O’Connell keeps focus on final job

Edinburgh 12 Munster 55

Undoubtedly, though, Munster’s seven-try haul provided a timely confidence lift for Rob Penney’s outfit in the wake of their Heineken Cup defeat to Toulon, but Paul O’Connell was downplaying the huge points tally notched by the visitors.

“Yes, we played a lot of good rugby. But you’re looking at two teams at different stages of their seasons. We had a hell of a lot to play for tonight with an outside shout at a home semi-final, and trying to secure third for ourselves, whereas Edinburgh probably didn’t have a lot to play for,” said O’Connell.

“We didn’t start well but once we got the ball in our hands we were very good at exploiting opportunities. Our first try was a really good one where we pulled them from one side of the pitch to the other and finished it off well.

“We made a lot of breaks playing that kind of rugby and it is satisfying knowing we can play that kind of rugby.

“We mauled well at times earlier this season but it’s good to know we can mix it up when we want to.”

The magnitude of the win was all the more satisfying given the number of changes Penney made to his side and shows the strength of the squad.

Penney said: “It’s critical in a long season like this to have some depth and we’ve rotated guys in and out all year. Plus we’ve got some long-term injuries to boys at home and unless we had a rotation policy we wouldn’t have had the depth and experience out on the field today. It’s part of our coaching philosophy to make these changes and it’s bearing fruit for us.”

Munster showed their intent to play an open running game in the early stages with an attack triggered by Simon Zebo’s run from inside his own 22. But despite a threatening start by the visitors it was Edinburgh who claimed the game’s first try, scored by outside-half Carl Bezuidenhout after good work by Jack Cuthbert and Matt Scott.

Greig Laidlaw, playing his final home game for Edinburgh, missed the conversion but at the other end JJ Hanrahan was on target with a penalty. But it was clear Munster were not depending on penalty goals for their points and showed their ambition with handling that stretched the Edinburgh defence to breaking point, allowing Johne Murphy to make ground before Andrew Conway finished in style.

Hanrahan added the extras but Edinburgh, too, showed their willingness to run the ball and were rewarded with a try by Scotland ‘project’ prop Wilem Nel, with Laidlaw adding the extras.

Edinburgh’s lead was short-lived, however, as Hanrahan kicked a second penalty goal before Munster grabbed their second try of the match on the stroke og half-time, again from side to side movement of the ball that ended with Denis Hurley having a clear run in, Hanrahan’s conversion giving the visitors a 20-12 interval lead.

Munster confirmed their dominance in the second half as replacement hooker Damien Varley touched down before a massive forwardeffort won a penalty try from a five-metre scrum.

Hanrahan converted both scores before completing a perfect kicking display when adding the extras to a try by lively scrum-half replacement Duncan Williams.

Edinburgh’s plight became almost pitiable when second row Grant Gilchrist was yellow carded for illegally preventing a try, resulting in a second penalty try. This time Conor Murray converted and the scrum-half had a further opportunity to show his kicking prowess with a touchline conversion of Munster’s seventh try, scored by the impressive open side Tommy O’Donnell, to complete a comprehensive rout.

Penney smiled: “I’m just so proud of them. They kept at it. The performance was indicative of the calibre of the guys we’ve got in the squad. “But ultimately we had a bit more to play for than Edinburgh. They ran out of steam and we managed to put a good score together.

“I thought young John Ryan at tighthead had a tremendous game. He’s had a few starts and again he proved his worth. All our loose forwards were terrific and I thought Conor Murray showed his class. He’s very good at so much. I just loved what he was doing with ball in hand and his ability to unleash our backs.

“You’d expect someone of his calibre to be a good kicker and he is. He was very vigorous around the park and he was getting in amongst it giving us go-forward at critical moments. When he went to 10 he looked equally comfortable”

Scorers for Edinburgh: Tries: Bezuidenhout, Nel. Con: Laidlaw.

Scorers for Munster: Tries: Conway, Hurley, Varley, Williams, O’Donnell, pen tries (2). Cons: Hanrahan (5), Murray (2). Pens: Hanrahan (2)

EDINBURGH: J Cuthbert; T Brown (S Beard 18), M Scott, A Strauss (P Francis 75), T Visser; C Bezuidenhout, G Laidlaw (capt) (G Hart 68); A Dickinson (W Blaauw 65), R Ford (J Hilterbrand 55), W Nel; G Gilchrist, D Denton; M Coman (B Toolis 72), T Leonardi, C Du Preez.

MUNSTER: S Zebo; G VD Heever, J Murphy, D Hurley, A Conway (L O’Dea 40); JJ Hanrahan (I Keatley 70), C Murray; J Cronin (D Kilcoyne 66), D Casey (D Varley 29), J Ryan (A Cotter 72), D O’Callaghan, P O’Connell (capt) (D Foley 56); CJ Stander (J Coughlan 66), T O’Donnell, P Butler.

Referee: M Matrea (Italy).