Gutsy Munster travel to 'lethal' Northampton with Champions Cup hopes still alive
RED MIST: Munster’s Tadhg Beirne celebrates winning a penalty against Saracens. Picture: ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan
After coming out on top of an old-fashioned ding dong with Saracens, Munster must change tack once more if they are to achieve their Champions Cup goals and progress to the Round of 16 with a win at Northampton Saints this Saturday.
Having found a way on Saturday night to get the job done with a dogged and nuggety performance that held the three-time champions tryless and keeps themselves in the hunt for reaching the knockout rounds of a competition that means so much to Munster and their supporters, interim head coach Ian Costello urged his players it will take a very different course of action to go the extra yard and beat a Saints side he described as “lethal” with ball in hand.
That the English champions went down slugging it out at Stade Francais in a 45-35 try-fest in Paris means little to the overall qualification picture form Pool 3. Saints earned a try bonus point at Stade Jean Bouin as Munster were seeing off Saracens in polar opposite circumstances at Thomond Park. That bonus point has secured a place in the last 16 but the defeat leaves Northampton just a point ahead of the chasing pack led by Munster on 10, with Saracens in third only by dint of points difference while Castres’ big home win over the Bulls sees them within two points of the top seeding from the group going into the final set of fixtures this weekend.
With the top four facing off as Castres travel to London to meet Mark McCall’s side, Costello acknowledged that now his squad had ticked the required box of staying alive, the pressure is still on in terms of securing the most favourable ranking in their pool and on the overall 24-team ladder to ensure a home Round of 16 draw when the competition resumes in April.
“I was surprised to hear Northampton were beaten and only picked up a point so we’re a point off the top,” the interim boss said. “I suppose it puts it in our hands to a certain degree.
“We’ve got to assume Saracens will get five, I think that would be likely for their last game, at home. So we’ve got to go and try and win the game at Northampton and then there’s a good chance that gives us a home Round of 16, or it will. So if we top the group the seeding can be important as well.”
Costello was delighted to see Munster reap the rewards of diligent preparation as they rebounded from a 28-7 URC home defeat to Leinster on December 27 to complete a patchy first half of the season. This was a performance of patience and determination with a welcome return of clinical finishing as Munster came from 9-3 down after Elliot Daly had nailed a long-range penalty on 45 minutes to extend the visitors’ half-time lead through a couple of sharply taken tries around the hour mark.
Short-term signing Dian Bleuler, who impressed once more in a solid set-piece, made his mark as the opening try scorer on 59 minutes following a mighty carry to the line. John Hodnett then underlined the bench’s impact to add a second five minutes later.
Fly-half Jack Crowley, returning to number 10 after being rested under IRFU player welfare guidelines, had sparked the move with a crossfield kick-pass to the left wing where centre Rory Scannell, shovelled the ball back inside to midfield partner Tom Farrell. From there Farrell advanced a couple of steps to draw in a defender and then release Hodnett. There was still work for the replacement back-rower to do but having regained his feet after tap tackle attempt from Liam Williams there was no stopping Hodnett from nudging his side further in front. Crowley’s two conversions made it 17-9.
An Alex Lozowski penalty on 69 minutes added to the tension as the majority of the 22,030 crowd made their displeasure at referee Pierre Brousset known for his ignoring of appeals to review a high hit on John Ryan and it made for some nervous closing minutes for Munster.
Yet both the team and the crowd dug deep to see out the win, captain Tadhg Beirne forcing a crucial maul turnover as the decibels inside Thomond Park soared and Crowley and Hodnett combining to deny Williams in the corner, all to Costello’s great satisfaction.
“We’ve been prepping really well, there’s been real tightness, real connection and alignment and the character, fight and work rate stuff has been there as a really solid foundation and there was bit more accuracy tonight.
“We have to carry that through into Northampton. They are lethal. I think if you watch Northampton they can score anywhere at any time and they can change a scoreboard so quickly. We just have to make sure that our next seven days... we had 10 days to prep for that game which was huge, the next seven days have to be on point and we have to arrive again with the right mindset and really fresh to give ourselves a chance of topping that group.
“I don’t think it will be 6-3 at Northampton. I don’t think there will be a lack of tries so the team that wins will have to score a few tries as well.
“Sarries play a different type of game and they’ve got some very good individuals but it’s their physicality that adds up and that momentum they can get on top of you. They can get at you through your set-piece and through the air.
“Northampton is a whole different threat altogether. They have unbelievable speed, probably the best passing team that I’ve seen and they’re just starting to hit a bit of form.
“We have had some good battles over there. We will take a lot of confidence from keeping them (Saracens) scoreless but we have to be realistic and know that it is a whole different threat. Chris Boyd (temporary performance consultant and former Saints boss) is here to give us a few tips as well.”
M Haley; C Nash, T Farrell, R Scannell, S Daly (B Burns, 75 - HIA); J Crowley, C Murray; D Bleuler (J Ryan, 65), N Scannell (D Barron, 51), O Jager (S Archer, 51); F Wycherley, T Beirne – captain; J O’Donoghue (T Ahern, 51), A Kendellen (J Hodnett, 51), G Coombes (B Gleeson, 71).
P Patterson
E Daly; L Williams, A Lozowski, N Tompkins (O Hartley, 71), L Cinti (T Elliott, 65); F Burke, I van Zyl; P Brantingham (E Mawi, 61), J George (T Dan, 61), M Riccioni (A Clarey, 61); M Itoje – captain, H Wilson (N Michelow, 71); J M Gonzalez, B Earl, T Willis.
M Eke, G Simpson.
Pierre Brousset (France)
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