PRETTY MUCH EVERY reaction piece to Munster’s late win over Sale had this phrase worked into it: new competition, same Munster. The reason that was such a prevalent theme was because of the amount of victories Munster have snatched from the jaws of defeat over the course of their storied European history.
To mark yet another late smash and grab, we looked back through the archive to find eight other times Munster dug deep in European play (we didn’t include Miracle Match I or II against Gloucester and Sale because they were hammerings where Munster needed an extra try rather than close games they pulled out at the end).
2000 – Munster 31-30 Saracens
We covered the season of Munster’s first Heineken Cup final in a little more depth over the weekend, but their home and away wins over Saracens in the 1999/00 season was when Munster’s never-say-die European psyche started to develop.
The first game in Vicarage Road could easily get a standalone entry in this list, as Ronan O’Gara converted Jeremy Staunton’s late try to earn Munster a 35-34 win.
But the return fixture in Thomond Park was just as close, with Saracens leading 30-24 as the clock ticked away. Many Munster players have since said that this was the day where the Limerick ground became the European cauldron it is today, and Keith Wood’s late try sent them wild.
What makes that video even better is the guff coming out of Hook: ‘They need to substitute Galwey, Wallace and Hayes.’ Nobody can accuse him of only getting ridiculous with age.
2006- Leicester 19-21 Munster
In the build-up to the game Ronan O’Gara had given an interview where he said that he felt the Irish teams were just as good as the English teams. In retrospect that seems obvious but for the English media, this was seen as O’Gara having a dig at the Premiership, so the pressure was on Munster for their opening pool game at Welford Road.
Munster came out firing with two first half tries from Donnacha O’Callaghan and David Wallace but Leicester fought back to lead by a point with one minute to go. Then O’Gara lined up a penalty from about the halfway line. This was how Robert Kitson described what happened next in The Guardian:
‘As Ronan O’Gara stood in the pouring rain, staring at the distant posts more than 50 metres away, he was fully aware that his reputation hinged on the outcome. Miss the ensuing kick and he would be hoist by his own pre-match remarks about the superiority of certain Celtic players to their English opposite numbers.Kick it and he could afford to smile, accept his man-of-the-match award and point to the scoreboard. On such moments are great Heineken Cup memories forged and, not for the first time O’Gara and Munster left their detractors clutching at thin air.’
Somehow, there is no video of this gargantuan kick on Youtube. Somebody make it happen!
2008 – Saracens 16-18 Munster
Munster didn’t score at the death to win this Heineken Cup semi-final, but they were defending for their lives as out-half (and now referee) Glen Jackson tried to orchestrate a drop goal that would take Saracens to the final.
When you go back and look at the two teams, Munster should have probably won this a great deal easier. Saracens best player was still Richard Hill but this was his last season so he wasn’t the same force of old. But they did have Richard Haughton in their back division and he had a hell of an afro, so Saracens at least had that going for them.
2008 – Munster 19-17 Montauban
Munster needed to call on Ronan O’Gara again to make sure they weren’t on the wrong end of one of the biggest upsets in Heineken Cup history. Munster were the defending champions and Montauban were in their first tournament but an uncharacteristically sloppy display had the Thomond Park crowd on edge until O’Gara kicked the winning penalty with three minutes to go.
This game is such a forgotten travesty that no footage survives online. Just as well, really.
2008 – Munster 23-13 Clermont
Don’t let the final score fool you, this was one of the most frantic – and best – wins of Munster’s Heineken Cup career. Clermont were reduced to 14 in the first half after ‘Cuddles’ Cudmore punched Paul O’Connell but they came roaring back in the second half and lead with two minutes to go after a Julien Malzieu try.
Clermont had a chance to put the game away a little earlier, but after Benoit Baby broke the line Tomas O’Leary stopped him dead with this seismic hit.
But Munster got a new lease of life after that tackle and hit back with two tries in the last two minutes from Marcus Horan and Neil Ronan. Easily one of Munster’s most underrated and exciting Heineken Cup clashes.
2011 – Munster 23-21 Northampton
This is probably the one of most famous games in Munster’s Heineken Cup tenure and that is saying something. It obviously came down to O’Gara’s drop goal but the match had so much more than that. There were some sublime tries, especially from Northampton who had Chris Ashton and Ben Foden combining perfectly all day but Doug Howlett sliced through for a great score too.
The Sky commentary is okay…..but we all know that Michael Corcoran really does the occasion justice with his heart-attack inducing call.
2011 – Castres 24-27 Munster
One week later, Ronan O’Gara sensationally repeated his drop goal trick down in Castres. Once again, here is Michael Corcoran describing the action.
2013 – Perpignan 17-18 Munster
O’Gara was gone by this stage, but the fighting spirit in the side still burned bright as they somehow engineered a last gasp try for JJ Hanrahan away to Perpignan in last season’s pool stage. It was a vital win that helped Munster secure that home quarter-final against Toulouse.
What is your favourite dramatic Munster win in European action?
