THERE was a lot of anxiety amongst the home fans in Virgin Media Park as Munster trailed Benetton by four points at the break.
Losing that URC fixture was unthinkable and a stern pep talk from skipper Tadhg Beirne saw Munster do enough to survive.
Results elsewhere and a winning bonus point have seen the Reds advance and they will welcome this week’s light training sessions before heading for South Africa to play Hollywoodbets Sharks Kings Park, Durban, on Saturday week.
Marking his 100th appearance for Munster, Craig Casey had a wonderful outing and fully deserved his Man of the Match rating.
For those of us of a certain age, Casey has been gifted with the talents of his uncles, all of whom donned the Pike Rovers jersey while Limerick AFC full-back Joe Casey is rightly remembered as ‘legendary’.
Interviewed after the win over Benetton, Casey said: “The first half was a bit helter-skelter and we knew it was going to be tough. We didn’t really play to our potential, but we came out in the second half and rectified a few things. Munster is the club I grew up absolutely loving and nights like this mean an awful lot to myself, my family and my friends.”
There are similarities between 2023 and this season with Munster coming good at the right time. There is no doubt that this current squad is capable of getting the better of any of the remaining seven clubs.
Loose head prop Michael Milne has been a revelation since he joined Munster a few weeks ago.
The Birr, County Offaly, born prop has fitted in well and the other late arrival to the Munster pack, Lee Barron, looked comfortable when he was introduced at the weekend.
Full back Thaakir Abrahams has also been in fine form and fits in well to a three-quarter line that will surely reap rich reward against the Sharks.
