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Dave Kilcoyne celebrates his first-half try. James Crombie/INPHO
AS IT HAPPENED

As it happened: Sale Sharks v Munster, Champions Cup

Anthony Foley’s men got their Pool 1 campaign underway with a last-gasp win at the AJ Bell Stadium.

ANTHONY FOLEY’S MUNSTER has to manufacture a second-half comeback to get off to winning ways in the Champions Cup this afternoon in Sale.

While the southern province had been keen to point out the Sharks’ strengths this week, most notably halfback pairing Chris Cusiter and Danny Cipriani, they came into this Pool 1 clash as favourites.

It took a moment of utter composure from Ian Keatley to seal the deal.

As always, we’d love to hear your thoughts on the match. E-mail murray@thescore.ie, tweet @thescore_iepost a message to our Facebook wall, or leave a comment below.

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Welcome along to our liveblog of the first Irish involvement in the new Champions Cup. Harlequins and Castres got the competition underway last night, with Conor O’Shea’s side winning, but this is the beginning of the provinces’ challenge.

Anthony Foley’s Munster have won their last two Pro12 games and arrive in Sale with growing confidence.

How do you see this one going?

First things first – here are the teams for this afternoon’s clash. Munster certainly look to have the advantage on paper.

Sale Sharks: Michael Haley; Tom Brady, Johnny Leota, Sam Tuitupou, Tom Arscott; Danny Cipriani, Chris Cusiter; Eifion Lewis-Roberts, Marc Jones, Vadim Cobilas, Jon Mills, Michael Paterson, Magnus Lund, David Seymour (capt), Mark Easter.

Replacements: Shalva Mamukashvili, Ross Harrison, Alberto de Marchi, Andrei Ostrikov, Josh Beaumont, Will Cliff, Joe Ford, Mark Jennings.

Munster: Felix Jones; Andrew Conway, Andrew Smith, Denis Hurley, Simon Zebo; Ian Keatley, Conor Murray; Dave Kilcoyne, Duncan Casey, Stephen Archer, Dave Foley, Paul O’Connell, Peter O’Mahony (c), Tommy O’Donnell, CJ Stander.

Replacements: Eusebio Guinazu, James Cronin, BJ Botha, Billy Holland, Robin Copeland, Duncan Williams, JJ Hanrahan, Gerhard van den Heever.

The AJ Bell surface is looking particularly pristine for this encounter, it has to be said.

General view of the AJ Bell Stadium James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO

Felix Jones before the game James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO

General view of the European Rugby Champions Cup ball James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO

There’s Munster captain Peter O’Mahony carrying out the coin toss with Sale counterpart David Seymour. The Cork man is looking as pumped up as ever. How important is his presence this afternoon?

Peter O'Mahony and David Seymour perform the coin toss with Mathieu Raynal James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO

We’re just 10 minutes away from kick-off in Sale, so get your predictions in before we get underway! There has been a bit of chat about a bonus point, but surely that would be underestimating Steve Diamond’s men?

That said, they have not impressed in the Premiership so far this season.

The Munster faithful have travelled to the AJ Bell Stadium this afternoon. Can they create an atmosphere to match the one they rallied up in Gloucester last season?

Here’s John Madden, Edward Madden and Paul Hehir from Ennis in Clare.

John Madden, Edward Madden Paul Hehir James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO

A really exciting Munster back row this afternoon, with CJ Stander at No. 8, where he has previously indicated he would love to get a lengthy run of games. Robin Copeland is the definition of an impact player off the bench.

Peter O’Mahony and Tommy O’Donnell, meanwhile, have been impressive so far in their seasons. The latter looks stronger than ever around the breakdown.

1 minute – Ian Keatley gets underway and Munster almost immediately concede a penalty. Over-eagerness at the ruck there!

2 minutes - In case you missed it, the referee today is France’s Mathieu Raynal.

Screen Shot 2014-10-18 at 13.01.20

4 minutes - Lots of early attacking pressure from Sale, with Cusiter directing their play from scrum-half. They’re camped in the Munster half, although not greatly threatening and then there’s a turnover and Conor Murray boots clear to touch.

5 minutes - Big break from Sale as Cipriani creates the opening! Leota bursts through in midfield, before the ball fails to come back. Scrum to Sale on the Munster 22, in the middle of the pitch. Gorgeous pass from Cipriani to release Leota.

6 minutes - Scrum penalty to Sale! Archer gets pinged by Raynal on that occasion!

