Kidney boost as Munster plot for the future

IF MUNSTER had shown the same levels of passion and tenacity in the Heineken Cup against Llanelli, things might have worked out differently, but Saturday’s Magners League victory over the Scarlets will have given the coaching staff, the players and the fans some consolation as they look to the future.

Coach Declan Kidney was delighted by the vibrant display from his side and is looking for a positive finish to the season.

“It was a very good win; we scored three good tries and could have had three more,’’ he said. ‘‘It was important that we won and if we can finish the season positively it’ll be good for next season.”

Even though Kidney bemoaned the fact that his side were “probably a pass away from scoring another couple of tries,” a hugely positive aspect of the win was the fact that Munster held Llanelli scoreless.

“Not too many sides do that,” Kidney said, adding “This was just a thoroughly professional display. The main motivating factor had nothing to do with revenge; it was to play more like ourselves. The Heineken Cup game is in the past – there’s nothing we can do to change the result.”

Lifeimi Mafi had a big game that earned him the man of the match award and Kidney gave due credit to him. But if Mafi and several other Munster backs played with an urgency that had Llanelli in all kinds of trouble, the Munster pack deserve huge credit for creating the platform for this success.

Anthony Foley led from the front and will be remembered for one crushing tackle near the end that sent Adam Jones reeling back at the rate of knots.

Donncha Ryan contributed to Munster’s line-out success from the number six position and Mick O’Driscoll, Frankie Sheahan and Marcus Horan were all conspicuous around the field.

Llanelli had their threatening moments, but Munster rarely looked in trouble. They ran at the Scarlets with purpose and aggression, while Ronan O’Gara kicked almost flawlessly for position. Llanelli were forced to attack from deep positions and Munster’s defence was just too well organised and too determined to let this slip once they got the scent of victory.

Munster went in front inside four minutes when Marcus Horan got in for a typical rumbling Munster forward try, but the performance thereafter was short of satisfactory. Llanelli dominated the ensuing minutes and came close to scoring on a couple of occasions. Munster had to fight hard to keep that five points advantage.

They did manage to add to the score with a penalty from Ronan O’Gara after 32 minutes, a well deserved one after a few minutes of rare pressure.

Munster could have gone further ahead were it not for the intervention of referee Paul Allen who called Lifeimi Mafi back and then showed the yellow card to Llanelli captain James Bater for a late tackle on Mossie Lawlor. It could have been a try had he allowed play continue, and there was no reason why he couldn’t have delayed his decision to see how the move progressed.

Five minutes into the second half, Munster went further in front. O’Gara’s delicate chip was latched onto by Brian Carney and the former rugby League star sent Barry Murphy in for an unconverted try.

Munster should have been 20 to the good soon afterwards, but Barry Murphy’s brilliant break that set O’Gara loose for a try was halted for a forward pass. It was a travesty, but an honest decision by referee Paul Allen. But Munster did stretch away with a further try from captain Anthony Foley after a scrum near the Llanelli line. O’Gara converted to push the lead out to 20 points and they were never ruffled after that.

If victory meant nothing more than an issue of pride for Munster, it impacted favourably on leaders Leinster who hold a five points lead at the top of table. It eases one threat to their title ambitions, with defending champions Ulster and Ospreys remaining as the main challengers, although Llanelli are still not out of the race. Leinster could, however, take a giant step towards winning it when they travel to meet the Ospreys on Friday week.

MUNSTER: M. Lawlor, B. Carney, B. Murphy, L. Mafi, A. Horgan, R. O’Gara, T. O’Leary, M. Horan, F. Sheahan, J. Hayes, D. O’Callaghan, M. O’Driscoll, D. Ryan, A. Foley (captain), J. O’Sullivan.

Replacements: F. Pucciariello for Horan (65), C. Wyatt for O’Driscoll (70), J. Kelly for Murphy (75)

LLANELLI SCARLETS: B. Davies, D. Daniel, M. Watkins. G. Evans, M. Jones, C. Thomas, L. Davies, P. John , K. Owens, C. Dunlea, I. Afeaki, A. Jones, D. Jones, N. Thomas, J. Bater (captain).

Replacements: D. Evans for M. Jones (51), J. Davies for John (60), P. Mackey for Evans (65), C. Stuart-Smith for L. Davies, V. Cooper for Owens (both 75)

Referee :P. Allen (Scotland).