IT TOOK UNTIL the 73rd minute for The Fields of Athenry to reverberate around Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
The Munster fans finally sensed that their team could kill off a game that had ups and downs aplenty. At times, it looked like Clayton McMillan’s men would cut loose and leave Racing in their wake, especially when they went 21-6 up just before half time.
But the Brave and Faithful, who made up nearly all of the crowd of 24,906 people at the Páirc, were forced to endure a few more hairy moments as a lively Racing team flooded back into the game twice more.
Ultimately, Munster grabbed a five-try win on a night when there were several tributes to the late Anthony Foley, this game falling the day after the 10th anniversary of his passing.
It felt fitting that his fellow Shannon man Craig Casey was the one to dot down the closing try with a minute left.
Munster found it tough to get a grip on the aerial battle and the Racing maul did plenty of damage, but McMillan’s side were worthy of their win as they put some tidy attacking rugby together in Cork.
Brian Gleeson – who wore the number 24 shirt as the number eight jersey was retired for the night – Shay McCarthy, Tadhg Beirne and Fineen Wycherley bagged the other Munster tries.
Racing will have regrets about not taking more of their own chances in Munster territory, especially in the first half, but Munster will also be frustrated not to have notched a bonus point under the new system, with Racing scoring three tries of their own.
Younger Munster players like Gleeson, Charlie O’Shea, McCarthy, Seán Edogbo and Ben O’Connor all had strong moments, Alex Nankivell and Jack Aungier were excellent, and Casey was player of the match.
After last season’s pool-stage exit, Munster will be happy to start this campaign with a win and now look towards their visit to Bristol in December with growing optimism.
Munster paid several tributes to the late Anthony Foley. Nick Elliott / INPHO
Nick Elliott / INPHO / INPHO
Racing looked set to start the better as their maul earned a first-minute penalty that out-half Antoine Gibert slotted, but Munster soon got rolling from that familiar source of the Beirne breakdown poach.
Slick lineout attack ensued as O’Connor and Aungier made yards on the back of some accurate Munster handling, before Racing centre Joey Manu carried a teasing O’Shea chip back over his own try line.
Munster’s pack served up a beautifully solid platform at the resulting five-metre scrum and number eight Gleeson scooped, accelerated with abandon, and surged through three Racing players to finish.
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O’Shea converted and Munster followed up with a scrum penalty and a Dan Kelly breakdown poach in the next few minutes, continuing to build the momentum that led to their second score in the 13th minute.
Initially, Munster erred as Alex Nankivell’s ball out the back evaded O’Shea but right wing McCarthy gathered in the loose ball and took off from near the halfway line. He slalomed past the prone Racing defenders, then barged past last man Gibert for an emphatic try.
O’Shea’s extras had Munster 14-3 to the good but the home side couldn’t kick on from there as Racing began to boss the breakdown, with Maxime Boudonne, Nicolas Martins and Jordan Joseph all winning turnovers in the next 20-minute period.
Munster out-half Charlie O'Shea was a lively presence. Nick Elliott / INPHO
Nick Elliott / INPHO / INPHO
They helped Racing to get into numerous promising field positions but their handling was sloppy and Munster would have been delighted to concede only a further three points to Gibert’s boots during that spell.
McMillan’s men finally got a much-needed spark in the minutes before half-time as O’Shea scooped up the breaking ball from an aerial contest and showed his searing speed. He scythed through for a 40-metre break before finding Nankivell with a delightful pass at top speed.
Yet it was a case of opportunities lost in that closing chapter of the first half, with O’Shea following up with a wayward cross-kick after his break.
Hooker Marnus van der Merwe then won a breakdown penalty down near Racing’s 22, only for scrum-half Craig Casey to quick tap it, with Munster unable to turn that tempo into a score.
There was one final chance after O’Shea followed up Seán O’Brien’s intercept with a clever kick ahead, allowing Nankivell to win another turnover penalty at the breakdown. Munster went into the corner this time, but Seán Edogbo couldn’t claim van der Merwe’s throw under pressure in the air on Racing’s five-metre line.
John Hodnett and Dan Kelly celebrate a turnover. Dan Clohessy / INPHO
Dan Clohessy / INPHO / INPHO
That knock-on meant Munster went into the break 14-6 ahead and they returned in the mood to turn the screw.
It took them just three minutes to notch their third try and it was a peach. The flowing passage of multi-phase featured a deft Gleeson pass out the back, an O’Shea dart, two potent Edogbo carries, another meaty carry from Aungier, then captain Beirne barging over from close-range.
O’Shea made it 21-6 from the tee but Munster swiftly gave up a soft score to the visitors, with Racing sub scrum-half Maxime Machenaud popping a loose lineout delivery up to wing Wilfried Hulleu, who stepped past Gleeson and sprinted past Beirne to finish.