PENALTY! Sale 3-0 Munster (Cipriani ’7)

9 minutes - Munster on the attack now! Stander smashes into a couple of tackles, then Keatley releases Zebo down the left with a nice pass. The wing dinks ahead and forces Cusiter into a panicked clearing kick that goes straight to Munster.

Sale then get penalised for being offside and Munster have gone for the corner…

10 minutes - Off to the TMO! Looks like a try for Kilcoyne!

TRY! Sale 3-5 Munster (Kilcoyne ’10)

Really direct stuff from Munster, who pick and go from a failed line-out, then get runners off Conor Murray. O’Mahony and Stander carried well, as did the scrum-half himself. Kilcoyne then barrelled over from close-range. Great forwards try.

CONVERSION! Sale 3-7 Munster (Keatley ’11)

12 minutes - CJ Stander is on fire! He bursts through and goes 40 metres straight off the restart, smashing through a tackle and boshing into Cirpriani! Munster whip the ball wide to the left, but Zebo gets dragged into touch.

Brilliant from the Munster No. 8!

14 minutes - Munster bring Zebo off his wing and he takes a clever screen pass from Keatley, but Andrew Smith is done for a blocking line in front of the left wing. Sale burst away and kick deep into Munster’s 22, but the Irish province recover to find touch.

14 minutes – TheScore.ie reader Ken sums up the Munster No.8′s performance so far:

Stander is a f***ing beast!!!!

15 minutes - There’s another linebreak from outside centre Leota for Sale! He looks very dangerous in possession, running a lovely curving line outside Munster that time.

Referee Raynal is off to the TMO for the third time already, looking at a potential deliberate knock-on by Felix Jones this time.

Here’s the moment Dave Kilcoyne crashed over for Munster:

Dave Kilcoyne scores his side's first try James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO

15 minutes - Nothing deliberate there, so Raynal comes back for a previous penalty against Munster.

Cipriani is going to have another shot at the posts here, 15 metres in from the left-hand touchline.

Munster need to get to grips with Leota.

PENALTY! Sale 6-7 Munster (Cipriani ’16)

Bizarre! Raynal is being replaced as referee by Laurent Cardona, the fourth official.

Raynal was accidentally tripped by a Sale player as he ran back to halfway after Cipriani’s penalty. Looks to have pulled a quad muscle and he’s helped off.

Screen Shot 2014-10-18 at 13.23.20

Screen Shot 2014-10-18 at 13.22.13

17 minutes - Keatley finally gets us back underway by restarting deep into the Sale half.

19 minutes - Cipriani is going to have a penalty go from 52 metres after Munster are pinged for a scrum offence…

PENALTY! Sale 9-7 Munster (Cipriani ’19)

Wow, great strike from the Sale out-half!

22 minutes - Sale back into the Munster 22 and they win another penalty! Foley’s side really soaking the tackles in defence and Sale are making big yards in the wider channels.

Sale kick to touch here and they’re just five metres out…

24 minutes – Sale hammering the Munster line!

TRY! Sale 14-7 Munster (Lund ’24)

CONVERSION! Sale 16-7 Munster (Cipriani ’26)

26 minutes - Simple stuff from Sale, but a great example of turning possession into points from five metres out. Very direct, short runners, before Cipriani floated a pass to Tom Brady wide on the right.

Magnus Lund, the flowing-haired flanker, went over from close-range, stretching out intelligently to touch down. Excellent conversion from Cipriani, how is really growing into this.

28 minutes - Sale back into the Musnter 22 already! They have a strangehold on territory now, and Munster just struggling a little to slow those breakdowns or even just get their hands on the ball for a split second.

Now fullback Haley makes a halfbreak!

TRY! Sale 21-7 Munster (Leota ’29)

CONVERSION! Sale 23-7 Munster (Cipriani ’30)

Off his ‘bad’ side too!

31 minutes - The initial linebreak from Haley in the Munster 22 sucked in defenders, before Cipriani spun the ball wide to the left, with Brady feeding Leota. The powerful centre still had a lot of work to do, but stepped inside then out, breaking two despairing tackles to score in the left corner.

Munster looking rocked by this Sale onslaught.

33 minutes - Sam Tuitupou has just absolutely smashed Denis Hurley in a one-on-one tackle in midfield, forcing a knock-on from the Munster centre!

