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Ulternative Alster Fan Club
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Match Report |
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Ulster mashed by Munster In one of the best games this season so far, Ulster suffered from a Munster backlash, and were beaten by a better side. Ulster tried hard, but Munster outplayed them, and once again Ulster were dogged by individual errors. Munster threw the sink at Ulster, but despite their intensiveness, Ulster defended well, and showed why they were still near the top of the Magners League table. A great game! Full of passion, excitement, and drama, this was a game to take a lot of positives from. from BBC Munster outmuscled a battling Ulster side to clinch a bonus-point victory in an entertaining Magners League encounter at Thomond Park. Jean de Villiers' early try gave Munster a 7-0 advantage before Ian Humphreys' brilliant individual score helped Ulster take a three-point lead. But a David Wallace try enabled Munster to move 14-10 ahead at half-time. Keith Earls' score increased Munster's lead and Paul Warwick's late try ensured the bonus point. Ulster went into the game heading the league table after their dogged victory over Leinster last weekend. However, Munster notched the opening score in the seventh minute after Tomas O'Leary's break set up de Villiers to score underneath the posts, with Ronan O'Gara adding the conversion. But Ulster responded well with Paddy Wallace going close to scoring a try before being forced into touch. The northerners were on terms by the 16th minute as Humphreys notched a clever try by running to grasp his own dinked kick over the Munster defence after Denis Fogarty's crooked lineout throw had conceded a scrum in the home 22. With Humphreys continuing to kick beautifully in open play, he also notched a penalty on 21 minutes to nudge Ulster into a 10-7 lead. At the point, Munster went back to their tried-and-trusted forward-dominated game with Paul O'Connell leading the home charge. A series of pick-and-goes by the Munster pack had the home side camped in the visitors 22 although the Ulster defence held firm for more than 10 minutes. Then came probably the key moment of the match in the 34th minute as Ryan Caldwell was adjudged to have stepped illegally into one of his own line-outs in the Ulster 22. Tomas O'Leary took the quick free-kick and David Wallace was able to bludgeon his way over for a try. O'Gara added the conversion and it left Munster four points ahead at the break. Andrew Trimble's break straight after the restart almost caught Munster napping before the danger was averted. With the home side's pack starting to turn the screw, Earls notched Munster's third try in the 47th minute after O'Gara's clever flat pass - although Timoci Nagusa's attempt at a tackle on the winger left a lot to be desired. Humphreys had a chance to get Ulster to within a score of the home side but he was just wide from 45 metres. After the hour-mark, a succession of Ulster charges from deep asked questions of the home defence but the impressive O'Connell rallied his colleagues with a key turnover in the 69th minute. Ulster's Darren Cave was sin-binned in the closing stages for a misjudged aerial tackle on Ian Dowling which thankfully the Munster winger quickly recovered from. At the death, O'Gara turned down a couple of penalty chances as Munster chased the bonus point and it arrived in the final minute as the lively Warwick breached the Ulster defence. Irish Indo Munster dig deep as last-gasp Warwick try secures bonus By BRENDAN FANNING at Thomond Park Faced with the prospect of going into arrears on their balance sheet -- they would have been four wins from nine competitive starts this season if they had lost this -- and all the attendant questions about whether they were over the hill or just close to the top of it, Munster dug out a performance in Thomond Park last night good enough to get us off their backs for a while. And good enough to get them a bonus point into the bargain. "If we couldn't pick up after last weekend we never would," Paul O'Connell said afterwards. "We're going in the right direction now but we're too basic at times when there is a need to develop in our opponents' 22." The bonus bit hadn't been top of O'Connell's or Tony McGahan's agenda at the start of the night, rather to get through the exercise without losing again. When you are trading with a second-choice front-row and you're playing the league leaders, you fear more pain is imminent. And, sure enough, Munster suffered at this phase -- sometimes hanging on to make reasonable use of their ball, other times being dismantled -- but their salvation came principally from their own grit, and the trouble Ulster endured out of touch. McGahan is long enough in the tooth to know that this would have developed into a different contest if Ulster hadn't coughed up five of their line-out throws. And they weren't low-budget losses in no-man's land, it was costly stuff in the Munster 22. It will have haunted coach Brian McLaughlin all the way home. Or, more likely, his hooker Nigel Brady, who may well end up carrying the can. Take these two snapshots: leading 10-7 after 28 minutes on a lovely night for rugby and with a feeling of unease spreading through the home crowd that they were going to lose to this opposition for the second