And with their bench suddenly making a big impact, Racing had their tails up. They marched back into Munster’s half, Nankivell didn’t release from a tackle, and they went into the left corner. From there, the maul did the rest as Machenaud dotted down at the tail.
And just like that, Racing trailed by three points on a 21-18 scoreline. Munster needed a convincing response. And they got it.
Another relentless carry from Nankivell off a lineout laid the platform in Racing’s 22, then Casey cleverly delayed a short pass off his shoulder to send the galloping Fineen Wycherley, only just off the bench, through a hole to score.
Munster fans celebrate in Cork. Nick Elliott / INPHO
Nick Elliott / INPHO / INPHO
With a quarter still left, Munster’s minds turned back to the bonus point, which required them to score three tries more than Racing, but instead it was the Top 14 team who scored next with a wonderful try from deep.
Hulleu featured prominently in sparking it, replacement centre Sam James had a nice touch, then fullback Geronimo Prisciantelli popped an overhead pass back inside to Joey Manu for the midfielder to power into the right corner.
Gibert converted superbly from out wide and Racing were once again within three points at 28-25 with 10 minutes left.
A moment of poor discipline then cost Patrice Collazo’s men as replacement wing Arthur Roche upended O’Connor in the air. It was a clear yellow card and referee Karl Dickson didn’t need long to make his decision.
Munster made their supporters wait until the very closing stages to celebrate the job being done, with Casey darting over from close range after the maul laid a foundation.
It was a nice final note on a night when Axel was honoured.
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Casey seals hard-fought win for Munster over Racing in Cork
Munster 33
Racing 25
IT TOOK UNTIL the 73rd minute for The Fields of Athenry to reverberate around Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
The Munster fans finally sensed that their team could kill off a game that had ups and downs aplenty. At times, it looked like Clayton McMillan’s men would cut loose and leave Racing in their wake, especially when they went 21-6 up just before half time.
But the Brave and Faithful, who made up nearly all of the crowd of 24,906 people at the Páirc, were forced to endure a few more hairy moments as a lively Racing team flooded back into the game twice more.
Ultimately, Munster grabbed a five-try win on a night when there were several tributes to the late Anthony Foley, this game falling the day after the 10th anniversary of his passing.
It felt fitting that his fellow Shannon man Craig Casey was the one to dot down the closing try with a minute left.
Munster found it tough to get a grip on the aerial battle and the Racing maul did plenty of damage, but McMillan’s side were worthy of their win as they put some tidy attacking rugby together in Cork.
Brian Gleeson – who wore the number 24 shirt as the number eight jersey was retired for the night – Shay McCarthy, Tadhg Beirne and Fineen Wycherley bagged the other Munster tries.
Racing will have regrets about not taking more of their own chances in Munster territory, especially in the first half, but Munster will also be frustrated not to have notched a bonus point under the new system, with Racing scoring three tries of their own.
Younger Munster players like Gleeson, Charlie O’Shea, McCarthy, Seán Edogbo and Ben O’Connor all had strong moments, Alex Nankivell and Jack Aungier were excellent, and Casey was player of the match.
After last season’s pool-stage exit, Munster will be happy to start this campaign with a win and now look towards their visit to Bristol in December with growing optimism.
Racing looked set to start the better as their maul earned a first-minute penalty that out-half Antoine Gibert slotted, but Munster soon got rolling from that familiar source of the Beirne breakdown poach.
Slick lineout attack ensued as O’Connor and Aungier made yards on the back of some accurate Munster handling, before Racing centre Joey Manu carried a teasing O’Shea chip back over his own try line.
Munster’s pack served up a beautifully solid platform at the resulting five-metre scrum and number eight Gleeson scooped, accelerated with abandon, and surged through three Racing players to finish.
O’Shea converted and Munster followed up with a scrum penalty and a Dan Kelly breakdown poach in the next few minutes, continuing to build the momentum that led to their second score in the 13th minute.
Initially, Munster erred as Alex Nankivell’s ball out the back evaded O’Shea but right wing McCarthy gathered in the loose ball and took off from near the halfway line. He slalomed past the prone Racing defenders, then barged past last man Gibert for an emphatic try.
O’Shea’s extras had Munster 14-3 to the good but the home side couldn’t kick on from there as Racing began to boss the breakdown, with Maxime Boudonne, Nicolas Martins and Jordan Joseph all winning turnovers in the next 20-minute period.
They helped Racing to get into numerous promising field positions but their handling was sloppy and Munster would have been delighted to concede only a further three points to Gibert’s boots during that spell.
