Mullins answers call for Crescent

HE should have been cocooned in Dublin with the rest of the Irish elite squad preparing for this weekend’s daunting Six Nations opener in Paris against the French.

Old Crescent 20 Young Munster 14

Instead, last Saturday saw Mike Mullins togged off and tracksuited in Rosbrien, sitting on a cold bench on an even colder afternoon, bitter wind-driven sleet occasionally spitting contempt on the efforts of two game, but limited sides, in a very local Limerick AIL second-division mid-table derby.

Mullins is the Old Crescent backs' coach, which would go some way to explaining his presence on the sideline; the fact that he was named among the six Crescent replacements on a weekend when he had already played for Munster in the Celtic League, when he was still on stand-by for Paris in the event that Brian O'Driscoll's hamstring isn't right, is simply a measure of the man, and his commitment to Old Crescent.

"Ideally I would prefer not to have come on, having played last night, but Alan (Gaffney, Munster coach) is happy for us to play club rugby. My club needed me today, so to sit on the bench was a big thing. When things were getting a bit tighter I had to come on, hopefully to steer the ship home," he said.

And just as he done the previous evening, in Munster's win over Scottish Borders, Mullins did just that, injected the bit of class this game so badly needed, inspired his side to a merited if nerve-jangling win.

Before the season started these were two sides with top-four ambitions; before kick-off, they were both hovering too close to the bottom four for comfort, just a point separating them.

In such circumstances, local bragging rights are all very well, but far more crucial was the win and the four points that went with it, and for long periods of this game it looked like Young Munster were the ones most likely to come away with the spoils.

With a powerful front-row of Niall Hartigan, Paudie McMahon and Hugh McGrath, their scrum shunted the home side all over the pitch in the first quarter, resulting in a penalty try awarded after 13 minutes and a 7-0 lead.

Crescent did have a decided advantage behind the scrum and managed to take a half-time 10-7 lead courtesy of two unconverted tries by right wing Adam O'Loughlin. But that weakness in the set scrum continued to haunt them through the entire opening half.

It should have cost them again within minutes of the restart and Munsters' can count themselves a little hard done by not to have been awarded another penalty try after a series of powerful scrums on the Crescent 5m line all crumpled for one reason or another.

Eventually, old-stager PJ McLoughlin and hooker Liam Browne came on and steadied the Crescent front row, but still the visitors were not to be denied and when, in 68th minute, outstanding open-side Kieran Horan got on the end of a driving lineout maul to touch down Neil Whelan notching the conversion it was time for Mullins to enter the fray.

Almost instantly the Crescent effort stiffened and they regained the lead with a try two minutes from the end.

Mullins used on a dummy openside run from a scrum inside the Munsters' 22 to allow Browne in on the blind, while his break and perfectly-timed pass to another significant substitute, Bernard Guilfoyle, set Cian Reddan and Emmet Molloy away for the crucial bonus-point fourth try.

"This was a big game", he agreed, "I'm sure everyone was looking at the possibility of relegation, which we don't want to talk about.

"Hopefully this result steers us clear, though I'm not sure if we're looking at the possibility of a top four finish. We have a lot of good young players here, and that's good for the club.

"The parish rivalries in Limerick are very strong, especially with a few of us at this club also having played with Young Munster, so there's a bit extra there just below the surface. It was great to come out on top here, a great relief to hear the final whistle."

That was because for the final few minutes Munsters' were camped on the Crescent line, several times just inches away from the try that could have given them victory.

Stout defence held them out however, and judging by the reaction of their players afterwards, the bonus point earned for finishing within seven points was scant consolation.

As the rousing lyrics of the Crescent anthem, The Sloop John B, echoed from one end of the pavilion corridor, words of a different tune entirely were heard from the Young Munster dressing-room.

They have work to do if they're to beat the drop, behind that pack especially.