Edinburgh 9
Munster 10
MUNSTER RETURNED TO the top of the Guinness PRO12 with the narrowest of wins in Edinburgh, surviving a late scare when the Scots had a 51-metre kick at goal to win the match, only for Blair Kinghorn to see his shot land short.
It had been hard from the start for them to break down a dogged Edinburgh defence that was determined not to let all the pressure they were under lead to tries.
The pattern was set from the kick-off when the first attack led to a knock-on and frustration. Things did not get much easier for Munster with Dan Goggin, Conor Oliver and Jack O’Donoghue all held up inches from scoring, though they at least had the only try of the game to celebrate in the meantime.
Wing Ronan O’Mahony started and finished the move, breaking down the touchline before the forwards picked up the pressure and Tyler Bleyendaal, the captain and out-half, delivered a fine pass for O’Mahony to finish what he had started.
It was a rare moment of cohesion in a scrappy first half, which ended 9 -7 in edinburgh’s favour thanks to three Jason Tovey penalties. With two much-changed sides on display there were always going to be mistakes and when the rain arrived it made it hard for either side to play with fluency.
Munster did have a wealth of experience on the bench and they turned to it early in the second half. But they were unable to turn field position into points as Edinburgh coped easily with a series of attempted mauls.
By now, both sides had given up on any idea of trying to play much in the way of running rugby. Both were intent on kicking for position, with a couple of misplaced shots from Bleyendaal allowing the Scots to relieve the pressure.
In the end, though Munster did manage to get the breakthrough they so desperately needed. Another visit to the home half, and this time Jack O’Donoghue crashed through the Scots defence to set up a ruck on the 22.
An illegal hand on the ball gave Munster had an easy chance to edge back in front – Bleyendaal made no mistake from in front of the posts.
It was tight and nervy, but it was enough.
Scorers
Edinburgh:
Pens: Tovey [3 / 3], Kinghorn [0 / 1]
Munster
Tries: O’Mahony
Cons: Bleyendaal [1 / 1]
Pens: Bleyendaal [1 / 1]
(Scoring sequence (Edinburgh first): 3-0, 3-7, 6-7, 9-7 (half time), 9-10.)
EDINBURGH: B Kinghorn; D Hoyland, C Dean, P Burleigh (M Allen, 78), T Brown; J Tovey, S Kennedy (S Hidalgo-Clyne, 69); J Cosgrove, N Cochrane (C) (S McInally, 57′), M McCallum, F McKenzie, B Toolis, M Bradbury, J Hardie (V Mata, 65), C Du Preez.
MUNSTER: J Taute; C Nash (R Scannell, 47), F Saili, D Goggin, R O’Mahony; T Bleyendaal (C), D Williams (sin bin: 24-34); P McCabe (D Kilcoyne, 31′), R Marshall (K O’Byrne, 52′), S Archer (B Scott, 52′); J Kleyn (D O’Shea, 71), D Foley (B Holland, 43′); D O’Callaghan, C Oliver (T O’Donnell, 43′), J O’Donoghue.
Referee: B Whitehouse (Wales)
Attendance: 5,235
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