'It’s better to win ugly than lose pretty' - Clayton McMillan delighted with win in first Munster home match

A late drop goal from man of the match Jack Crowley ultimately saw Munster to a victory over Cardiff on Saturday.

HOME COMFORTS: Clayton McMillan before the United Rugby Championship match between Munster and Cardiff Rugby at Thomond Park. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile.

Clayton McMillan admitted his Munster side had won ugly as he celebrated Saturday’s 23-20 victory over Cardiff in his first home outing as head coach and applauded his players’ desire to stay in the fight at Thomond Park.

A late drop goal from man of the match Jack Crowley ultimately saw Munster to a victory which backed up their United Rugby Championship opening-round bonus-point win at Scarlets seven days earlier.

Yet it was far from pretty as Cardiff outscored the home side by four tries to three, enjoyed physical dominance for much of the opening half and capitalised on inaccuracies and a mounting penalty count from the men in red.

McMillan had left New Zealand’s Chiefs this summer after leading the Waikato franchise to three straight Super Rugby finals to fill the vacuum created by Graham Rowntree’s departure by mutual consent last October.

One of his key objectives from the outset on Irish soil has been to instil consistency from Munster for one week to the next to escape the pattern of following stand-out displays with below-par ones.

So the New Zealander had mixed emotions at the final whistle on a chilly night in Limerick when asked if the win had come without the performance he had been hoping for.

“No, not quite. Obviously delighted to get the win,” McMillan said.

"I know it’s a cliché but sometimes it’s better to win ugly than lose pretty. Tonight was one of those nights.

“I honestly thought we probably just lacked the edge that we had about us last week. I don’t know if that was playing away last week Round One. We trained really well, then come out of the sheds and we’re just on the back foot.

“We lost the collisions, gave away penalties, gave up a couple of tries and that fed their game and they were good at it. They were strong up front, they carried with a bit of venom and were particularly good at the breakdown, and they turned over the pill a number of times.

“So it was a dogfight, and we anticipated it was going to be a tough game but I think we’ll have to have a good look at ourselves and find out ways of being better.”

Munster had trailed Cardiff three times in this second-round URC match-up between two side which had completed bonus-point wins in their opening fixtures the previous weekend.

Windy conditions hampered much of the playing ambition from the protagonists, but the Welshmen took the lead with lock Josh McNally in the sin bin on 14 minutes when wing Josh Adams touched down a deflected through kick for the opening try.

Munster flanker Ruadhan Quinn levelled 15 minutes later as the Reds finally gathered some attacking momentum and the sides went into the half-time break at 5-5, only for the other Cardiff wing Tom Bowen to nudge his side back in front short after the restart with Munster’s Gavn Coombes off the field following a 38th minute yellow card.

It was to be the first of a hat-trick of tries for Bowen with his second again retaking the lead at 15-12 after Coombes had returned from the sin bin to score Munster’s second, Crowley kicking the only conversion of the game to put his team in front for the first time on 53 minutes.

Bowen had latched onto a clever, short crossfield kick from Callum Sheedy on 57 minutes but their three-point lead lasted just four minutes. Diarmuid Barron, who had come off the bench at half-time to replace Niall Scannell at hooker and as captain, was shoved over the line from a tap penalty to make it 17-15 before Crowley kicked a penalty and then slotted his drop goal for a 23-15 lead.

It was enough to stave off a late rally from Cardiff as Bowen grabbed his third try of the night to rescue a losing bonus point but McMillan was satisfied with Munster’s character to stay in the contest and eke out a victory.

“There’s nothing that I’ve seen over pre-season and the last couple of weeks that will make me doubt the willingness of these guys to fight and fight to the death and fight for everything.

“We need to show a little bit more urgency and desperation earlier so that fight becomes a little bit easier or swayed in our favour a little bit more.

“But that’s learning for me, understanding how the group operates and good learning for the group. We’re exposing a number of players over the last couple of weeks, we’ve got some emerging leaders and it’s going to take time for us to find our actual rhythm.

“But the pleasing thing was in that last 10 or 15 minutes when the game was really in the balance I think possession, territory, momentum of the game swung our way which was a big improvement on last week when we sort of lost our way. I know they scored at the end but that was a real positive to take out of the game.”