Munster come up just short in Northampton after Champions Cup classic
Munster’s Diarmuid Kilgallen scores a try despite Alex Mitchell of Northampton closing in. Picture: INPHO/Billy Stickland
Munster agonisingly ran out of time as their late comeback fell just short in a thriller of a Round 4 Champions Cup clash with Northampton Saints at Franklin’s Gardens on Saturday.
Both sides were extremely positive from the outset, with the game being the exact opposite of last week’s conservative arm wrestle with Saracens.
The home side struck first when winger Tom Seabrook collected a James Ramm pass to score in the left corner in the 15th minute, after the Munster defence ran out of numbers in their defensive line. Notably, the genesis of the try was a malfunctioning Munster lineout around halfway, which will be frustrating from a Munster point of view.
In the 22nd minute Munster scored a peach of a try out of absolutely nothing, and this time it was a Northampton lineout that sparked the score. Tadhg Beirne rose highest to pinch a loose delivery from the Saints hooker and before the home side could settle Conor Murray unleashed a brilliant kick over the top for Calvin Nash to chase, and despite having a 10m deficit he ate up the ground to beat Alex Mitchell to the ball and hacked through to score.
Jack Crowley then slotted a penalty in the 28th minute, and four minutes later Nash was diving over again after a superb team move. Big carries from Rory Scannell and Diarmuid Barron got Munster close, and after moving the Saints defence right they switched back to the left and Crowley was able to find Nash in acres of space to saunter over.
Gavin Coombes was sin-binned right on half time for committing the next indiscretion after Munster had received a warning from Georgian referee Nika Amashukeli and from the resultant penalty the Saints maul rumbled over the Munster try-line with Curtis Langdon dotting down to ensure that Munster’s lead at half time was only 12-15.
Just before the game got back to 15 v 15 Seabrook struck again, with him diving over in the left corner after concerted pressure, as ultimately Munster lost the sin bin period 12-0.
The Saints got their bonus point try in the 55th minute when a sumptuous flicked pass from Fin Smith sent full-back James Ramm through a gap to score, in what was nineteen points without reply, so Jack Crowley’s well-struck 57th-minute penalty was badly needed from a Munster perspective, although that was cancelled out by Smith soon afterwards.
A moment was needed and Diarmuid Kilgallen provided one when he collected a deft inside pass from Conor Murray and had the pace and power to get home in the 64th minute, for his first Munster try, but that man Seabrook crossed again three minutes later for a superb individual score for his hat-trick off first phase possession off a lineout.
Killgallen crossed in the left corner for a bonus point try for Munster in the 78th minute after huge pressure on the Saints line, but despite one last chance, created by a superb break by Crowley, Munster just could not pinch the winning score at the death.
F Smith (4 cons), T Seabrook (3 tries), C Langdon, J Ramm (1 try each).
J Crowley (2 pens, 3 cons), C Nash and D Kilgallen (2 tries each).
J Ramm; T Freeman, F Dingwall (c), R Hutchinson, T Seabrook; F Smith, A Mitchell; T Haffar, C Langdon, T Davison; A Coles, T Lockett; J Kemeny, T Pearson, J Augustus.
C Hunter-Hill for A Coles (53), T West and H Pollock for T Haffar and J Augustus (60), L Green for T Davison (62), A Scott-Young, Tom James for J Kemeny and A Mitchell (71).
M Haley; C Nash, T Farrell, R Scannell, D Kilgallen; J Crowley, C Murray; D Bleuler, D Barron, O Jager; F Wycherley, T Beirne (c); P O'Mahony, A Kendellen, G Coombes.
N Scannell, S Archer, T Ahern, J O'Donoghue for D Barron, O Jager, F Wycherley, P O’Mahony (49), T Butler for C Nash (62), B Gleeson for A Kendellen (66), J Ryan and P Patterson for D Bleuler and C Murray (71), D Barron for N Scannell (74).
Nika Amashukeli (Geo).
App?
