Munster ready for final URC push after encouraging signs against Bulls

Munster coach Clayton McMillan praised his team’s response against the Bulls despite coming up short at Loftus Versfeld.

IN DEMAND: Jack Crowley shares a selfied with some Bulls supporters after their 34-31 United Rugby Championship defeat to the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria. Pic: Steve Haag Sports/Christiaan Kotze/Inpho

Sometimes the scoreboard doesn’t tell the full story. Munster’s three-point loss against the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld was not necessarily a fair reflection of the game, and it doesn’t reveal the story of how well they responded from the previous week’s dismal 45-0 loss against the Sharks in Durban.

For coach Clayton McMillan, it was a bittersweet feeling after the match. He was gutted at the result, but proud of the effort and improvement of his team in the space of a week.

Aside from a few scrum issues, which plagued Munster horribly against the Sharks, this was a vastly improved performance.

The return of halfbacks Craig Casey and Jack Crowley had much to do with that, but they were aided by a pack of forwards who made life difficult for the Bulls in the loose.

Sean and Edwin Edogbo added grunt from the bench while the likes of Tom Ahern and Fineen Wycherley were excellent as they took the fight to the Bulls’ big men.

Munster can rightly take encouragement for a late campaign push in the final weeks of league play.

“We always want to win and that’s not an easy thing to do here in South Africa against good quality teams,” McMillan said. “But our effort was significantly improved on what we saw last week and that effort gave us an opportunity to potentially win the game.

“We congratulate the Bulls for just being that little bit better when it mattered today. But it’s a tight competition. The top eight is looking really congested now and so, you know, to walk away with two points is still something to be pleased about, and it’s a good reward for the effort. We didn't go away empty handed.

“Coming up to altitude, there’s always a logic, rightly or wrongly, that you either come here for an extended period or you come in at the last minute.

“That’s what we elected to do and you never quite know if it works until you play the game, but we had a good week’s preparation.

“I don’t think we ran out of steam. Obviously, there was fatigue because there was a lot going on in the game. What probably hurt us was that we got a number of injuries, HIAs, a lot earlier in the game than you would like and so we had to use our bench a lot earlier.

“If there was some fatigue in the game, it probably came off the back of that more than anything to do with coming up here late.” 

In fact, Munster ‘won’ the second half 24-20, suggesting fatigue was not the issue.

It was an excellent response after last week’s 45-0 loss against the Sharks in Durban. The Munster men showed fight and class throughout and claimed two valuable league points, although they wanted more.

The two league points they earned left Munster in seventh on 41 points, two ahead of ninth-placed Connacht. Flyhalf Crowley had a magnificent game and deserves no criticism, although his two missed conversions were the ultimate difference on the scoreboard. Opposite number Handre Pollard landed six from six at goal on the day.

Scrumhalf Craig Casey, who captained the team was also excellent, and the pair guided Munster around the park with clarity and precision on a sweltering day.

“I thought they (Casey and Crowley) had a really good day. When you add that sprinkling of stardust, and that sort of international experience and quality, it’s going to improve every team,” McMillan said.

“And they came in at a point when we were pretty low, to be fair, after getting humped by the Sharks. But their energy has been important in getting everyone to take that on the chin and bounce back.” 

Trailing 14-7 at the break, Munster came out for the second half like a new team. They immediately put the Bulls under pressure and forced them on to the back foot. Crowley released flank Alex Kendellen and he fed fellow back rower Ahern, who finished a fine long-range try.

That put Munster back in the game, but the Bulls know how to make the most of scraps and moments later, when prop John Ryan knocked on, on the Bulls 22-metre line, the ball was hacked deep.

Livewire Bulls scrumhalf Embrose Papier was quickest to the ball for this second try of the match. 

Ahern was soon on the scoresheet again with a close-range finish after some excellent work from the pack, but Munster could not quite close the gap.

The bench added energy and power with the Edogbo brothers – Sean and Edwin adding bulk and destruction, but somehow the home team clung on.

When Pollard opted to kick two long-range second half penalties it underlined the pressure the Bulls were under. 

In the final quarter the match remained in the balance and after Crowley launched a 50/22. From the lineout, and a few phases later, Crowley’s deft hands put fullback Ben O’Connor into a hole and he did the rest.

The Bulls though, had just stretched the lead when wing Cheswill Jooste finished from 50 metres after carving through the Munster defence. The former Junior Bok star is a beautifully balanced runner with an effortless change of pace.

Munster had a chance when Edwin Edogbo smashed through the Bulls defensive wall for the team’s fifth try, giving the tourists hope of victory.

But after the restart veteran fullback Willie le Roux had the final say with an excellent 50/22 kick to settle the matter.

“It’s my first year with Munster but internally within the club I’ve always talked about this tour being a real crossroads in the season," McMillan said. "We’ve often come at the back end and, like I said, you get the benefit of being away and living in each other’s pocket for a couple of weeks and there’s something special about that.

“And although we didn't get the wins, there was progress in our game and, you know, we've got some good players left at home too that have finished international rugby or weren’t in a position to be able to come. So, there's good people waiting at home. We’ll go back with good energy.” 

Scorers for Bulls: Tries: E Papier (2), C Moodie, C Jooste; Cons: H Pollard (4); Pens: Pollard (2).

Scorers for Munster: Tries: S O’Brien, T Ahern (2), B O’Connor, E Edogbo; Cons: J Crowley (3)

Bulls: 15 W le Roux, 14 C Moodie (55-C Jooste), 13 S Gans, 12 H Vorster (72-D Kriel), 11 KL Arendse, 10 H Pollard, 9 E Papier (72-Z Burger), 8 N Carr (57-C Wiese), 7 E Louw (50-C Hanekom), 6 M Coetzee (captain), 5 R Nortje, 4 R Vermaak, 3 F Klopper (50-K Mchunu), 2 J Grobbelaar (50-M van Staden), 1 G Steenekamp (50-JH-Wessels).

Munster: 15 B O’Connor, 14 C Nash (30-JJ Hanrahan), 13 D Kelly, 12 A Nankivell, 11 S O’Brien, 10 J Crowley, 9 C Casey (captain), 8 B Gleeson 42-(P Patterson), 7 A Kendellen, 6 T Ahern, 5 F Wycherley (42-S Edogbo), 4 J Kleyn (61-E Edogbo), 3 M Ala’alatoa (48- J Ryan), 2 D Barron (38-N Scannell), 1 M Milne (48-J Loughman).

Referee: H Davidson.