Upcoming block of fixtures crucial to Munster's fortunes 

It is a strategy for future campaigns also and Graham Rowntree agreed there was potential for an annual game at Pairc Ui Chaoimh games during the Six Nations window.

AMBITION: Munster's Shane Daly makes a break. Pic: ©INPHO/Ben Brady

MUNSTER 21 

CRUSADERS 19 

Whether or not the Munster hierarchy agree with their head coach’s wish to play an annual fixture at Pairc Ui Chaoimh, Graham Rowntree made it plain in the wake of this second visit to the home of Cork GAA that his team needs more games during international windows.

It was the occasion on Saturday night that resonated as Munster edged an entertaining “Clash of the Champions” in front of a sell-out 40,855 crowd on Leeside, avoiding a draw with Super Rugby kingpins Crusaders thanks to a missed overtime conversion.

For while Rowntree expressed his delight at the win, between two understrength sides at very different stages of their respective seasons, it was the fact they playing at all that perhaps meant just as much to the Munster boss.

This was his side’s first action in a fortnight, since their Champions Cup pool loss to Northampton Saints at Thomond Park on January 20 and they will be inactive for another two weeks before a return to their URC title defence on Friday, February 16 at Scarlets as the league pays deference to the Six Nations campaign. The championship’s two down weekends are the only slots for the provinces to play competitive fixtures and Munster have arranged a second friendly, at English Premiership side Harlequins on February 23, a week before the second of those mid-tournament URC rounds on March 1 at home to Zebre Parma.

So apart from the history being made as Crusaders ventured to Europe for the first time for this unique meeting of URC and Super Rugby champions, it was the pragmatism of keeping the wheels turning on the Munster machine that appealed as much as the romance of it all.

With Crusaders, playing their first game under the charge of former Munster head coach Rob Penney still in pre-season and resting their World Cup All Blacks and the injury-hit hosts without their Ireland’s Six Nations contingent this was nevertheless a valuable exercise for both parties and Rowntree had more than a passing interest in what comes next for his squad.

“A big block,” the Munster boss said. “We’ve spoken about this next block. We’ve been blocking the season off, block three, we’ve got six games, four of which are URC, two are at home. Take each one as it comes.

“We’ve got Scarlets, we’ll have some people back for that, people fit for that. And then against Zebre, we’ll see how we go after those two URC games and we’ve got Quins as well in between because we didn’t want a lull.

“We had this last year in the Six Nations, we had too much of a lull with non-game weeks so when Quins came up with that we said yeah, we’ll play that game just to keep momentum.” 

It is a strategy for future campaigns also and Rowntree agreed there was potential for an annual game at Pairc Ui Chaoimh games during the Six Nations window.

“Yeah, why not. We certainly like coming here. Yeah, potentially.

“You know, you look at the Premiership, look at Northampton, they’re playing the Stormers in a couple of weeks because the Premiership stops for a long time. I think blocks of time when you can bring these teams in, such a difference taste playing a different brand of rugby against opposition.

“It’s a real shot in the arm of energy, doing something different… as long as we can go out for dinner with their coaches at Fota Island as well.” 

Full-back Mike Haley and “potentially” RG Snyman could make their first appearances of the season at Scarlets, though Rowntree conceded “it might be a week early for RG.

“(Niall) Scannell and (Oli) Jager should be all right. There were a couple of things I didn’t want to risk them with tonight, a couple of injuries."

Rowntree said he took a lot from his eve of match dinner with Penney and the respective coaching staffs at the East Cork resort hotel where Munster put the Crusaders up this past week and the open exchange of ideas and methods with the serial Super Rugby champs.

He also learned from the performance of an inexperienced side captained for the first time by Alex Kendellen and featuring two first-time starters in hooker Eoghan Clarke and back-rower Ruadhan Quinn with two debutants of the bench in short-term backs signing Colm Hogan and Cork Constitution lock Kamil Nowak.

The head coach had asked for an ambitious performance from Munster and they did indeed make most of the running for at least the first hour with two tries from Gavin Coombes, converted by Joey Carbery, until the Crusaders launched their late comeback on the back of a converted try just before half-time by Mitch Drummond.

A classy finish from Dallas McLeod, converted by replacement fly-half Rivez Reihana, levelled the scores at 14-14 on 66 minutes before Munster upped the ante once more through Scott Buckley, Carbery’s conversion making it 21-14 with 10 minutes remaining.

The clock had turned red when Jamie Hannah crashed over from a Crusaders maul to leave Reihana needing to make the conversion to tie the game only to see his kick fade in front of the posts.

Munster were not without flaws either, wasting several try-scoring opportunities as Rowntree noted.

“I was pleased with their ambition. They were ambitious with that little tap penalty move, Gav drops the ball and you go ‘arrgh!’ Little moments like that, got to be better.

“We’re pretty good when we can camp ourselves on the opposition tryline. We’ve got to be a bit more patient, you know, kicking the ball, trying to kick the ball away and kicking it dead, from Joey, those little things... tidy that up.

“Put as a headline: ambition, play rugby, move teams around.” 

It was enough to deliver another victory over a Southern Hemisphere touring side, a year on from the win over South Africa A at the same venue, but the meat and drink of the regular season now awaits and Munster will need to be more clinical.

MUNSTER: S Daly; S O’Brien (C Hogan, 76), A Frisch, A Nankivell (R Scannell, 54), S McCarthy (T Butler, 65); J Carbery, E Coughlan (N Cronin, 54); J Wycherley (M Donnelly, 68), E Clarke (S Buckley, 50), S Archer (J Ryan, 50); G Coombes, F Wycherley (K Nowak, 78); R Quinn (J Daly, 69), A Kendellen - captain, J O’Sullivan (D Okeke, 80).

CRUSADERS: L Halfpenny; C Fihaki, L Aumua, D McLeod, M Springer; T Kemara, M Drummond; G Bower, G Bell, O Franks; Q Strange - captain, T Cahill; D Gardiner, T Christie, C Grace.

Yellow card: Q Strange 32-42 

Replacements used: I Moananu, K Sykes-Martin, S Calder, J Hannah, C Lio-Willie, N Hotham, R Reihana, R Crotty, J Southall, H Murray 

Referee: Chris Busby (IRFU)