First half tries from Man of the Match, Barry Murphy, All Black winger Doug Howlett together with a second half try by the charismatic Federico Pucciariello, were enough to see Munster take one step closer to a Magners League title as they defeated Michael Bradley’s Connacht by a scoreline of 25 points to 10 at Thomond Park this Saturday night.
Kicking four from five, Paul Warwick stamped another seal of approval on his selection status as he continued to orchestrate a Munster backline bursting with skill, pace and flair in their smothering of Connacht. Line breaks from keith Earls and Barry Murphy were common throughout the night and the defensive work of the pack, together with some excellent ball handling skills should have been enough to keep coach Tony McGahan happy with his lot.Â
In the post match press conference, Mick O’Driscoll, team captain on the night, was pleased with facets of the game as he led his charges to a valued four Magners league points, despite noting the team’s disappointment in not taking the opportunities when presented to snatch a bonus point and firmly cement their grasp on the title.Â
Munster, however, coughed up some loose ball in the lineout and towards the end of the game in aspects of the breakdown, but as Laurie Fisher, Munster’s forward coach noted, “There was no lack of effort, we just missed some of the detail in making this clinical. Connacht committed numbers to the ruck and we just lacked that last bit of accuracy in finishing this off. We knew that Connacht were always going to be strong and there’s no surprise that the came here looking to play.
O’Driscoll noted that it’s not over yet when it comes to the destination of the title. “Ospreys have a game in hand and give them a bonus win for that, there’s only six (league points) in it, so we need to keep winning and as long as we do that we can win Magners league.”
Munster now host Scarlets on Friday April 24 next in Musgrave Park, KO 7.35pm where they will be looking to take a maximum point victory and move ever closer to what could be a very unique double for the province.
