Zebo magic sets up big date with Leinster
MUNSTER coach Johann van Graan paid tribute to Simon Zebo as he lit up Thomond Park on his final appearance there to clinch a spot in the PRO14 semi-final against Leinster.
Zebo provided the one moment of brilliance in a tight affair to send Keith Earls in for Munster’s crucial second try, while JJ Hanrahan kicked Munster to victory after Edinburgh raised a final quarter comeback.
“I’m very glad it’s over, a very tough game,” said van Graan. “In big games you need moments of magic and we had a few.
“When it got to the last ten minutes it was who would flinch first and we did well to end the game as winners.”
After nine minutes a Stuart McInally throw overshot the lineout and his opposite number Rhys Marshall gathered and crossed for a 7-0 Munster lead.
Edinburgh got the score their play deserved when James Cronin infringed and Sam Hidalgo-Clyne kicked a penalty midway through the opening period. Five minutes later Cronin was penalised again and the Edinburgh kicker trimmed the lead to one point.
That lead was about as much as Munster deserved at half-time, but Thomond Park was on its feet in worship three minutes after the restart.
When Conor Murray fired a wild pass over Zebo’s head near halfway the magical full-back gathered the loose ball, chipped over the defensive line, reclaimed possession himself, and then fired a 20-metre pass to Earls on the left for him to canter in at the corner flag.
Hanrahan added the conversion from the sideline for a 14-6 lead, and nine minutes later a slow rolling Edinburgh tackler allowed him to stretch that lead to 11 points.
Hidalgo-Clyne put eight points between the sides after 55 minutes and four minutes later that lead was just a point again when replacement Nathan Fowles managed to cross for a try, only for Hanrahan to kick insurance score late on.
Edinburgh director of rugby Richard Cockerill said: “I’m very proud of Edinburgh’s performance. If we had been a little bit more accurate at times, it’s certainly a game we could have won.”