McMillan’s men finally got a much-needed spark in the minutes before half-time as O’Shea scooped up the breaking ball from an aerial contest and showed his searing speed. He scythed through for a 40-metre break before finding Nankivell with a delightful pass at top speed.
Yet it was a case of opportunities lost in that closing chapter of the first half, with O’Shea following up with a wayward cross-kick after his break.
Hooker Marnus van der Merwe then won a breakdown penalty down near Racing’s 22, only for scrum-half Craig Casey to quick tap it, with Munster unable to turn that tempo into a score.
There was one final chance after O’Shea followed up Seán O’Brien’s intercept with a clever kick ahead, allowing Nankivell to win another turnover penalty at the breakdown. Munster went into the corner this time, but Seán Edogbo couldn’t claim van der Merwe’s throw under pressure in the air on Racing’s five-metre line.
That knock-on meant Munster went into the break 14-6 ahead and they returned in the mood to turn the screw.
It took them just three minutes to notch their third try and it was a peach. The flowing passage of multi-phase featured a deft Gleeson pass out the back, an O’Shea dart, two potent Edogbo carries, another meaty carry from Aungier, then captain Beirne barging over from close-range.
O’Shea made it 21-6 from the tee but Munster swiftly gave up a soft score to the visitors, with Racing sub scrum-half Maxime Machenaud popping a loose lineout delivery up to wing Wilfried Hulleu, who stepped past Gleeson and sprinted past Beirne to finish.
And with their bench suddenly making a big impact, Racing had their tails up. They marched back into Munster’s half, Nankivell didn’t release from a tackle, and they went into the left corner. From there, the maul did the rest as Machenaud dotted down at the tail.
And just like that, Racing trailed by three points on a 21-18 scoreline. Munster needed a convincing response. And they got it.
Another relentless carry from Nankivell off a lineout laid the platform in Racing’s 22, then Casey cleverly delayed a short pass off his shoulder to send the galloping Fineen Wycherley, only just off the bench, through a hole to score.
With a quarter still left, Munster’s minds turned back to the bonus point, which required them to score three tries more than Racing, but instead it was the Top 14 team who scored next with a wonderful try from deep.
Hulleu featured prominently in sparking it, replacement centre Sam James had a nice touch, then fullback Geronimo Prisciantelli popped an overhead pass back inside to Joey Manu for the midfielder to power into the right corner.
Gibert converted superbly from out wide and Racing were once again within three points at 28-25 with 10 minutes left.
A moment of poor discipline then cost Patrice Collazo’s men as replacement wing Arthur Roche upended O’Connor in the air. It was a clear yellow card and referee Karl Dickson didn’t need long to make his decision.
Munster made their supporters wait until the very closing stages to celebrate the job being done, with Casey darting over from close range after the maul laid a foundation.
It was a nice final note on a night when Axel was honoured.
Munster scorers:
Tries: Brian Gleeson, Shay McCarthy, Tadhg Beirne, Fineen Wycherley, Craig Casey
Conversions: Charlie O’Shea [3 from 3], JJ Hanrahan [1 from 2]
Racing scorers:
Tries: Wilfried Hulleu, Maxime Machenaud, Joey Manu
Conversions: Antoine Gibert [2 from 3]
Penalties: Antoine Gibert [2 from 2]
MUNSTER: Ben O’Connor; Shay McCarthy, Alex Nankivell, Dan Kelly, Seán O’Brien; Charlie O’Shea (JJ Hanrahan ’58), Craig Casey (Ben O’Donovan ’80) ; Jeremy Loughman (Josh Wycherley ’58), Marnus van der Merwe (Max Clein ’80), Jack Aungier (Kieran Brookes ’58); Tom Ahern (Fineen Wycherley ’60), Tadhg Beirne (captain); Seán Edogbo (Jack O’Donoghue ’55), John Hodnett, Brian Gleeson (Gavin Coombes ’55).
RACING 92: Geronimo Prisciantelli; Wilfried Hulleu, Vinaya Habosi (Sam James ’45), Joey Manu, Sione Tupou (Arthur Roche ’58 (yellow card ’72)); Antoine Gibert, Antoine Latrasse (Maxime Machenaud ’44); Edouard Jabea Njocke (Lehopoame Leota ’53), Diego Escobar (Yanis Basse ’79), Gia Kharaishvili (Demba Bamba ’44, reversal ’70); Thomas Lainault (Soumaila Camara ’79), Jordan Joseph (Nathan Hughes ’60); Lekima Tagitagivalu, Nicolas Martins, Maxime Baudonne (captain).
Referee: Karl Dickson [RFU].
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Anthony Foley Brían Gleeson Champions Cup last gasp Munster racing 92 Shay McCarthy Tense