Munster getting timing just right

Munster 22 Connacht 0

Defeating the English Premiership leaders on home turf at The Stoop in a Heineken Cup quarter-final on April 7 would represent a remarkable upset on Munster’s part in what has been an immensely challenging first season at the helm for head coach Rob Penney. Yet after months of missteps, setbacks and injuries allied to some alarming recent form, Saturday night in Musgrave Park gave home supporters hope that a corner has been turned.

With a first win in four RaboDirect PRO12 games, a defensive clean sheet and a hero’s return to action after months on the sidelines, the lack of a fourth try and its accompanying league bonus point seems almost churlish to highlight. Yet while Munster remain two spots and seven points outside the play-off positions with four games of the regular season remaining, Paul O’Connell’s return to fitness, a rediscovery of form for discarded Ireland fly-half Ronan O’Gara and signs of some clear blue thinking from the collective bodes well for the big games ahead.