JUST WHEN IT seemed like all might be lost, Munster once again found a way.
We should have known better than to briefly doubt them, to wonder whether they had run out of steam after all these away games, all these back-against-the-wall situations.
Stormers away, won. Sharks away, draw. Glasgow away, won. Leinster away, won. Stormers away in the final? Won. It has been an unforgettable run.
Munster’s progress in attack has been immense this season and in their time of need, the ability to cut teams apart with ball in hand came up trumps with the most important try of their season, finished by John Hodnett.
The drought is over. 12 long years of frustration, pain, and anger have ended.
And it is thoroughly deserved. Munster were clearly the better team in this URC final, outplaying the Stormers to earn their 19-14 victory. It could have been more comfortable than it was, but that wouldn’t really be Munster, would it? They always do things the dramatic, thrilling way.
They even saw the otherwise outstanding Jack Crowley sin-binned with two minutes left. They needed a defensive grandstand to see it out. Who else but Munster to dig in with 14 men and deliver a game-sealing maul turnover?
In many ways, they are an embodiment of Graham Rowntree, who is now celebrating a trophy in his first season as a head coach anywhere. He believed there was something special in this group when he put his name forward for the job and he has been proven right.
His positive, optimistic, composed attitude has rubbed off on this Munster side and it was evident in Cape Town today.
A brilliant first half was followed by a poor third quarter as Munster conceded the lead, saw fullback Mike Haley yellow-carded, then turned down a chance to kick themselves back in front with three points, opting instead to go for the corner, where they came up empty-handed.
Fatigue had set in for both teams in the last 20 minutes but Munster clung in, slowly but surely slowing the momentum that the home side had built up. And then came the winning score, a frankly superb team try in which everyone seemed to handle the ball after Gavin Coombes had snaffled it.
The last two touches from Haley and Shane Daly skillfully put Hodnett away for the latest and most compelling demonstration of the impact Mike Prendergast has had in his role as attack coach.
There was still time for their defence, guided by Denis Leamy, and forward pack, coached by Andi Kyriacou, to show their grit as the 14-man Munster saw out their brilliant win.
It really is a remarkable achievement. Not many would have backed Munster for a trophy this season under Rowntree, particularly because this is essentially the same squad that looked well short of this kind of achievement only a year ago.
But Rowntree and his coaching staff have completely transformed these Munster players. Fringe figures have become key men, all of them are more skillful and confident, and now they’re trophy winners. That monkey is off Munster’s backs.
New stars have fully emerged too. Crowley had been crying out for more opportunities up until this season, now he is the main man at number 10 and delivered a mature performance in this final, mixing the daring with the tactically astute. Hodnett was player of the match in this final, Calvin Nash was brilliant yet again.
Senior figures like Conor Murray and Tadhg Beirne were crucial too, while captain Peter O’Mahony was a warhorse until he was forced off by a head injury in the first half. The emotion was clear as he spoke post-match. It was fitting that Keith Earls was on the pitch at the end too, another Munster legend.
The Munster bench made an impact in what was an excellent 23-man effort. Let’s not forget that some good players missed out on the matchday squad altogether.
The future looks bright but for now, Munster will heartily celebrate this excellent performance and this long-overdue trophy. No one can argue against them being utterly deserved winners against the Stormers.
Munster could and probably should have led by more than 12-7 at half-time, having put together 40 minutes of excellent rugby in which they dominated possession and territory. They scored two tries but had another three chalked off.
The kicking tactics were important, with wing pair Daly and Nash both having important wins under Murray’s accurate box-kicking, while Crowley used the boot to great effect too, never more obviously than with his deftly-struck cross-kick for Nash’s 27th-minute try.
That score came on the end of one of Munster’s impressive passages of ball-in-hand attack, many of which showcased the vast improvement they have made in their handling skills during the past year.
Munster repeatedly passed under intense pressure from the aggressive Stormers’ linespeed, backing themselves to get the ball away even when it looked like they might be swallowed up ball-and-all. The precision of their passing shone and their composure was obvious.
The first try was all about the power and cohesion of the Munster pack as they came up with a superb maul try from five metres out, an opportunity afforded to them by Crowley’s brave, probing line kick from a penalty. No one would have bemoaned him landing his kick 10 metres out but Crowley went for every last inch and nailed it.
That score left Munster trailing 7-5, having handed the Stormers an early advantage when the otherwise error-prone Mannie Libbok intercepted Frisch’s loose offload on the right edge to sprint clear untouched.
And Munster could have had another few scores before the break. The first no-try decision was the most dubious. Gavin Coombes was tackled short of the tryline and appeared to simply reach out to dot down, but referee Andrea Piardi and TMO Ben Whitehouse decided he was guilty of a double movement and ruled it out.
The other two were clear and obvious, Antoine Frisch knocking-on just before Daly scooped the ball to dive over, then captain O’Mahony offloading clearly forward to free Haley down the left.
Still, a 12-7 lead at the break was a good place to be, particularly given that the half ended with some superb Munster maul defence. The Stormers had a late, late five-metre chance but Munster’s forwards stayed down at the lineout and slammed the door shut with their maul defence, driving the Stormers infield and backwards, refusing them a chance to shift their drive around the corner and forward.
It was a real statement and while there was lots more drama to come, it was an insight into how Munster were determined not to let this chance slip.
Cape Town is theirs. The URC is theirs.
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