Anthony Foley pleads for patience as Munster tyros settle in

Munster’s battling bonus-point victory over Edinburgh can lay the foundations for a repeat success in Saturday’s must-win Guinness Pro12 finale at home to Scarlets, Anthony Foley believes.

Head coach Foley’s inexperienced Munster side went 44 minutes without scoring against Edinburgh on Friday night in Cork as the visitors closed their half-time deficit from 20-10 to 20-19. Yet Munster held their nerve at Musgrave Park to eke out a late fourth try stemming from an impressive driving maul and finished by Francis Saili with Johnny Holland’s 78th minute conversion crucially denying the Scots a losing bonus point.

That enabled Munster to replace Edinburgh in sixth place in the league, now occupying the final qualifying spot in the Pro12 for next season’s Champions Cup with just one game remaining. Foley’s team are now on 58 points, four ahead of Ospreys in seventh, with Edinburgh down to eighth on 53 their only remaining rivals for the berth in Europe’s premier club competition.