year running, Ian Humphreys spiralled a beautiful kick into the Munster 22, off a penalty, and you fully expected them to do enough off the line-out to get a score of some sort. They didn't, and for the rest of the half Munster grew in stature. Snapshot number two: early in the second half, Ulster trailing 10-14, we had exactly the same scenario. Again, they lost the throw -- this time at the expense of a free-kick -- except that play ran on until they were in their own 22, whereupon they lost another line-out to Denis Leamy, playing his best game of the season, and about 15 seconds later Keith Earls was squeezing in under Timoci Nagusa to score in the corner. The touchline conversion from Ronan O'Gara made it 21-10 to the home side and they never looked back. It was fitting that Nagusa should concede the score for Munster had gone out of their way to neutralise him all night. It robbed him of the confidence that had carried him to such a powerful performance against Leinster last weekend. The other thing going in Munster's favour was their attitude. They had taken lumps out of each other in training during the week and while sometimes this works the other way, this time it galvanised them. Then they had key performers in key positions. O'Gara was better, despite another 50 per cent return on goal, but his partner was outstanding. There is no better all-round scrum-half on the circuit now, and when it comes to breaking wide off ruck or maul he spreads panic into opposing defences. Lifeimi Mafi had a big game too, making a few huge tackles, and behind them Paul Warwick contributed handsomely, getting over deep in injury-time for the bonus point. By then they had been transformed from the side who had looked vulnerable when Humphreys had cancelled out a Jean de Villiers try, created by O'Leary's speed and angle, on 20 minutes, and then tacked on a penalty soon after when O'Gara was robbed in contact. At that stage, Ulster's small travelling band were in full song and you could hear them clearly above the murmuring from the home crowd. It was David Wallace who got them back on track, scoring a typical try late in the half after Munster had battered away at the Ulster line for an age. That put them 14-10 going into the break and, remarkably, they held Ulster scoreless for the second half. Earls' try, on 47 minutes will have done him no harm for he had a dodgy start to the night, getting better as it went on. De Villiers too looked more comfortable. When they get a front row back in situ they'll be happier still. Irish Times Ulster feel the effects of Munster backlashNormal service was resumed as Munster bounced back from a recent poor run of form when tries from Jean de Villiers, David Wallace, Keith Earls and Paul Warwick ensured a bonus point win over Ulster in their Magners League encounter at Thomond Park.
Two tries in each half earned the defending champions a much-needed win, with fullback Warwick getting the crucial fourth try just seconds from the end. It was a deserved victory for Tony McGahan's men, but again they were guilty of some erratic passing which allowed free running Ulster to remain in contention. The visitors made the livelier start but could not penetrate the Munster defence and once the early pressure was soaked up, the home side moved up a gear. Munster opened the scoring, somewhat against the run of play, when lively scrumhalf Tomas O'Leary made the break and South African Jean de Villiers popped up in support to take the inside pass and score his first league try. The seven-point lead lasted a mere three minutes. Ian Humphreys delightfully chipped over the Munster defence and won the race for the touchdown, just getting his right hand to the ball. The Ulster number 10 added the conversion to tie the game. When Ronan O'Gara failed to release the ball when tackled and Humphreys landed the penalty, the tide seemed to be turning. But Munster steadied themselves and David Wallace and Denis Leamy, part of a terrific back row effort, were both held up close to the line. Seven minutes before the break Wallace was rewarded when the Munster pack drove him over after O'Leary had taken a quick free-kick to the flanker. O'Gara converted to make it 14-10 for Munster at half-time. It was a slightly flattering scoreline and Ulster almost managed a try just after the resumption. Andrew Trimble led a fantastic break which was only thwarted by some scrambling Munster defence. Munster clicked back into gear and won an Ulster throw near the visitors' line. The forwards drove upfield and a flat pass from O'Gara sent Keith Earls past Timoci Nagusa in the corner. After Warwick went close to scoring Munster's fourth try, Ulster began to throw caution to the wind and Darren Cave saw yellow for a poorly-timed mid-air challenge on Ian Dowling as the Munster winger collected a kick. Munster built pressure again through the forwards and from a last-minute scrum, Leamy picked up and fed O'Leary who sent Warwick in to clinch the bonus point.
Munster: P Warwick; I Dowling, L Mafi, J de Villiers, K Earls; R O'Gara, T O'Leary; J Brugnaut, D Fogarty, S Archer, D O'Callaghan, P O'Connell capt, A Quinlan, D Wallace, D Leamy. Ulster: C Schifcoske; T Nagusa, P Wallace, capt, D Cave, A Trimble; I Humphreys, I Boss; T Court, N Brady, BJ Botha, E O'Donoghue, R Caldwell, S Ferris, W Faloon, C Henry.
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