34 minutes - Now we’re off to the TMO! Tommy O’Donnell under investigation for possibly holding back a Sale player back in a try-scoring position…

YELLOW CARD! Tommy O’Donnell

Tackle off the ball from the openside flanker. Sale kick their penalty into the corner…

35 minutes - Munster hold out that time, with Keatley making a brilliant ‘mark’ call. Cipriani attempted a little dink cross-field after the ball was pulled back to him, but the Munster out-half was on hand to react swiftly.

36 minutes – Munster’s centres really struggling to get to grips with their opposite numbers. Tuitupou makes a nice half break this time, but knocks on in contact as Hurley tackles in desperation.

Munster’s D just not up to scratch so far. They need to slow the Sale rucks as soon as possible and give themselves time to get some shape and linespeed.

38 minutes - Zebo attempts a kick through for Jones to chase, but it dribbles into touch. Sale take it quickly, Cipriani boots deep and then Sale put serious pressure on Keatley. The Munster out-half’s clearance is rushed and Sale will go on the attack from the Munster 22 metre line.

But there’s a line-out steal from O’Mahony!

40 minutes - Munster win a scrum penalty to end the half.

HALF TIME: Sale 23-7 Munster

Well what did you make of that half? Munster looked to be confident and in control in the opening 15 minutes or so, scoring through Kilcoyne.

Momentum swiftly changed hands, however, with Sale bouncing back in style. Cipriani is running the show for the Sharks and they are dominating the breakdown so far, getting quick ball to probe Munster in the 13 channel.

Can Foley’s men mount a comeback?

Danny Cipriani is having an armchair ride so far. Munster have barely laid a hand on him. Impressive place-kicking and making good decisions with possession.

Michael Haley celebrates with Danny Cipriani after he scored a penalty James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO

So what do Munster need to do to turn this game around?

Set-piece is faltering slightly and they just cannot get their hands on the ball. It has to be said that the attacking passage that ended in Kilcoyne’s try was excellent. If they can get back into the right zones of the pitch, they can do damage.

It’s not finished yet, far from it.

TheScore.ie reader Darren McNamara thinks Foley needs to look to his bench.

Sale are breaking the gain line every time. Munster need to get a hold of the ball build up the phases. BJ and cronin have to come on for me.

Simon Zebo has looked very lively in his limited touches. Munster simply need to get hold of the pill in this third quarter, and they can certainly break that Sale defence down.

Johnny Leota and Simon Zebo James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO

41 minutes - Munster knock-on through Murray as the second half kicks into gear.

43 minutes - Sale cut through again!

43 minutes - Leota goes close in the right corner, but then Cipriani fails to make a decision on the way back to the left, spilling the ball as he’s hit. Munster clear their lines, but that was another major scare!

43 minutes - Cipriani loses the pill in contact for the second time in a minute, as O’Connell gets a good tackle in.

That last break came as Cusiter burst away from the base of a scrum and passed inside to Mark Easter. Oceans of space for Sale to run into, Munster’s defence simply not functioning at present.

44 minutes - Tommy O’Donnell is back on the pitch, but he knocks-on there. In truth, it was a poor offload from Andrew Smith after a classy pass out of contact from Hurley.

Foley makes his first changes:

BJ Botha is on for Stephen Archer, James Cronin on for Dave Kilcoyne.

46 minutes - Cronin already in a little scuffle as the scrum goes to deck. He will certainly add some open aggression to the mix.

48 minutes - Ah, frustration for Munster as Cronin knocks-on a pass from Smith. Better phases from Munster as they finally get some decent possession. Murray looks to get the forwards running onto the ball, but in fairness to Sale, their defence is now really solid.

Tuitupou leading that side of the game for the home team.

49 minutes - Munster get a scrum platform to attack from after a Sale forward pass, but Steve Diamond’s men immediately bounce back with a scrum penalty. Cipriani takes the kick swiftly and fires the ball deep into the Munster half.

But here comes the counter! Stander strides forward…

50 minutes - Munster into the Sale 22 as the likes of Cronin and O’Connell carry. It’s not quick ball  for Munster by any means though…

52 minutes - Jones makes good yards with a pirouette, but then O’Connell loses possession in the tackle. Cardona decides that came forward from a Sale hand, so the visitors will have the put-in to the scrum, around 15 metres out, on the right-hand side.

53 minutes - Former Munster man Sam Tuitupou is having an impressive outing so far. Really aggressive in defence and making yards with ball in hand. His hit on Hurley in the first half stands out.

