Yes, it’s opening weekend in the Heineken Champions Cup, but there’s a strong sense that the next two hours might well hold the key for Munster’s entire European campaign.
They face a tough opening test against an Exeter Chiefs side who are not only in red-hot form, and not only favoured to win this pool, but strongly fancied in many quarters to be one of the main challengers to Leinster’s throne next spring.
If Munster wish to turn those best laid plans on their head, they need to start this afternoon at a blustery Sandy Park.
Kick-off is at 3.15pm.
Team news: Premiership table-toppers Exeter make just one change for their opening European assignment. Rob Baxter recalls former Ulster centre Ian Whitten to midfield, where he teams up with Henry Slade.
Exeter Chiefs:
15. Phil Dollman
14. Jack Nowell
13. Henry Slade
12. Ian Whitten
11. Santiago Cordero
10. Gareth Steenson (captain)
9. Stuart Townsend
1. Ben Moon
2. Luke Cowan-Dickie
3. Harry Williams
4. Dave Dennis
5. Sam Skinner
6. Dave Ewers
7. Don Armand
8. Matt Kvesic
Replacements:
16. Jack Yeandle
17. Alec Hepburn
18. Tomas Francis
19. Ollie Atkins
20. Tom Lawday
21. Jack Maunder
22. Joe Simmonds
23. Sam Hill
Team news: For his part, Johann van Graan makes four changes to the Munster side that went down swinging against Leinster last weekend. Mike Haley, Rory Scannell, Duncan Williams and Chris Cloete all start, and there’s a European debut for Dan Goggin in midfield as well.
Munster
15. Mike Haley
14. Andrew Conway
13. Dan Goggin
12. Rory Scannell
11. Keith Earls
10. Joey Carbery
9. Duncan Williams
1. Dave Kilcoyne
2. Niall Scannell
3. Stephen Archer
4. Jean Kleyn
5. Tadhg Beirne
6. Peter O’Mahony (captain)
7. Chris Cloete
8. CJ Stander
Replacements:
16. Rhys Marshall
17. James Cronin
18. John Ryan
19. Billy Holland
20. Tommy O’Donnell
21. Neil Cronin
22. JJ Hanrahan
23. Sammy Arnold
Williams’ inclusion is, of course, an enforced one with both Conor Murray and Alby Mathewson ruled out through injury. How will Munster’s third-choice scrum-half bed in?
KICK OFF: Gareth Steenson gets us underway. Munster will play into a strong wind in this first half.
1 min — Exeter 0-0 Munster: Duncan Williams hangs up a couple of early box kicks but Phil Dollman is comfortable underneath them to secure possession.
Late change for Munster just before kick-off: Darren Sweetnam has taken the place of Keith Earls, who looked to be in a little trouble at the end of the warm-up. More on that as we get it.
5 mins – Exeter 0-0 Munster: O’Mahony secures the ball from the lineout and Munster do well to control possession in the maul. Matt Kvesic tries to hold up Tadhg Beirne, and then to rip the ball in the tackle, but he’s ordered to release. Munster send it wide towards Sweetnam’s wing but it goes into touch.
6 mins – Exeter 0-0 Munster: Great steal by Peter O’Mahony at the lineout!
8 mins – Exeter 0-0 Munster: A couple of resets and attempts at the scrum before Williams gets an opportunity to whip it out to Haley. Steenson does brilliantly to hit Dave Kilcoyne and force the scrum turnover for Exeter, much to the home fans’ delight.
10 mins – Exeter 0-0 Munster: HUGE scrum from Munster, making mincemeat of the Exeter front row. Big statement of intent, and it appears that all 15 players are in there to celebrate.
12 mins – Exeter 0-0 Munster: Big opportunity for Munster as here as Beirne plucks Scannell’s lineout from the sky inside the Exeter 22…
13 mins – Exeter 0-0 Munster: Massive swing in momentum as Stephen Archer — I think — spills the ball forward feet from the line under huge pressure from Dave Ewers. Dollman hoofs the ball the length of the field and although Haley gets back to clear, he hasn’t got a moment’s piece before Santiago Cordero lands in on top of him. Big moment for Exeter — an 80-metre gain!
14 mins – Exeter 0-0 Munster: Super breakdown work by Munster, and they win the turnover penalty. Henry Slade allowed himself to get isolated and Peter O’Mahony arrived in to latch on to him like a limpet. Slade never had a chance of getting the ball back on his own side, and the whistle goes.
17 mins – Exeter 0-0 Munster: Cordero’s clearing kick puts pressure on Conway and in the slippery conditions, he spills it — backwards, thankfully. A phase later, Exeter swarm, Kvesic is first into the breakdown, and Munster are pinged for not releasing. Great position for Exeter now.
