Tadhg Beirne saves the day as Munster take big step towards PRO14 final

Beirne won a desperate turnover on his own tryline to secure the crucial victory

Munster's Gavin Coombes and Peter O'Mahony celebrate Tadhg Beirne winning a turnover during the PRO14 win over Connacht. Picture: INPHO/Bryan Keane

PRO14: Connacht 10 Munster 16

Munster took a giant stride towards the Guinness PRO14 final as they saw off conference rivals Connacht but they needed to survive a last-ditch comeback with just 13 men as the contest went right to wire.

Johann van Graan’s men extended their lead to 11 points at the top of Conference A with this narrow victory having outmuscled Connacht in titanic arm-wrestle in the Sportsground rain for 78 minutes.

Yet the visitors almost paid the price for a kamikaze endgame as yellow cards for replacements Rory Scannell and Nick McCarthy gave the home side hope, Peter Sullivan scoring a try in the corner against 14 men in the 78th minute following Scannell’s card awarded after a team warning to Munster from referee Frank Murphy.

Jack Carty’s conversion made it 16-10 to secure a losing bonus point and from the restart, Connacht ran from deep inside their 22, won a penalty that Carty launched upfield.

Munster's Tadhg Beirne in action during the win. Picture: INPHO/Dan Sheridan

Sullivan made a break down the left wing from which Carty kicked the ball infield, caught by Ultan Dillane, the lock stepping Ben Healy to get to Munster’s five-metre line and when McCarthy failed to release the tackled Paul Boyle the replacement scrum-half followed Scannell into the bin on 82 minutes.

Connacht elected to take a five-metre scrum from the penalty but Tadhg Beirne saved the day on his tryline with an excellent and vital counter-ruck as Munster won a desperate turnover and secure a crucial victory.

Key Moment: Beirne’s intervention at the death saved the day in a contest which had seen Munster stifle Connacht for 78 minutes until a madcap final few minutes.

Talking Point: With only top spot in the PRO14 conferences enough to reach a straight final in this shortened 20-21 season, this was a must-win game for Connacht, but having beaten Leinster in style the previous week, a full-strength Munster side was too good, just about, to let the westerners build on that momentum.

Key Man: Tadhg Beirne epitomised the Munster effort in Galway with an all-action performance that earned him the official man of the match award. The Ireland lock brought the power in contact, was a great distributor in the loose and key component of an excellent defensive effort.

Ref Watch: Munster’s driving maul had Connacht in trouble early on and Frank Murphy doubled down on their discomfort, sin-binning hooker Shane Delahunt after just nine minutes for the concession of another penalty. Munster had their own issues at the scrum with as Murphy penalised them at least three times at a messy set-piece. Munster nearly paid the price for two late yellow cards but had given Murphy little choice with the penalties they racked up in the second half.

Penalties Conceded: Connacht 12 Munster 17

Injuries: Munster lost lock Jean Kleyn to a Head Injury Assessment just 15 minutes in from which he did not return while there was agony for Connacht flanker Sean O’Brien, forced off after a head knock in contact in the second half on his return from a six-week injury lay-off. It did not stop there for the home side as Australia Sevens wing Ben O’Donnell was forced off with a knee injury on his first start for the westerners.

Keith Earls of Munster is tackled by Peter Sullivan of Connacht during the game. Picture: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

Next Up: Who knows? Next weekend should see Clermont visit Munster on Saturday and Connacht go to Bristol the following day for the third round of Champions Cup pool games but Covid-19 could claim another sporting victim after the French Government recommended Top14 clubs postpone their matches against British sides due to the threat of a new variant of the virus. With no make-up opportunities for rescheduling games in an already condensed season, that has thrown the whole competition into doubt and both sides will keep an anxious ear open for word from organisers EPCR.

CONNACHT: J Porch; B O’Donnell (P Sullivan, 49), S Arnold, T Daly, A Wootton; J Carty, C Blade (K Marmion, 53); D Buckley (M Burke, 48), S Delahunt (D Heffernan,48), F Bealham (D Robertson-McCoy, 50); U Dillane, Q Roux - captain; S O’Brien (P Boyle, 44), C Oliver, S Masterson (D Heffernan, 15-20; G Thornbury, 53).

Yellow card: Delahunt 9-19

Replacement not used: D Kilgallen.

MUNSTER: M Haley; K Earls, C Farrell, D de Allende, S Daly (R Scannell, 70); JJ Hanrahan (B Healy, 61), C Murray (N McCarthy, 73); J Cronin (J Wycherley, 61), K O’Byrne (N Scannell, 50), S Archer (K Knox, 50); J Kleyn (F Wycherley, 15), T Beirne; G Coombes (B Holland, 64), P O’Mahony - captain, CJ Stander.

Yellow card: R Scannell 77, McCarthy 82.

Referee: Frank Murphy (IRFU).