Conway’s magic seals tough derby for Munster
FROM a high-octane World Cup quarter-final against the All Blacks to taking on a heavily depleted Ulster outfit at a half-empty Thomond Park, this was quite the reality check for Munster’s returning internationals.
Jacob Stockdale and Jordi Murphy were back in action for the visitors but it was Munster who welcomed back a sizeable chunk of their Japan contingent. Eight of those tourists were back on duty last night.
Predictably, it was a flat and error-strewn affair. Munster really should have blown this Ulster side – who brought a rookie No10 and a callow pack to Limerick – out of the water but, save for some rare moments of forward power and flash passing, they made heavy work of it.
Of all the returnees, Andrew Conway would have felt he had the most to prove.
He was one of the few players in a rich vein of form in Japan but found himself on the fringes when the real business began.
He got Munster out of a desperate bind last night.
They were struggling on the hour mark when he took a smart inside pass from Tyler Blyendaal, on for the injured JJ Hanrahan, and turned on the afterburners to score from 50 metres out.
These are early days in what will be a marathon season, but Munster know they need to go up a few levels with the likes of Saracens and Racing 92 awaiting them in Europe.
It almost seems a bit cruel to see a crew of Test players, who put their hearts and souls into a failed World Cup campaign, rock up for provincial duty so soon after such a gruelling assignment.
The likes of Peter O’Mahony, CJ Stander and Stockdale reported for pre-season duty in Carton House on June 16. That’s a long time to be under the supervision of Joe Schmidt.
It’s safe to say, their heads would have been melted once they got home from Tokyo a few weeks ago. Some of these guys could be powering through all the way into July of next year when you consider that Ireland are visiting Australia for a two-Test tour that month. The provinces will seek to manage the workloads of the frontliners in the coming months, but there will be little time for breathers when you look down the fixture list.
The European Champions Cup is kicking off next weekend and it might seem like a bizarre statement, but the race for Six Nations spots is on as well.
Ireland’s championship opener against Scotland is less than 12 weeks away and new boss Andy Farrell, who was in attendance for both interprovincial derbies in Galway and Limerick this weekend, is already drawing up a list of names to take Ireland forward in 2020.
The race for the captaincy is on as well. Well, it’s not so much a race rather than a conundrum for Farrell.
Rory Best is gone, leaving his two vice captains as candidates for the vacant role. That being Johnny Sexton and O’Mahony.
Sexton is 34 now and, despite announcing his ambition to push on until the 2023 World Cup in France, his promotion would seem like a short-term solution.
Ronan O’Gara feels Sexton is not the right man to take the armband, citing the extra workload and responsibility already on a player who bears so much as things stand.
Logically, that leaves O’Mahony and the dark horse James Ryan as the possible men who would be king next year.
O’Mahony was back in the thick of it last night, grappling with Rob Herring in a scuffle after some shenanigans at an early scrum.
It was Ulster who made the big opening statement, however, when Stuart McCloskey bulldozed through Rory Scannell, an attack which proved the catalyst for John Cooney’s opening penalty of the night.
Munster are looking to expand their game this term but they went back to the basics for the opening try, a few big carries from the heavies teeing up Stander to muscle his way through the entire Ulster backrow to score.
Rory Scannell slid over for an excellent score just before halftime but Cooney’s boot kept Ulster in touch.
Leading 15-6 at the break, Munster really should have kicked on but it was Ulster who played with all the impetus.
Herring couldn’t believe his luck when he peaked around a rolling maul and saw an acre of space.
The Ulster hooker duly scampered over for the softest of scores while Cooney continued to punish Munster’s indiscipline from the kicking tee.
Then came Conway’s moment of magic to light up a dour second half, and effectively secure the win for the hosts, with O’Mahony getting through 80 minutes of toil for good measure.
Fittingly, it finished with a flurry of unforced errors as Munster protected a slender six-point lead against a team they should have beaten with ease.
It would seem harsh to say there was plenty of evidence of a World Cup hangover in the Munster ranks. That is the great fear, going forward.
Reality check, indeed.