Denis Hurley, Tommy O'Donnell and Stephen Archer tackle Sam Tuitupou James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO

54 minutes - Munster win the scrum penalty! Keatley fires it to the corner and Munster will look to use that maul…

TRY! Sale 23-12 Munster (Conway ’56)

Wow, Munster did their best not to score, but Conway dances over eventually from close-range. Some big carries from Stander, O’Mahony and O’Donnell initially from the line-out, before Murray lost possession.

Jones countered and looked like putting Conway away for the score, but the ball went forward. Cardona brought play back under the posts for a penalty and Munster kept their cool to put Conway over, the wing stepping through two tackles to dot down.

CONVERSION! Sale 23-14 (Keatley ’57)

58 minutes - Munster back on the attack now and getting quicker ball inside the Sale 22. They’re on top now.

JJ Hanrahan is on for Denis Hurley in the centre.

60 minutes - Munster close now!

61 minutes - Keatley tries a cross-field kick to Conway, with the advantage being played. It’s out on the full, so Munster go back to Cardona’s mark and surge again!

61 minutes - Murray bashes over the tryline and we’re off to the TMO! Munster look confident…

61 minutes - NO TRY!

61 minutes - Here’s the incident, with the TMO and Cardona deciding they couldn’t see the grounding.

1 Sky Sports Sky Sports

63 minutes - Well, Munster have the put-in at the scrum five metres out. Still a great chance to score again…

65 minutes - Stander goes close!

TRY! Sale 23-19 Munster (Murray ’65)

65 minutes - Murray picks and dives over in the right corner after some strong carrying and excellent rucking from his forwards.

CONVERSION! Sale 23-21 Munster (Keatley ’66)

In off the left post!

67 minutes – Here’s the Murray try:

2 Sky Sports Sky Sports

67 minutes - Now it’s Sale’s chance to apply some pressure, which they haven’t done for the last 10 minutes. Sale power forward from the maul after a poor exit from Munster and then BJ Botha gets penalised for collapsing it.

Cipriani will have a shot at goal from 15 metres out, to the left of the posts. Should be able to kick this…

PENALTY! Sale 26-21 Munster (Cipriani ’69)

No problem for the Sale out-half.

70 minutes – Tense times at the AJ Bell Stadium now, as Sale make a big error in their own exit and get pinged for being offside. The ball bizarrely blows backwards in the wind from a box kick, and Haley gets penalised.

Keatley lines this one up…

PENALTY! Sale 26-24 Munster (Keatley ’71)

The ball blew off the tee, but Keatley kept his composure with Zebo holding the ball!

72 minutes - O’Connell loses the ball under the restart and Sale are immediately back on the attack!

73 minutes - Fortunately for Munster, there’s a knock-on at the base of a ruck from Cusiter. Hanrahan then gets into a brief scuffle after the whistle.

74 minutes - Closing minutes now, Munster feed into the scrum inside their own half, but is does to deck and the penalty goes the way of Foley’s side. That set-piece has looked stronger in the second half.

76 minutes - Munster attempt a clever little line-out move and Zebo breaks through, but Botha is penalised for his blocking ahead of the ball. Fair call there.

Sale then mess up their line-out, so Munster will have the feed to another scrum.

77 minutes - Excellent kick from Hanrahan brings play into the Sale 22. Got real length on that one. Now to pressure the line-out…

79 minutes - Really silly play from Sale, after they win the line-out. They look unsure what to do and eventually Cipriani tries to run the ball down the blindside and then dribbles it into touch.

Munster have a chance to build the score…

79 minute - O’Mahony claims the line-out and here’s the maul…

79 minutes – The maul goes down and then Munster set for the dop goal, but pressure comes on Keatley and he can’t have an effort!

79 minutes - They still have possession. Stander comes forward, 35 metres out…

80 minutes - Jones takes them into the 22…

DROP GOAL!!!! Keatley wins it for Munster!!!

FULL TIME: Sale 26-27 Munster!

Remarkable finish! Keatley holds his nerve to score the drop goal from 30 metres out, at an angle to the left of the posts! What a strike!

Here’s TheScore.ie reader Fergal Kelly:

What a dropgoal. Typical Munster!!! CMON the boys!!! Woooo

CJ Stander has been named man of the match, as Sale captain David Seymour admits it’s a “brutal” way to lose that game.

Well, let us know exactly what you thought about that second-half turnaround from Anthony Foley’s Munster. Incredible finish to that game, with Keatley holding his nerve to fire over the drop goal with the last act of the encounter.

Munster just never, ever give up. Tremendous composure.

That’s all we have time for on the liveblog, but stay tuned for all the reaction and comment on that game. Thanks for all the comments so far, and keep them coming.

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