In-form Munster go top of the URC after Edinburgh thriller
Munster’s Gavin Coombes bundled into touch by James Lang and Matt Currie of Edinburgh. Picture: INPHO/Craig Watson
MUNSTER jumped to the summit of the URC table with a nervy and hard-fought bonus point victory over Edinburgh at Hive Stadium on Friday evening.
Edinburgh started the brighter of the two sides with former Munster out-half Ben Healy splitting the posts in the sixth and 12th minutes to give the home side the early initiative.
It seemed to take an age for Munster to get going but when they did, they did it in style, with centre Antoine Frisch collecting a long looping pass on the right wing and he chipped ahead and brilliantly managed to regather and score in the right corner for a superb solo score in the 18th minute.
Healy responded with his third penalty in the 22nd minute and soon after later Edinburgh were in for a try when Frisch spilled the ball on the deck from a grubber through by Mark Bennett. The centre himself capitalised, to score the easiest of tries.
Munster needed a score, and got one, with Frisch again being the scorer after some great hands from Gavin Coombes, Craig Casey and Jack Crowley to put him away in the 36th minute, which all stemmed from tremendous pressure on the Edinburgh line by the Munster pack, and overall Graham Rowntree’s side were probably happy enough to go in trailing 16-12 at half time.
Munster took the lead in the 43rd minute with a wonderfully constructed first-phase possession try off a scrum with Rory Scannell sending Crowley, who had ghosted in behind him, in for a walk-in try, although the boot of Healy levelled it in the 49th minute.
Gavin Coombes crashed over in the 54th minute for the bonus point try after a tap-and-go penalty near the Edinburgh line, but Conor Murray was sin-binned in the 63rd for cynical play on his own tryline and soon after Edinburgh were awarded a try when somehow the TMO decided he could see a grounding in amongst a host of bodies, with Boan Venter being awarded the try.
Crowley landed a 70th-minute penalty to restore Munster’s lead and Munster killed the clock in the last few minutes to ensure they took all five points on offer.
B Healy (4 pens, 2 cons), M Bennett, B Venter (1 try).
J Crowley (1 try, 1 pen, 3 cons), A Frisch (2 tries), G Coombes.
W Goosen; M Currie, M Bennett, J Lang, D van der Merwe; B Healy, B Vellacott; P Schoeman, E Ashman, WP Nel; S Skinner, G Gilchrist; J Ritchie, H Watson, V Mata.
M Sykes for G Gilchrist (47), G Gilchrist for M Sykes (56), D Cherry, B Venter, J Sebastian, M Sykes, C Scott for P Schoeman, E Ashman, WP Nel, S Skinner, W Goosen (58) L Crosbie for H Watson (62), A Price and C Dean for B Vellacott and M Bennett (63).
M Haley; C Nash, A Frisch, A Nankivell, S Daly; J Crowley, C Casey; J Loughman, N Scannell, O Jager; F Wycherley, T Beirne (capt); J O'Donoghue, A Kendellen, G Coombes.
R Scannell for M Haley (22), RG Snyman for F Wycherley (43), J Ryan and T Ahern for A Kendellen (50), C Murray for A Nankivell (58), E Clarke for N Scannell (65), B Gleeson for G Coombes (70).
Gianluca Gnecchi (Ita)
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