MUNSTER MARCH INTO SEMI-FINALS
EDINBURGH head coach Richard Cockerill lamented the ‘tiny, tiny margins’ after his side were defeated by Munster in their Champions Cup quarter-final.
Edinburgh led with 10 minutes left but prop Pierre Schoeman was penalised for barging Tadhg Beirne with his team in control of the ball, and after Munster kicked the penalty into touch, Keith Earls dived over in the corner.
Earls had scored the first try of the contest with Beirne in the sin bin after Edinburgh had failed to make the most of three penalties inside the 22.
Chris Dean’s try and Jaco Van Der Walt’s kicking put the hosts in the driving seat at Murrayfield, but the visitors comfortably saw out the win after a brilliant and crucial conversion from Tyler Bleyendaal.
Cockerill said: ‘It was one hell of a contest and tiny, tiny margins decide these things – a penalty that gets reversed, a line-out that’s overthrown that bounces their way and in the ensuing play they score.
‘But we had opportunities to score in the first half which we didn’t take, we had massive moments defending our own line.
‘Even from our first try, I thought their player knocked it on. It’s tiny margins from the officiating.’
Munster’s victory was their 14th victory from 18 Champions Cup quarter-finals. Head coach Johann Van Graan hailed the club’s winning mentality.
‘Inside the bus when we arrived here, it was breathtaking to see the supporters,’ he said. ‘It felt like we were going to play at home.
‘And in terms of the group – that’s why I came to Munster, because of what Munster is about. It’s about passion, integrity, real heart and real grit. I am incredibly proud to be the coach of this team.
‘It’s our third semi-final in a row and this was a big win for us. Just look at the history of European rugby – you don’t come away with away quarter-final wins.’
Edinburgh may be relative novices in the latter stages of this competition but they were well-fancied after having won 17 of their last 19 home games in Europe, and 11 out of 12 in total at home this season. A crowd of 36,358 was in attendance at the grand old stadium in the Scottish capital, but many were wearing the red of Munster.
Edinburgh started on the front foot and opted to kick two penalties inside the 22-metre line into touch but Munster defended without major concern.
The hosts went the same route when Beirne was yellow-carded in the 12th minute for killing the ball on the ground after inventive play from John Barclay had left the visitors exposed.
Munster emerged unscathed following some desperate defending on their line with a penalty award relieving the pressure, and they were soon on the attack.
They got the breakthrough after Edinburgh scrum-half Henry Pyrgos deliberately knocked on as the ball emerged from a five-metre scrum. Earls took a quick one and darted over himself.
Edinburgh complained that Conor Murray had slammed Pyrgos to the ground just before Earls exploited the gap but referee Pascal Gauzere refused to take another look. Joey Carbery converted.
The numbers were evened up before some patient possession and quick ball inside the Munster 22 paid off as Dean went over. Van Der Walt levelled the scores before kicking a penalty.
Munster lost Carbery, the top points scorer in the pool stages, to injury and Edinburgh defended a series of high kicks to go into the break 10-7 ahead.
Carbery’s replacement, Bleyendaal, and Van Der Walt quickly traded penalties before Munster enjoyed a strong period. But Darren Sweetnam was stopped just before the line and Edinburgh’s pack won a penalty to relieve the pressure.
The hosts went back on the attack. Darcy Graham and Damien Hoyland were bundled into touch on either wing as Edinburgh stretched the Irishmen.
The match turned on an infringement off the ball when Pierre Schoeman was ruled to have barged Beirne near the halfway line with his team in possession.
After treatment for Beirne, Munster kicked the penalty into touch and soon produced by far their best series of passing of the game to send Earls over. Bleyendaal kicked brilliantly to extend the gap to four points and leave Edinburgh needing a try. But they could barely get past the Munster 40metre line. EDINBURGH: D Graham; D Hoyland, J Johnstone (M Bennett 72), C Dean, D van der Merwe; J van der Walt, H Pyrgos (C Shiel 77); P Schoeman (A Dell 77), S McInally (R Ford 77), WP Nel (S Berghan 58); B Toolis, G Gilchrist; J Barclay (M Bradbury ’58), H Watson (J Ritchie 72), V Mata. Scorers: Tries: C Dean. Con: J van der Walt. Pens: J van der Walt (2) MUNSTER: A Conway; D Sweetnam, C Farrell, R Scannell (D Goggin 77), K Earls; J Carbery (T Bleyendaal 36), C Murray; D Kilcoyne (J Loughman ’62), N Scannell (R Marshall 65), J Ryan (S Archer 58); J Kleyn (B Holland 60), T Beirne; P O’Mahony, J O’Donoghue (A Botha ’28), CJ Stander. Scorers: Tries: K Earls (2). Con: J Carbery, T Bleyendaal. Pen: T Bleyendaal Referee: Pascal Gauzère (France).