19 mins — Exeter 3-0 Munster: O’Mahony is pinged in front of the posts and Exeter opt for the kick at goal. Steenson slots without fuss and the hosts lead.
21 mins – Exeter 3-0 Munster: Munster are pinged for another penalty which allows Exeter to kick into the opposition half. The lineout squirts through Don Armand’s hands though.
24 mins – Exeter 3-0 Munster: Here come Munster, building phases inside the Exeter 22 after a good break down the left wing from Sweetnam…
25 mins – Exeter 3-0 Munster: 12 phases now for Munster but Exeter hold firm…
26 mins – Exeter 3-0 Munster: 20 phases. Who will blink first?
26 mins – Exeter 3-0 Munster: Carbery is very nearly isolated but Conway arrives just in time to clear out. Still, it’s excellent, stout defence from Exeter who have driven Munster back seven or eight yards.
28 mins – Exeter 3-0 Munster: That last passage came to about 30 phases, I think, at last count. The BT stats gurus make it 89 Exeter tackles versus 38 for Munster so far.
29 mins – Exeter 3-0 Munster: Munster go again from the base of their attacking scrum, and with Andrew Conway out wide and looking to exploit a numerical advantage, Carbery fizzes a super pass out to him. Exeter are quick enough to shut him down. Beirne thunders into the line on a short ball to make another huge carry within yards of the line but Exeter hold out. Munster penalty!
32 mins – Exeter 3-3 Munster: PENALTY FOR MUNSTER! Carbery knocks it over from in front of the posts, and Munster are level. Exeter are certainly not having this one all their own way.
36 mins – Exeter 3-3 Munster: Exeter have Munster under the cosh at the scrum in midfield, and it’s Harry Williams that gets all of the plaudits from his team-mates in blue. Penalty Exeter.
37 mins – Exeter 3-3 Munster: Exeter secure possession from the lineout and, despite the swirling wind, Steenson tries a clever cross-field kick to see if Haley can handle Jack Nowell. He misjudges the kick slightly, though, and it goes into touch in goal.
38 mins – Exeter 3-3 Munster: Here come Exeter again, driving up to within a couple of feet of the Munster line. This could be a huge moment.
39 mins – Exeter 10-3 Munster: TRY EXETER! Luke Cowan-Dickie wrestles the ball over the line and grounds it. A huge score for Exeter on the cusp of half-time, and how much of Munster’s good work has been undone?
OOOF! Steenson converts but Andrew Conway, chasing down the kick, absolutely thunders through him. Jerome Garces appears happy that Conway was competing legally and couldn’t do anything to alter his course in the air — but he went straight through Steenson!
HALF TIME: Exeter Chiefs 10-3 Munster
SECOND HALF: Back underway at Sandy Park. After keeping it close for 39 minutes of the first half, can Munster fight their way back into this one with the wind at their backs?
42 mins — Exeter 10-3 Munster: Fifteen phases up already for Munster as they keep ball in hand and try to break through that resilient Exeter line into the 22. Williams short pass off the base of the scrum to Beirne is forward, and spotted by Garces.
43 mins — Exeter sub: Ollie Atkins comes on to replace Dave Dennis in the Exeter second row.
45 mins — Exeter 10-3 Munster: Another big scrum from Exeter! It goes down on Kilcoyne’s side, under huge pressure from Williams, and Exeter get the penalties that lets them clear their lines.
Munster subs: Van Graan has seen enough at scrum time and wants to get it sorted without delay. Cronin and Ryan are on to replace Kilcoyne and Archer in the front row.
47 mins — Exeter 10-3 Munster: Don Armand spots a space around the edges of the breakdown and nips between some despairing Munster tackles to put Exeter on the front foot. Kvesic is eventually brought down by Sweetnam as Munster snuff out the danger for now — and then Beirne gets in with a big poach to steal possession. Super body possession and he simply would not budge off the ball.
50 mins — Exeter 10-3 Munster: After weathering that storm, Munster are on the attack and Duncan Williams bursts through into the Exeter 22. There’s an advantage being played to Munster for a collapsed maul so Carbery tries a grubber which doesn’t come off. Back for the penalty — which was a good few phases ago now, but still in play — and Carbery goes for the corner!
52 mins — Exeter 10-3 Munster: Big chance now for Munster and they have to come away with points here. Cloete crashes over to touch down but the whistle has already gone. No try. Garces says the maul had ended, and there were still two players in front of Cloete, so that’s obstruction.
53 mins — Exeter 10-3 Munster: Another Munster lineout, although this one is about 30 metres out, instead of five. They retain possession but as they look to move it through the backs, Whitten darts up out of the line and steals.
