Hot and cold Munster derailed by 14-man Northampton
HOT AND COLD: Munster's Gavin Coombes shows his dejection. Photo credit: Niall Carson/PA Wire.
Munster made sure of their place in the Investec Champions Cup Round of 16 on Saturday night but not in the style they would have hoped for as 14-man Northampton Saints claimed a deserved victory to top Pool 3.
It means Saints have the luxury of a home draw throughout the knockout rounds ahead of May’s final at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with Munster’s losing bonus point only good enough for fourth place and an appointment away from home for April’s Round of 16.
English premiership leaders Saints had come into this final pool round top of Pool 3 and unbeaten after three rounds but Munster tails had been up following last Saturday’s win at Toulon and they arrived back in Limerick with hopes of nicking second place in the pool.
Graham Rowntree’s men, who had been forced into a late change to their bench with Paddy Patterson replacing Conor Murray as cover for starting scrum-half Craig Casey, looked on course to force the issue and pull level with second-place Exeter Chiefs when they led 20-10 after 48 minutes.
Tries from Antoine Frisch, newly-appointed Ireland captain Peter O’Mahony and Gavin Coombes had given them a leg up as had a yellow card for Saints captain Geroge Furbank and red card for hooker Curtis Langdon.
Yet Northampton, inspired by veteran back-rower and man of the match Courtney Lawes, stayed in the fight with fly-half Fin Smith faultless from the tee on another rain-sodden night at Thomond Park and replacement No.8 Sam Graham grabbing a late try to turn the tables on Munster for their first win in five visits to Limerick.
6th Munster home pool loss in the Champions Cup
— Russ Petty (@rpetty80) January 20, 2024
Munster outscored 2nd half in 4 consecutive home pool games, 7/74 times before that
Saints’ ambition was clear from the strong side director of rugby Phil Dowson travelled to Limerick with and Northampton made the stronger start, England scrum-half Alex Mitchell capitalising on early dominance with an excellent snipe at ruck on the Munster 22, through the gap created by a drifting pillar in Oli Jager and then through the attempted tackles of Niall Scannell and Calvin Nash.
Fin Smith’s conversion made it 7-0 on 19 minutes but the restart allowed Munster to regather and build momentum through territory and possession.
It took half an hour for that to translate into points but when they came it was in a flurry. Crowley’s penalty got Munster up and running and though the Ireland fly-half missed a long-range effort soon after, the URC side were on a roll and assisted by Saints’ indiscipline.
Captain and full-back George Furbank was yellow carded on 37 minutes for a tip tackle on Nash as Munster applied pressure inside the Saints 22 and from a tap penalty on the five metre line for a subsequent offence the men in Red turned the screw, with patient phase play before half-backs Casey and Crowley broadened the attack, the fly-half’s pass to his right finding Frisch for a try that pushed Munster in front.
Crowley’s conversion made it 10-7 and Northampton’s night got even stickier when hooker Langdon was shown the red card by French official Tual Trainini after Munster lock Tom Ahern was flattened by successive knees to the face from the Saints front rower. Malicious or not, they ended the Ireland training squad call-up Ahern’s night, forcing him off on the back of a stretcher cart, albeit sitting upright with 40 minutes on the clock.
Munster used the penalty that accrued on their own 22 to advance upfield and they finished the opening half in style. O’Mahony led the charge and then held his position wide on the right to receive the final pass from Nash to score in the corner, Crowley converting to hand Munster a 15-7 interval lead.
The home side lost full-back Simon Zebo to a knee injury early in the second half just as Saints, still with Furbank in the sin bin and down to 13 men, pegged the score back to 15-10 with a Smith penalty.
Yet Fubrank’s could not prevent Munster storming back and stretching their lead to 10 points as Gavin Coombes struck from close range after Saints conceded back to back penalties. Crowley missed the conversion from wide out but Munster were into a 20-10 lead with 48 minutes played.
Two Smith penalties reduced the gap once more and O’Mahony inflicted further discomfort when his bullet of a clearing kick caught team-mate Coombes in the midriff, producing a knowing wince from the Ireland captain.
Thankfully Coombes was only temporarily incapacitated and Munster quickly got back on the same page as one another, the pack disrupting a Saints scrum on their 22, before Smith carried into contact with Casey quickly over the ball to earn a penalty for not releasing.
Crowley dispatched the penalty to push his side into a 23-16 lead as the rain grew heavier in the final quarter.
O’Mahony was withdrawn to a huge ovation from the 24,620 Thomond Park crowd, followed by hooker Niall Scannell but the next cheers were from travelling Saints fans as Smith sent over another penalty in the 67th minute to make it a four-point game at 23-19.
There were further jitters when Saints won another penalty as the evergreen Courtney Lawed clamped onto the ball as John Hodnett carried into contact and when the visitors chose to go to the corner there was a stunned a silence as back-row replacement Sam Graham found a gap off the lineout maul, Smith converting to push Saints into a 26-23 lead with 10 minutes remaining.
Munster were struggling to get out of their half as Lawes once again caused problems, earning his side a scrum in Munster territory and Smith applied further pressure with a kick into the corner that forced a defensive home lineout five metres out.
Replacement hooker Eoghan Clarke executed well in the circumstances but Munster were not out of the woods, never mind stage a rescue act.
Smith was handed another shot at the posts withy two minutes to go as Munster conceded a metre into Saints’ half but the fly-half came up short with the lengthy kick and Munster had a chance to build from deep, only to hand possession straight back to the visitors inside their own 22.
It made for an uncomfortable end as Saints supporters counted down the game clock and Smith booted the ball into touch to end the game, leaving Munster to settle for fourth place in the pool and a wait for the location of their Round of 16 opponents.
Rowntree’s men are on the road again for the knockout stages.
S Zebo (S O’Brien, 43); C Nash, A Frisch, A Nankivell (J Carbery, 76), S Daly; J Crowley, C Casey; J Loughman (J Wycherley, 67), N Scannell (J Wycherley, 67), O Jager (J Ryan, 50); T Ahern (B Gleeson, 40), T Beirne - captain; P O’Mahony (A Kendellen, 65), J Hodnett, G Coombes.
P Patterson.
G Furbank – captain; T Freeman, F Dingwall, R Hutchinson (B Odendaal, 64), O Sleightholme (R Smith, 46 – scrum replacement); F Smith, A Mitchell; A Waller (E Iyogun, 57), C Langdon, T Davison (E Millar Mills, 52); T Mayanavanua (A Moon, 57), A Coles; C Lawes, T Pearson, J Augustus (S Graham, 50).
Furbank 37-47.
Langdon 40.
T James, C Savala.
Tual Trainini (France).
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