crucial steal in his own 22, before a lineout downfield saw the home forwards carry strongly, the final surge seeing Copeland reach over to score ahead of the Munster-bound Tadhg Beirne.
Keatley converted for a 12-7 turnaround but flanker Tommy O’Donnell added to the province’s growing injury list when he went off with a shoulder injury. They also felt aggrieved when James Davies avoided the sin-bin for an apparent trip on Sam Arnold, and Munster replacement prop James Cronin had a try ruled out for a double movement, with referee Marius Mitrea stepping to stop Keatley’s conversion attempt and consult with TMO Matteo Liperini.
Although Pivac clearly had one eye on La Rochelle in making all eight replacements between the 53rd and 66th minutes, the Scarlets remained dangerous in attack and went close through Steff Evans but he was unable to latch onto his own kick.
However, Munster made certain of victory after full-back JJ Hanrahan’s quick-witted break took them back into the visitors’ 22. They again took Scarlets through the phases before Fitzgerald found Wootton who got the better of Tom Varndell with a determined 77th-minute finish out wide. They almost had a late bonus point score via centre Arnold’s rampaging run, but the three tries still see Munster holding a firm grip on second place in Conference A.
20-year-old Academy player Nash, who had a fine game on the right wing, said afterwards: “The Scarlets are a very good side, we worked very hard all week to get our breakdown and just the small little things right, because losing to Edinburgh (last week) was a bit of a setback.
“It was such a great feeling to win, the lads are in great form. It’s great to get a victory against a good side and build towards Toulon (next Saturday). I’m delighted with how things have gone (personally). I’m just going to keep my head down and just keep working hard and try get on the pitch as much as I can.”
Speaking about the injury to openside O’Donnell, Munster head coach van Graan admitted: “It’s not good. He is in a lot of pain, arm is in a sling. He had trouble getting up on the field and even in the changing room. So, I’m not a doctor, but he seems definitely a doubt for the weekend.
“And if I had to guess, I’d say it will be another few weeks or maybe a long time for him. Yeah, if he is out, it’s another big blow for us. We’ll reassess. I just wanted to get through this game. The big picture is what we want to do next week, but with injuries that’s changed, so as a coaching staff we’ll assess over the next 48 hours and then adjust our plan accordingly.”
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