Coombes Munster’s main man on Jekyll and Hyde night

MAIN MAN: Munster's Gavin Coombes is presented with the Player of the Match medal by Tramore RFC’s Alfie Travers, St. Mary’s RFC’s Luke McInerney, Thomond RFC’s Rhys Johnson and Waterford City RFC’s Oscar Earle. Pic: ©INPHO/Ben Brady

URC: Munster 29 Scarlets 8

Perspective continues to be everything. Donncha O’Callaghan described the first-half of this BKT URC game as the worst he had ever seen. Munster’s interim head coach Ian Costello spoke later about how it had served its purpose in softening the Scarlets up.

Everyone could agree that the hosts were much, much better after the break, when they scored four of their tries. But the Welsh visitors were awful from start to finish.

Theirs was the sort of effort that got you worried about the state of rugby in the Principality as a whole all over again, though both teams could argue rust was a mitigating factor after weeks of inactivity.

Costello’s side finished with 76% possession and a ridiculous 86% of territory. Scarlets had to make 221 tackles to Munster’s 59, the sheer weight of the pressure on the losing side just as apparent in the 15 penalties they conceded on the night.

“I did see on screen at one point, around the third quarter, I think I saw 80-something [territory], which I thought was a misprint,” Costello admitted. “That's really pleasing because we want to keep the ball in play, we want to be a high possession team.

“Mike [Prendergast] set up the attack to be close, connected and play a high tempo, multi-phase rugby and it felt like we didn't have to defend a huge amount. When we did, bar one moment, we were really good.

“They're a good side. That's what's really pleasing now. Even though scoreboard-wise we didn't dominate completely, it felt like a very dominant performance.” Perspective.

The only number that really counts is the five points they earned for a five-try win thanks to Shay McCarthy, Gavin Coombes (2), Alex Kendellen and Tom Farrell. The Scarlets managed one in riposte, a ripper from out of the blue by Macs Page.

This marks the first time this season that Munster have put back-to-back URC wins together. That’s more important, for now, than the manner in which they go about their business during a Six Nations window that leaves them so light on manpower.

Prendergast was upbeat last week when reporting on the expected conveyor of players returning from injury in the coming months and Costello was similarly upbeat on Saturday nightabout midfielder Alex Nankivell’s imminent reappearance.

The pity is that the province again lost a handful of men in the course of a weekend. Diarmuid Kilgallen came off with some sort of a hamstring problem in the first-half, Tom Ahern was stopped short for a HIA while Jack O’Donoghue picked up an ankle issue.

What rugby gives with one hand it will always take with the other.

The home side finished with three academy players – Ben O’Connor, McCarthy and Kieran Ryan - on the pitch as well as Brian Gleeson who really should be in his second year of the graduation school but has been fast-tracked into the senior ranks instead.

Costello was keen to highlight Ryan, not least because he was part of a scrum that was the most consistent aspect of this Jekyll and Hyde performance. Well, maybe that and the individual effort of Gavin Coombes.

Added to the Ireland squad for next week's trip to Wales, the number eight was immense across 80 minutes. There were the two tries, 22 carries, 16 of which were adjudged to have been “successful” by the tournament’s stats people, and five defenders beaten on the way to a man-of-the-match award.

The Bandon Grammar grad is 27 now, and it’s coming up on four years since he earned his only two Test caps, since when he has faced the New Zealand Maoris twice away from home and the New Zealand ‘A’ side at the RDS.

That last game didn’t do his Ireland ambitions any favours – as was the case with a few others on the night of a heavy defeat – but this was a timely display by the back row who was subsequently named in the national ‘A’ team to face England next week.

“Gavin's playing some the best rugby I've ever seen him play,” said Costello. “He's always been a quality player but what he's doing now is moment on moment. His physical and mental conditioning at the moment is on such an upward trajectory, he's worked really hard.

“And then the quality moments on the back of that as well. He's well deserving and I'm delighted he's got that opportunity with the ‘A’s, and I'd be surprised if he didn't take that with both hands. His game is getting more and more rounded, and he was well supported by a lot of forwards tonight.

“The pack, in particular, had an excellent game.”

MUNSTER: B O’Connor; S Daly, T Farrell, R Scannell, D Kilgallen; B Burns, E Coughlan; J Wycherley, D Barron, O Jager; T Ahern, F Wycherley; J O’Donoghue, A Kendellen, G Coombes.

Replacements: S McCarthy for Kilgallen (17); B Gleeson for O’Donoghue (44); J Hodnett for Ahern (HIA, 52); K Ryan for Wycherley, P Patterson for Coughlan and J Ryan for Jager (all 55); N Scannell for Barron and T Butler for Burns (both 65).

SCARLETS: I Nicholas; E Mee, J Roberts, J Williams, S Evans; I Lloyd, G Davies; K Mathias, M van der Merwe, A Holz; M Douglas, S Lousi; T Plumtree, D Davis, V Fifita.

Replacements: S Wainwright for Holz (14); A Hepburn for Mathias (47); A Craig for Plumtree (53); R Elias for van der Merwe and M Page for Nicholas (both 56); J Taylor for Davis (62); A Hughes for Davies (67); C Titcombe for Evans (73).

Referee: S Roscini (FIR).