Glass half-full for Munster and Ulster after thrilling draw

Clayton McMillan wasn’t shy in pointing out that Munster’s fade came while they were turning to a bench that lacked in experience. 

HOLDING ON: Ulster's Robert Baloucoune looks to break free of the grasp of Munster's Dan Kelly in their United Rugby Championship clash at Affidea Stadium in Belfast. Pic: Dan Clohessy, Inpho

URC: Ulster 26 Munster 26

It’s been 12 months since Tadhg Beirne made a seasonal bow for Munster and ripped Leinster to shreds at Croke Park. That was the province’s fourth win on the spin under new coach Clayton McMillan.

On Saturday night, Beirne berated himself in his own softly-spoken way for some of the errors he made in a second half where his side saw a 21-point half-time lead wither away in the face of Ulster’s impressive comeback.

All of which leaves Munster with a loss in a game they could easily have won, a win in a game they might have been expected to struggle, and now a draw in a game that they should have won but could just as easily have conceded. 

Zoom out, and we know that the 25/26 campaign went off the rails. And that this season’s journey still looks on track.

Any reading of Munster’s situation makes for a more uplifting story than might have been expected pre-season. They have played effective, solid rugby in large fragments of all three games, not least in Belfast where they were embarrassed last January.

“We targeted this massively because of our performance here last year, and I think we certainly showed a response,” said Beirne. “We knew we had to turn up physically and I thought we brought it. We said we were going to bring everything in that first 40.

“Six, seven months ago when we were up here, it was the second-half that Ulster got the upper hand on us, and it was the same [on Saturday]. We kind of lost our way a little bit, and let them into the game.

“Credit to them the way they got back into the game but we'll look at that second half and we'll be probably kicking ourselves for one or two errors or penalties, like the one I gave away. They’re the winning and losing of the game.” 

Beirne also chastised himself for maybe rushing a few of replacement hooker Max Clein’s lineouts throws, but then he won’t be alone in rueing a second period that passed without Munster adding a single score to the board.

McMillan wasn’t shy in pointing out that Munster’s fade came while they were turning to a bench that lacked in experience. 

With Shane Daly, Tom Ahern and Diarmuid Barron late withdrawals, they had turned to Shay McCarthy, Michael Foy and Clein. Charlie O’Shea and Ben O’Donovan closed out the game as the half-backs.

Munster have benefited from the promotion of younger players in this nascent season but this was a big ask against a home team that trailed 26-5 at the interval and was always going to flare its nostrils after it.

A few more bodies back will help.

“Our backs in particular, we've got a number out at the moment and, as a consequence, a lot of the guys that you saw out there are having to carry a heavy load at training,” said McMillan, “and they had to play big minutes there in this game.

“So I sort of feel for them, and it'd be nice to get a couple of backs back, which we should do this week.” 

The Kiwi head coach has already used 36 players across their three games. He made 11 changes for their second fixture and ten – after the late alterations - for this trip north. This is still a squad finding its feet while playing a weekly game of musical chairs.

Some of their basics were excellent in a first half where Alex Kendellen scored twice, Marnus van der Merwe claimed another and Dan Kelly chipped in for the backs, the first three of those scores emanating from a powerful pack’s display.

The new maul defence rules are making it nigh on impossible for sides to defend the tactic of close-in lineouts. Munster scored twice from them, but the stability and power of their scrum was obvious in how they dominated Ulster in the set piece.

The lineout was mostly smooth with it in that dominant half and, if they struggled to make any breaches with ball in hand, then Kelly’s try was a beautiful orchestration with JJ Hanrahan delaying his pass amid traffic to work the seam.

For Ulster, there is the frustration of a second false start at home of the season after their defeat to Edinburgh on opening day. 

That’s two draws and one loss for Richie Murphy’s side now. No wins in their last six URC games in Belfast.

If McMillan felt that this was one they let slip then Murphy was in no way consoled by their stirring comeback given a penalty count that they lost 16-5 and a number of other work-ons that will keep him busy this next few weeks.

“At the moment, we’re playing matches like they’re training sessions,” he said.

There’s a possibility Bayonne could treat their Challenge Cup visit as just that next week. Munster have a more pressing engagement - Racing 92’s appearance at Pairc UI Chaoimh next Saturday - to come.

ULSTER: E McIlroy, R Baloucoune, J Benson, S McCloskey, J Stockdale, J Murphy, N Doak; E O’Sullivan, T Stewart, K Knox, B Donnell, E Snyman, C Izuchukwu, N Timoney, J Augustus.

Replacements: D McCann for Snyman (19); T O’Toole for O’Sullivan, T McAllister for Knox and J McNabney for Augustus (all HT); M Devine for Doak (all 50); H Walker for Stewart (80).

MUNSTER: B O'Connor, S McCarthy, A Nankivell, D Kelly, S O'Brien, JJ Hanrahan, C Casey; J Loughman, M van der Merwe, K Brookes, E O'Connell, T Beirne; J O'Donoghue, A Kendellen, G Coombes.

Replacements: B Gleeson for Coombes and J Aungier for Brookes (both 50); J Hodnett for Kendellen (54); M Foy for O’Connell (61); M Clein for van der Merwe and J Wycherley for Loughman (both 66); C O’Shea for Hanrahan (70); B O’Donovan for Casey (73).

Referee: C Evans (WRU).