Battling Munster bag vital bonus point
There is still a long, hard road to travel in Pool 5 of the Heineken Cup and coach Declan Kidney readily accepts that there are several areas of the side where considerable improvement is essential.
Clermont Auvergne picked a strange team yesterday, but they were never going to do a Bourgoin on it. They competed for everything and it was only in the final ten minutes that the fourth try was conceded. They were even thinking there might be something in the game for themselves, until that late surge brought tries for Alan Quinlan and Marcus Horan.
A 17-6 half time lead was priceless from a Munster viewpoint and justified the home side’s decision to hand the visitors the wind, having won the toss. It could have been more, considering their failure to score while Vilomoni Delasau was in the bin having been harshly dismissed as early as the tenth minute for killing the ball illegally at a ruck near his own line.
Quick as a flash, O’Gara realised that the right wing side was totally undefended and placed a pinpoint kick in the path of Lifeimi Mafi and Shaun Payne. The former allowed the ball to run through to Payne, who had a simple task in scoring. O’Gara converted and Munster were on their way.
Clermont quickly narrowed the gap with a penalty by out-half Seremia Bai. Munster retained the initiative, but failed to capitalise on the extra man and Delasau had returned to the action when O’Gara knocked over a penalty on 37 minutes to put his side 10-3 in front. However, from the kick-off, which was safely gathered by Mick O’Driscoll, Munster were penalised for crossing — a decision that baffled most of the attendance — and Bai knocked over his second goal.
However, the half ended as the fans would have wished: Alan Quinlan charged down an attempted Bai clearance, only to have the ball dashed from his grasp as he dived to score. Clermont managed to clear to touch, but Munster rolled the ensuing line-out and having been momentarily held up, got the ball to Rua Tipoki who brushed past the attempted tackle of Emmanuel Etian to get the touchdown. O’Gara added the points with a fine kick and Munster were looking good.
Ten minutes into the second half, the outcome of the game was assured. After consistent pressure, Munster attacked off a set scrum and O’Gara linked with Payne, who judged his overhead pass to perfection to send Brian Carney in unopposed. O’Gara converted to make it 24-6 and now it was a case of claiming the all important fourth try.
First, though, they had to handle a Clermont side now beginning to believe more and more in itself. That was certainly the case when former Springbok centre Marius Joubert charged down Tipoki’s clearing kick on 65 minutes and easily got the touchdown for a try that Bai converted.
The bonus finally came Munster’s way in the 76th minute when, courtesy of a succession of Clermont defensive errors, Quinlan was deemed by the television match official Derek Bevan to have got the touchdown. O’Gara knocked over the conversion and the fifth try duly came again from Marcus Horan after another superb overhead pass, this time by Denis Leamy.
It was time to liberate the bench — and for the fans to head off in joyous frame of mind.
MUNSTER: S Payne; B Carney, R Tipoki, L Mafi, I Dowling; R O’Gara (capt), P Stringer; M Horan, J Flannery, J Hayes, D O’Callaghan, M O’Driscoll, A Quinlan, D Wallace, D Leamy.
Replacements: T. Buckley for Hayes 65; A. Foley for Wallace (injured) (71); F. Sheahan for Flannery (76); J. Paringatai, P. Warwick, K. Lewis, G. Hurley for Quinlan, Mafi, O’Gara and Stringer (all 79).
CLERMONT AUVERGNE: J Malzieu; G Esterhuizen, M Joubert, R Chanal, V Delasau; S Bai, A Pic; G Shvelidze, J Smit, D Zirakashvili, C Samson, P Vigouroux, F Alexandre, E Etien, S Broomhall (c).
Replacements: T. Domingo for G. Shevelidzr (45); T. Privat for Vigouroux (47); A. Audfebart for Etien (50); P.M. Garcia for Chanal (61); N. Nalaga for Joubert (inj, 74).
Referee: N. Owens (Wales)
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