Cronin a special one, says Penney

Munster 34 Edinburgh 23

James Cronin, just 22, marked his first start in the competition with a thoroughly deserved try and his overall display drew words of praise from Penney.

“He is a special one, he’s not only a gifted prop but also a gifted rugby player and he has a really good future.”

There were some other especially pleasing moments from a number of players, amongst them the tireless stand-in skipper James Coughlan, man of the match Ian Keatley and Johne Murphy, who further highlighted Munster’s ambition behind the scrum.

It was the first of four jousts this season with Edinburgh, whom Munster also play twice in the upcoming Heineken Cup, so Penney refused to be carried away, pointing to the doggedness that saw the Scottish side outscore Munster in a hotly disputed second half. Munster led 22-6 at the break but Penney noted Edinburgh’s ability to stay the distance.

“They’re a capable side,” he said, “they fronted up and in the last 20 minutes showed what they’re capable of.

“I was happy with our intent in the first instance and then the execution and decision-making; large components were excellent, and that’s what you’re after.”

It was a night when Munster could afford to ring the changes and give all 23 players opportunity.

“The long-term strategic goal is to create depth in all the positions and you can only do that by giving players access,” said Penney.

“It will be time and situational dependent to be able to make substitutions, but unless we show faith in them, they’re not going to show faith in themselves.”

He described the effort as being short of perfect but very pleasing nonetheless.

“You’re always looking for the perfect performance and you very rarely get it — I’ve probably never seen one — but they put in a better than solid performance. We’ve still got things to do and areas to grow in and that’s the exciting part.”

Munster did all the damage in the first half, despite falling behind to a Piers Francis penalty, having made the early running.

Happily, they powered ahead with a succession of scores in a nine-minute spell between the 12th and 21st minutes. Denis Hurley and Coughlan had tries, Keatley kicked a penalty and conversion to establish a deserved 15-3 lead.

Edinburgh did strike back with a second Francis penalty but the highly impressive Cronin stormed in for a try near the posts and Keatley converted.

The second half was more competitive. Nick de Luca gave Edinburgh hope with a 53rd minute try that Francis converted, but Munster struck back immediately when Keatley sent Ivan Dineen over for a try in the corner and a 27-13 lead. Edinburgh replacement Harry Leonard narrowed the gap with a 63rd minute penalty goal and the sides exchanged tries, JJ Hanrahan adding the conversion to his own score for Munster and Leonard tacking on the extra points to a Lee Jones try.

With the gap narrowed to 11 again, Munster faced a nervous finish against a side but refused to capitulate, even if the home side continued to force the pace.

Scorers for Munster: Tries, D Hurley, J Coughlan, J Cronin, I Dineen, JJ Hanrahan. Penalties, I Keatley (1), Conversions. Ian Keatley (2), JJ Hanrahan (1). Scorers for Edinburgh: Tries, N de Luca, L Jones. Penalties, P Francis (2), H Leonard (1). Conversions, P Francis (1), H Leonard (1).

MUNSTER: D Hurley, R O’Mahony, C Laulala, I Dineen, J Murphy, I Keatley, D Williams, J Cronin, M Sherry, S Archer, Donncha O’Callaghan, D Foley, Dave O’Callaghan, J Coughlan (c), S Dougall.

Replacements: B Holland for Donncha O’Callaghan, T O’Donnell for Dave O’Callaghan, C Sheridan for Williams (all 56), D Varley for Sherry, D Kilcoyne for Cronin, J Ryan for Archer (all 60), JJ Hanrahan for Keatley (63), C Bohane for Dineen (71).

EDINBURGH: G Tonks, D Fife, N de Luca, B Atiga, L Jones, P Francis, S Kennedy, A Dickinson, R Ford, W Nel, G Gilchrist, I van der Westhuizen, S Cox (c), D Denton, R Grant.

Replacements: L Niven for Dickenson (6, inj) J Cuthbert for Atiga (46), H Watson for van der Westhuizen (48, inj), H Leonard for Francis (59), D Hidalgo-Clyne for Kennedy (71).

Referee: M Mitrea (Italy)