Following a 30-24 victory for Munster over Connacht, here are our five takeaways from the United Rugby Championship encounter at Hastings Insurance MacHale Park on Saturday.
The top line
A dominant performance for Munster turned into a panic-stricken final 10 minutes as the red card handed out to Alex Nankivell eventually took its toll.
Ian Costello’s men had controlled the majority of the match, despite seeing Nankivell sent off for an illegal clearout on Cian Prendergast, who was subsequently taken to hospital. Munster handled being down a man impressively and went into the break 18-5 ahead, thanks to tries from Tom Ahern and Craig Casey, while Jack Crowley kicked two penalties and a conversion.
Crowley would also get over the line himself when he finished off a fine move before Diarmuid Barron appeared to seal the victory just shy of the final quarter. However, Connacht never gave up and played some superb rugby in the last 20 minutes.
Sean Jansen and Caolin Blade had gone over for the hosts, but at 30-12 in arrears, it looked like the game had gone. Connacht had other ideas, though, and after Jansen had completed his brace, Josh Ioane touched down to give them a great shot. They then created a number of chances in the latter stages of the contest, but Munster just about held out to improve their URC play-off prospects.
Nankivell red and clearouts
Referee Craig Evans was ultimately left with very little option other than to send the Munster centre Alex Nankivell off. While Nankivell wrapped his left arm, the same cannot be said for the right and his shoulder made direct contact with Cian Prendergast’s head.
The 28-year-old also came in from a distance and had a direct line of sight, while Prendergast did not change his position at the last moment, meaning that a red card almost seemed inevitable. The Connacht back-rower was also stretchered off and concerningly taken to hospital as a result of Nankivell’s hit.
Although it is difficult for players to get it right in the modern age, they very much know how hot the officials are on such incidents, and for good reason. The evidence of the damage it can do was shown in Prendergast going off due to the actions of the Munster player.
Nankivell was not the only player to be penalised for poor breakdown technique as Bundee Aki’s croc roll meant Connacht’s potentially match-winning try was ruled out. A minute later and Aki was on the receiving end when Niall Scannell was sin-binned for lifting the Ireland star beyond the horizontal at the contact area. But unlike the centre, that act did prove to be costly in the end result.
Six Nations stars
There were plenty of those on show and the majority certainly left an impression on this encounter. The best performers no doubt came from the visitors, with Jack Crowley and Tadhg Beirne being two of Munster’s standouts.
Crowley, in particular, was utterly majestic at times as he dictated the game despite being without his powerhouse inside centre for 55 minutes of the match. He looked calm, composed and absolutely confident in what he was trying to do – a far cry from the frantic figure post-Autumn Nations Series.
You wonder how much he was impacted by being dropped in November, but he certainly looks a very different player now, despite the frustration of the Six Nations. Being kind, Sam Prendergast’s performance in the recent tournament was mixed and one questions why they are determined to hand him the reins when they have a fantastic talent in the form of Crowley, who himself is still only 25.
As for Connacht, Bundee Aki and Mack Hansen both showed their class on occasion. Hansen had a poor start after being rolled a bit too easily by Ahern for the first try, but he grew into the game and, by the end of it, was combining superbly with Josh Ioane and constantly opening Munster up. Aki was also impressive and was their biggest threat when his team-mates were struggling, but he will rue the croc roll which denied them late on.
Injury returnees
After missing out on the Six Nations, it was absolutely fantastic to see Craig Casey back out on the field and even better was the performance he gave alongside Crowley at half-back. Despite missing over three months of action, it looked like he had never been away as the supremely talented playmaker handled the conditions superbly.
With the wind causing issues throughout, Casey’s decision-making was on point over when to kick and when to move the ball. His passing was also crisp, and it enabled Munster to open their opponents up, despite being down a player.
He was not the only player to return to action, though, as Jean Kleyn played his first game since October. Coming off the bench, the Springboks Rugby World Cup winner also made a big impact with his lineout steal close to his own line, proving to be the match-winning moment. Big players make big plays and Munster will be delighted that he is back.
La Rochelle next up
On this evidence, Munster have a genuine chance. While the red card eventually took its toll, with the visitors evidently tiring in the final 10 minutes, for the rest of the match they were in complete control. The front five were good in the set-piece while the back-row had a nice balance and, of course, the half-backs were exemplary. It all adds up to a pretty useful unit and one that could give an ailing La Rochelle side a few problems.
The build-up will be dominated by the Ronan O’Gara factor, given his long association with Munster, but the La Rochelle head coach is currently under massive pressure, having not won a game since January when they defeated a severely understrength Toulouse. It would be the ultimate irony should the Irish province cost him his job at the French outfit by emerging triumphant in the last-16 of the Champions Cup.
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/connacht-v-munster-five-takeaways-as-utterly-majestic-jack-crowley-proves-a-point-after-ireland-forward-put-in-hospital-by-nasty-clearout
