JJ so cool as Munster dig it out

Munster 22 Connacht 16

The westerners travelled south to Limerick with high hopes of recording only a second win in 32 league meetings with their interprovincial neighbours.

Yet on a night of persistent downpours, frayed tempers and inevitably sloppy handling, Hanrahan produced a faultless kicking display with five penalties and the conversion of his own try, before Connacht snatched a late try and with its conversion from Dan Parks a losing bonus point with the last kick of the game.

Munster had been forced into a couple of late changes to the matchday squad named by Penney just 24 hours earlier, with Felix Jones replaced at full-back by Denis Hurley due to a neck spasm. Jones’s withdrawal was described as a precautionary measure with the full-back expected to return to training ahead of next Friday’s league trip to Ulster, but his absence paved the way for Ivan Dineen to replace Hurley on the bench.

The other change saw Young Munster hooker Ger Slattery named among the replacements after Damien Varley failed to recover from an illness that had kept him out of last Saturday’s win over Scarlets. It was Slattery’s first appearance in a matchday squad since the 2012-13 pre-season.

It was already a much-changed Munster line-up, Penney retaining only fly-half Hanrahan from the previous week’s starting XV against Scarlets and it was the young out-half, try-scoring hero off the bench in Perpignan a fortnight ago, who once again made his mark for the Reds.

Hanrahan opened the scoring in the terrible conditions with an eighth-minute penalty that signalled the end of the driving rain which had hampered the very early stages.

Munster, though, were not getting on the right side of referee Dudley Phillips and Dan Parks twice punished offside offences to push Connacht into a 6-3 lead after 16 minutes, the second penalty a result of a catalogue of errors from the home side.

First Keith Earls spilled the ball in contact having successfully fielded a high ball and then as Munster scrambled in defence inside their 22, scrum-half Duncan Williams saw his box kick charged down by Connacht captain Craig Clarke, the pressure resulting in the second penalty.

It was Hanrahan, though, who turned things back in his side’s favour, as Munster capitalised on some sloppy Connacht kicking, Johne Murphy collecting a gift from Parks just inside his half and reaching the visitors’ 22 before offloading to midfield partner James Downey who carried to the five-metre line. Munster recycled successfully along the Connacht line before Hanrahan spotted a gap and dove over the line for a try next to the posts, the fly-half converting his own 19th-minute score and then sending over a penalty 10 minutes later to leave Connacht trailing 13-6 at the interval.

There was further trouble for Pat Lam’s side, chasing a first victory over Munster since December 28, 2008, when they lost scrum-half Frank Murphy to the bin three minutes into the second half. The Corkman was yellow carded for pulling back prop James Cronin off the ball and the punishment was doubled when Hanrahan nailed the penalty kick from distance.

It looked to get even worse for Connacht when Munster, having won a penalty from a scrum in front of their rivals’ posts, saw loosehead prop James Cronin thumped on the back of the head by visiting tighthead Nathan White. Referee Phillips went upstairs to the TMO for a further look at the incident and saw the incident provoked by nothing more than a gentle pat on White’s head by Cronin, yet saw fit to sin bin both props.

It was a decision that drew cries of derision from a crowd officially numbered 18,870 but looking sparser than that and the refereeing mess seemed to have a further negative impact on an increasingly disjointed game as both sides made handling and passing errors. Parks narrowed Connacht’s deficit with a penalty on the hour but the attacking impetus, such as it was, was with Munster, Ronan O’Mahony breaking down the left only for the move to fall prey to a knock-on and Earls showing strength to punch a hole in the opposing defensive line and gain 20m up the middle.

Even as the heavy rains returned in the final 10 minutes, Munster went looking for scores, the forwards taking control in the downpour and earning a penalty in front of the posts with five minutes to go, Hanrahan adding to his tally with another three points, before giving way to replacement Johnny Holland.

There was still time though, for Connacht to make their trip home a little more palatable as substitute hooker Dave Heffernan crashed over in acres of space on the right and Parks slotted home a very difficult conversion from out wide in swirling wind to snatch a losing bonus point.

MUNSTER: D Hurley; K Earls, J Murphy (I Dineen, 68), J Downey, R O’Mahony; JJ Hanrahan (J Holland, 77), D Williams (G Hurley, 60); J Cronin, N Scannell (G Slattery, 75), J Ryan (S Archer, 60); D O’Callaghan, D Foley (B Holland, 68); P Butler (A Cotter, 52-60), S Dougall (CJ Stander, 46), J Coughlan – captain.

Yellow card: J Cronin 48-58.

CONNACHT: G Duffy (E Griffin, 60); F Carr, R Henshaw (J Carty, 75), E Griffin (D Leader, 56), M Healy; D Parks, F Murphy (K Marmion, 53); B Wilkinson (D Buckley, 49), J Harris-Wright (D Heffernan, 75), N White (R Ah You, 58); M Kearney (A Muldowney, 56), C Clarke – captain; A Browne (R Ah You, 52-58), J Muldoon, E McKeon (G Naoupu, 60).

Yellow cards: F Murphy 43-53; White 48-58.

Referee: D Phillips.