Munster fall short in thrilling try-fest with All Blacks XV
The Munster team face the haka at Thomond Park. Picture: INPHO/Dan Sheridan
Munster succumbed to the visiting All Blacks XV in an entertaining encounter at Thomond Park on Saturday evening, with ten tries scored on the night by two sides who came to play.
It was real all-action stuff early on, but it took 23 minutes for the first score, and it arrived courtesy of a crash ball try from All Blacks centre AJ Lam, who was put away by half-backs Harry Plummer and Finlay Christie to smash his way to the Munster line.
Billy Burns was guilty of missing touch with a penalty finder, not for the first time this season, and the error proved extremely costly as the New Zealanders brilliantly worked the ball through the hands, with the likes of Shaun Stevenson, Kini Naholo, Fabian Holland, Quinn Tupaea and Isaia Walker-Leawere all prominent, and the move finished with right winger Chay Fihaki diving over in the right corner in the 28th minute to make it 0-14.
The kicking duties were handed to Rory Scannell, and he found touch to set up an attacking lineout 5m out from the All Blacks tryline, and after a Peter O’Mahony gather the likes of John Hodnett, Gavin Coombes and Stephen Archer battered away at the line, which allowed full-back Mike Haley room to wiggle over for a try in the 34th minute.
Scannell got Munster close again with another expert touch-finder, after the move had been instigated by an excellent turnover by Hodnett, and when the Munster maul was collapsed the referee had little choice but to award Munster the penalty try. Lock Isaia Walker-Leawere was the sinner, and he got to sit in the sin bin for ten minutes for his indiscretion, as Munster trailed 12-14 at half-time.
The All Blacks had a try chalked off for a knock-on, but the reprieve was a shortlived one, however, with their scrum destroying Munster, before their maul did likewise, and the move ended with hooker Brodie McAllister crashing over in the 45th minute.
Four minutes later and Munster struck back once more through the maul with Hodnett crashing over to make it 17-21.
The next score went to the All Blacks, as Quinn Tupaea collected an excellent chip from Plummer to score in the 58th minute, but Munster scored almost immediately when Rory Scannell blasted up the centre and popped to his centre partner Tom Farrell to crawl over under the posts to leave the score at 24-26.
Evan O’Connell and Diarmuid Killgallen combined in the 74th minute and the former Connacht winger thought he was on the verge of winning the game for Munster, only for some tremendous last-ditch defending to bundle him into touch.
Noah Hotham made a clean break in the 76th minute, fed Josh Jacomb, who duly released Kini Naholo to score under the posts to seal the win, and the excellent Plummer picked off another loose ball to run in another from distance to give the final scoreline an ugly look.
T Butler (1 con), M Haley, J Hodnett, T Farrell (1 try each), Penalty try.
H Plummer (4 cons, 1 try), AJ Lam, C Fihaki, B McAllister, Q Tupaea, K Naholo (1 try each).
M Haley; S McCarthy, T Farrell, R Scannell, D Kilgallen; B Burns, E Coughlan; J Ryan, D Barron (c), S Archer; F Wycherley, T Ahern; P O’Mahony, J Hodnett, G Coombes.
R Quinn for P O’Mahony (40), K Ryan and T Butler for J Ryan and B Burns (51), N Scannell and P Patterson for D Barron and E Coughlan (55), E O’Connell for T Ahern (60), R Foxe and B O’Connor for S Archer and S McCarthy (70).
S Stevenson; C Fihaki, AJ Lam, Q Tupaea, K Naholo; H Plummer, F Christie; G Bower, B McAllister, G Dyer; I Walker-Leawere, F Holland; O Haig, D Kirifi (c), D Flanders.
R Love for C Fihaki (46), X Numia and M Renata for G Bower and G Dyer (50), N Hotham, J Jacomb for Q Tupaea, F Christie (60).
Takehito NameKawa (Japan)
App?
