Saili Try Sends Munster Through To Last-Eight As Pool Winners

Munster are back in the Champions Cup quarter-finals for the first time in three seasons following a hard-fought 14-12 win over a determined Glasgow Warriors side at Scotstoun Stadium.

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: GLASGOW WARRIORS 12 MUNSTER 14

The men in red reached the last-eight as Pool 1 winners thanks to replacement centre Francis Saili’s 71st-minute try and nine points from the boot of fellow New Zealander Tyler Bleyendaal.

It was a second away victory in the space of a week for Rassie Erasmus’ men who will look to tee up a home quarter-final when they host Racing 92 at Thomond Park next Saturday.

For long periods of what was a ferocious battle between two quality sides, it seemed as if the teams’ kickers might be the match deciders as Bleyendaal, Finn Russell and Stuart Hogg went tit-for-tat in a penalty kick competition, but in the end a first European try for Saili proved decisive.

The set piece was a real hot bed of activity throughout, and after 13 minutes Glasgow took the lead when they earned a penalty from a Munster scrum, which out-half Russell landed from the right for a 3-0 lead.

Three minutes later another Munster scrum saw the penalty go the other way on the halfway line, but Bleyendaal’s kick dropped just short.

But the Kiwi number 10 soon drew Munster level from close range when Lee Jones was penalised for a high tackle on Keith Earls deep in Warriors’ territory.

From the start this was a hugely physical battle with some excellent play at the breakdown from both defences making quick ball a premium. But it was not until the 32nd minute that this bore fruit when Warriors earned a penalty in their own half which full-back Hogg drilled over from more than 50 metres.

That 6-3 lead only last two minutes though, and the visitors drew level again when Josh Strauss was caught offside and Bleyendaal split the posts with the penalty, made easier due to dissent from the Warriors number 8.

Hogg was unable to add another long range kick just short of half-time as the sides went in level at 6-6, but seven minutes after the resumption Russell gave his side the lead when the otherwise impressive Andrew Conway did not roll away from the tackle after he initially did well to halt Tim Swinson near his own try-line.

Again, the sizeable Munster travelling support did not have long to wait for the levelling score, which came from another Bleyendaal penalty, but a big carry from Jean Kleyn did all the damage for the visitors.

With the game in the balance every error could prove fatal, and it seemed as if CJ Stander could have been the villain for once when he infringed at a Warriors maul on the left, and Russell claimed the three points on offer to take the lead again at 12-9.

But that ended Glasgow’s scoring as Munster went on the attack in a gripping conclusion. Nine minutes from time, winger Conway looked certain to score in the right corner only for Hogg’s high tackle to deny him. The Scotland international was yellow carded for the offence, and instead of going for the posts from an acute angle, Bleyendaal pushed Munster into the corner.

The initial drive was halted by some good maul defence from Glasgow, but two long passes from Conor Murray and Bleyendaal found Simon Zebo wide on the left. He stood up the covering defender and passed to Earls whose cleverly-angled run and feed to Saili sent the fit-again midfielder charging through on the outside for a memorable score by the left corner flag.

Bleyendaal was narrowly wide with the touchline conversion, and Munster were forced to defend their two-point lead late on, but their hugely determined and well-organised defence stood firm to seal that coveted quarter-final place.

After helping the province qualify for the knockout stages for a record 16th time in 22 years, Bleyendaal said: “It was incredibly tough out there – what a game, what a battle. We are in the quarter-finals and we are absolutely happy about that.

“We are happy to keep building towards next week. We are excited and we think we can go all the way. There wasn’t a lot of running between the sides but the set piece was so intense.

“Glasgow are one of the best attacking teams in the PRO12 and Europe so we are pretty excited to hold them try-less. Our defence was not as disciplined as it might have been but we are happy with the result after a tough old battle.

“There’s a lot of pride involved in our defence and the attitude that we put into our defence. You can have all the technique and systems you want but it is about individuals putting their mark on the tackle.”