55 mins — Exeter 10-3 Munster: Ollie Atkins tries to run the ball out from the back, and James Cronin catches him high. Garces’ assistants are immediately in his ear – dix-sept rouge, dix-sept rouge – and play is brought back for the Exeter penalty.
57 mins — Exeter 10-3 Munster: Frantic stuff here now as Exeter turn the ball over, allowing Munster a quick counter. Peter O’Mahony tries to make something happen but his offload in the tackle is loose, and Cordero snaffles the ball and wallops it into touch. Munster are having chances, that’s for sure.
58 mins — Exeter 10-3 Munster: And now Armand gets a hand in to steal the lineout. And Exeter win a penalty for Munster not rolling away. Such fine margins and, at the moment, they’re all going the hosts’ way.
60 mins — Exeter 10-3 Munster: That’s a try-saving tackle from Duncan Williams, as important as anything else that’s gone on out there today. Exeter were on the break after some lovely handling by Henry Slade but Williams got back and with the help of Mike Haley, forced the turnover penalty. Huge moment!
61 mins — Munster subs: Arnold and O’Donnell on for Goggin and Cloete; and Holland is on for Kleyn as well.
64 mins — TRY MUNSTER! Exeter 10-10 Munster: Munster are right back in this, and it’s that man CJ Stander! Superb work by a couple of the Munster subs — first Tommy O’Donnell, and then Rhys Marshall, with big carries to take the red wave up to within a few feet of the Exeter line. Williams gets in to help with the clear out, Stander picks from the base, and drives over!
Carbery adds the extras, and we’re all square at Sandy Park with 15 minutes to play!
67 mins — Exeter 10-10 Munster: Munster’s destiny is firmly in their own hands now. A win here would blow the pool wide open. With the wind at their backs, can they put Exeter under pressure in the final quarter?
68 mins — Exeter 10-10 Munster: Sammy Arnold, who is not on the pitch that long, is gone off for a HIA, and JJ Hanrahan is on temporarily in his place.
72 mins — Exeter 10-10 Munster: It looks like Neil Cronin is ready to make his entrance for the last few minutes.
73 mins — Exeter 10-10 Munster: Joey Carbery! What a kick. Pins Exeter back about 10 yards from their own line. What a huge chance for Munster now.
74 mins — Exeter 10-10 Munster: No! Munster pinged for interfering with Atkins at the lineout. Such a frustrating penalty to give away in that position.
76 mins — Exeter 10-10 Munster: Exeter forward pass! Munster scrum just inside the Chiefs’ 10-metre line. Possession secured…
77 mins — Exeter 10-10 Munster: And now Munster lose it forwards. There has been quite a lot of handling errors today which, given the conditions, is not that surprising.
Alby Mathewson has had his say!
77 mins — Exeter 10-10 Munster: Three minutes on the clock. Exeter have the put-in to a scrum in their own half following a Munster knock-on.
78 mins — Exeter 10-10 Munster: They run it out, up towards to the 10-metre line. Ball in hand.
79 mins — Exeter 10-10 Munster: Offside penalty against CJ Stander. Exeter smash it into the wind — but lose the lineout! Was that Exeter’s last chance? Munster have it back with 60 seconds to play.
79 mins — Exeter 10-10 Munster: Oh no! Carbery nudges a kick forward but the wind catches it and rolls all the way out the back of the in-goal area and dead.
Fifteen seconds on the clock, and Exeter will have a scrum on the Munster 22!
Good Exeter scrum – but no penalty! Can they manufacture a chance? The clock is red…
Kvesic carries into the 22… then Whitten…
Was that a high tackle from Scannell? It certainly looked like it might have been… but we play on.
Hanrahan stands firm, Dollman crashes into him. Exeter still come forward. Into the 83rd minute. 19 phases…
Exeter within five metres…
KNOCKED ON!
FULL TIME: Exeter Chiefs 10-10 Munster
What a nerve-wracking finish but Munster survive! Incredible defence at the last to make sure that they leave Sandy Park with a draw.
Tadhg Beirne, collecting his man of the match award on BT Sport:
“We dug deep. You wouldn’t believe how difficult it is to keep going when they’re coming after you phase after phase.
“It was very difficult out there, you wouldn’t believe it.”
That's a superb result for Munster on the road.
— Murray Kinsella (@Murray_Kinsella) October 13, 2018
So Munster leave with two points when very plausibly, they might have had to settle for a losing bonus point right at the death. A huge effort in very difficult conditions against very tricky, in-form opposition… and Pool 2 is wide open now.
All eyes on Gloucester and Castres tomorrow.
That’s all we have time for for now, but stay with us over the course of the evening for more reaction and analysis from Sandy Park. Thanks for reading.
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