Ryan Bailey reports from Thomond Park
AFTER BACK-TO-BACK away defeats, and four straight losses to their fiercest rivals in a barren run stretching back two years, there was something about Munster from the outset on Saturday night that suggested they were not prepared to lose this one too.
From the moment Fineen Wycherley smashed Johnny Sexton backwards with a borderline, but fair, hit in the opening exchanges, you knew Johann van Graan’s side were more than up for it. And the capacity Thomond Park crowd responded.
This was an important win for Munster for a number of reasons, not least snapping that winless streak against Leinster, but to leapfrog Connacht back into second in Conference A and inject fresh life into their season ahead of a defining block in January.
Munster failed to make their numerical advantage count in Belfast before Christmas, but they dared not let this opportunity slip, even if it took them longer than it should have to eventually kill 14-man Leinster off.
The home side’s half-backs gave them measured control in the frenzied circumstances, as Joey Carbery bounced back from his difficult afternoon in Castres last time out, to kick 16 points against his former team-mates.
It wasn’t the highest quality encounter between these two sides, as the lack of discipline meant a fractured affair was devoid of any real standout moments, but Munster — largely through the work of their forwards — were well-equipped for the dogfight.
Wycherley’s performance at blindside epitomised Munster’s aggression and intent, while CJ Stander produced a captain’s shift as he topped the tackle charts with 17, in addition to 13 carries, and Tadhg Beirne was immense for a deserved man of the match award.
While Munster’s two tries came via a lineout maul and intercept try, with the hosts lacking a real cutting edge in attack throughout, overall Van Graan was delighted with his side’s defensive effort.
“Late in the game, they got a bit of momentum and I asked our guys in the week to give it all they got and when you’re playing against such a quality attack with such ball carrier you need to be at your best,” the Munster head coach said.
“I thought there were some hits in that game and I’m really happy that we stopped them. Fair play to them [Leinster] as well for the way they kept coming. Once they get into that 22, they’re incredibly difficult to stop and I thought a player like James Ryan again tonight. He’s such an incredible ball carrier and he’s been doing it for the last 18 months, and it really took a big effort from our guys to stop them. All credit to our guys that they did.
“You need to stop them and a few minutes from the end on our goal line, we defended and defended and I thought our line speed and the quality of our collisions paid off, and that intercept try was the final nail in the coffin. We’re really happy about that.”
The most encouraging thing for the southern province, however, is the huge room for improvement in their performance even after beating the European and Pro14 champions.
Van Graan hopes his side can build on it ahead of Saturday’s visit to Galway to face Connacht and then the crunch Champions Cup games against Gloucester and Exeter Chiefs.
“I thought there were some good moments,” he said of Munster’s attack.
“I won’t say that I’m completely happy. We left one or two chances out there. We are still growing as a team. We’ve got a five lock [Beirne] when he came here he never really called lineouts in big games. We’ve still got a half-back partnership that’s growing. It was only their second game together for Munster. Dan Goggin was back at 13 so we’ve got a long way to go.
“I’ve said to the guys inside that if you beat the European and Pro14 champions and you’re not happy, that’s a sign of growth.
“We said in the week that we played some really good rugby over the last year. We have ended 2018 unbeaten on our home ground. Regardless of attack or defence or any part of the game, that was really important to us.
I think it shows that in big games we can come past the mental barrier. We came up short in two semi-finals last year. Now, I’ve said to the coaching staff that we’ve scored 16 points to 10, if the opposition scores there, a bit of doubt could creep in.
“From my side, and for the whole team, it was a massive moment regardless of how many guys are out on the field. At 16-10, if you let in a try there you lose the game 17-16 and you’ve got to go back to the drawing board.
“Munster rugby is really important to everybody in Munster and I thought we defended the line and attacked with all we’ve got tonight. We’ll take that win.”
The big games are coming thick and fast for Munster, but they enter the New Year and a seismic month with an added spring in their step after earning the derby day bragging rights.
“You can’t look too much forward and we will enjoy tonight, it was a massive game in our year,” Van Graan added. “When the fixtures came out, 29 December was very important for us because Leinster are the flag bearers of European rugby at this stage.
We wanted to measure ourselves against that and we came out on the right side. Now we are going into 2019 with a great challenge against Connacht.
“Andy [Friend] is a good friend of mine, I’ve known him for a long time. I think he’s made a real difference and he’s given them a lot of belief. I think they are playing quality, quality rugby and all the Conference games are pretty tight.
“You’ve got to give credit where credit is due. They’re playing good rugby and I know we lost a game last year, it was before I came but I’ve watched that game already and just to look at the improvement they’ve made as a side, they’ve obviously got a lot of belief and they’ve been going well in their European group as well, and in Pro14.
“So we have a massive challenge and as I said we won’t worry about that too much until Monday morning, we’ll just enjoy tonight and then go into another big fight on Saturday evening in Galway.”
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