Tony award just the ticket

MUNSTER players central to the crucial penalty try decision on Saturday are convinced referee Tony Spreadbury got it just right.

Spreadbury's run to the posts after a Bourgoin scrum collapsed on their own line in the 74th minute of a tense and error-ridden encounter looked incredibly harsh.

The French had only seven in the set piece because of a sin binning and it was the first time the scrum had engaged. Munster got on a mighty shove and as they drove Bourgoin back Spreadbury, without hesitation, came to his all-important conclusion. Munster's Anthony Foley and Paul O'Connell were in the thick of it all and described what happened.

"The ball was visibly coming back to me because we were putting them on the back foot," explained Foley. "There was every chance of a try until their loose head saw the ball was coming out on our side and went straight down in front of the referee. They were going backwards, we were going forward, the ball was coming out our side and the likelihood was we were going to score. Penalty try simple as that."

O'Connell added that "the loose head broke his bind to place the ball back to his number eight with his hand while we were going forward over the line. What else is it but a penalty try?"

Unfortunately, the Frenchman in question, Olivier Milloud, is far from expert in the English language so it wasn't possible to get his side of the story. Bourgoin, however, accepted the outcome with reasonably good grace although clearly feeling that it was a "hometown" decision and that they had been hard done by Mr Spreadbury on several other occasions, most notably with the sin binning of out-half Alexandre Peclier in the first-half and second-row Julien Pierre in the second.

They may well have had a case and certainly Mr. Spreadbury has some irritating idiosyncrasies. But it is also fair to say that Bourgoin contributed to the situation by the manner in which they pleaded injuries to slow down the pace throughout the second half and also by living beyond the offside line all day. Their negative tactics coupled with some superb tackling and covering by the French made it a distinctly uncomfortable afternoon for Munster.

Munster dominated the game territorially and never really had to defend against unambitious opposition. But in spite of trying every trick in the book, they made very heavy weather of what shouldn't have been that difficult a task. Credit Bourgoin for some sterling defence but debit Munster also for some very bad mistakes and poor decision-making. Mike Mullins scored a splendid first-half try, but was really only making up for a dropped pass a few minutes earlier when he had the line at his mercy. Midway through the second, Paul O'Connell did wonderfully well to wrest the ball from a couple of Bourgoin players and charged towards the try line only to be hauled down with three men unmarked outside him. There were other clangers, too. It was that kind of game.

"The boys like to give you a thrill," reacted coach Alan Gaffney with a rueful smile. "It's a game that should have been put to bed long before it was. We weren't clinical enough. Pressure has influences on people and caused us to make bad decisions. It was a game we dominated.

We spent the first 20 in their 22 and came away with virtually nothing so I was getting frustrated. I was very happy about many aspects of our play but we've got to be able to finish things off."

The breakthrough finally came on 20 minutes when Mullins scored between the posts and Ronan O'Gara converted to make it 7-3, Peclier having landed a penalty for the French in the opening seconds. A heavy mist didn't help but Munster nerves should have been eased when O'Connell scored the second try after a Donnacha O'Callaghan line-out take in the 33rd minute. However, they somehow failed to add to their 12-3 advantage with Peclier in the bin on either side of half-time and just about everybody was edgy until Peter Stringer caught the Bourgoin defence napping and nipped over on 55 minutes.

O'Gara converted and at 19-3 the first part of the bargain making sure of the win had been delivered. But Bourgoin were not for lying down. They tackled like demons, slowed down Munster possession and as always with French sides, gamesmanship was also part of their make-up.

"It was Jimmy's (Williams) decision to go for the four tries by taking the scrums and line-outs rather than kicks at goal so he was positive in that way", said Gaffney. "We had talked about getting the process right and securing the win and let the rest look after itself. But the boys were on edge, no doubt about it. The stakes were pretty high."

and just about everybody was edgy until Peter Stringer caught the Bourgoin defence napping and nipped over on 55 minutes.

O'Gara converted and at 19-3 the first part of the bargain making sure of the win had been delivered. But Bourgoin were not for lying down. They tackled like demons, slowed down Munster possession and as always with French sides, gamesmanship was also part of their make-up.

"It was Jimmy's (Williams) decision to go for the four tries by taking the scrums and line-outs rather than kicks at goal so he was positive in that way", said Gaffney. "We had talked about getting the process right and securing the win and let the rest look after itself. But the boys were on edge, no doubt about it. The stakes were pretty high." The job was done eventually and as Gaffney noted, there were some bright aspects for Munster, not least the majestic performance of man of the match Ronan O'Gara.

He ran into Peter Stringer's typically crisp service with confidence and purpose and it certainly wasn't his fault the tries didn't flow.

As for his touch finders, they were something special and ensured that Bourgoin spent 90% of the game deep in their own territory.

"Ronan didn't put a foot wrong", said Gaffney. "Much of our game plan was revolved around pinning Bourgoin in their own 22 and trying to dominate territory. I thought he kicked magnificently and kept turning the screw. We didn't score the tries he created the opportunities for but that had nothing to do with Ronan.

"And then there was Peter Stringer's try. It was a very opportune score. He has the ability to do it, he just needs to have the confidence to make it part of his game."

MUNSTER: J. Staunton; J. Kelly, M. Mullins, R. Henderson, A. Horgan; R. O'Gara, P. Stringer; M. Horan, J. Blaney, J. Hayes, D. O'Callaghan, P. O'Connell, J. Williams , capt, D. Wallace, A. Foley. Replacements, J. Holland for Henderson 31-38 and 70; G. McIlwham for Horan 33; D. Pusey for O'Connell 80; M. Lawler for Horgan 80; S. Keogh for Wallace 84.

BOURGOIN: F. Gengenbacher; K. Zhakata, G. Esterhuizen, M. Forest, J.F. Coux; A. Peclier, M. Campeggia; O. Milloud, B. Cabello, J. Bouic, J. Pierre, M. Stolz, J. Bonnaire, S. Chabal, P. Raschi capt. Replacements, A. Petrilli for Raschi 57; A. Forest for Coux 70; B. Barbato for Bouic 78.

Referee: T. Spreadbury (England).