KEATLEY KICKS BACK
Fly-half answers critics as Munster end their miserable run
ANTHONY FOLEY praised a ‘superb’ display from a reenergised Ian Keatley as Munster halted their fivegame losing run and completed the double over Ulster this season to stay in touch with the PRO12’s top three.
‘Keats went through a tough time,’ Foley said afterwards. ‘Talking to the lad we felt a week off last week would be best for him, let him refocus and recharge.
‘I thought he did that well last week and I thought he was superb out there.’
Foley’s side grabbed their first win in Belfast since October 2010 and, in doing so, also became the first side to win in the league at Ulster since Leinster managed a victory there back in May 2014.
Two penalties and a drop goal from Munster flyhalf Keatley got the southern province the result to lift them into fourth and inflict a first reverse on Ulster after four straight victories.
The visiting head coach also believes the break given to Keatley helped all facets of his pivot’s game.
‘Even his touch-finders from penalties, he was getting an extra foot out of them and that put us in good positions for the rest of the game,’ Foley continued.
‘He was going through a tough period. You can’t keep him out getting battered week in, week out, whether it’s personally or publicly.
‘Ian’s a vital cog for us, so there’s no point in burying him. It’s important to give him some life and hopefully now this kick-starts the rest of his season.’
It was a far from memorable game to mark Andrew Trimble becoming the first Ulster player to reach 200 appearances for the province and Les Kiss’s squad had to be content with a losing bonus point which saw them drop to fifth.
They did score the game’s only try through Louis Ludik’s first-half effort though they crucially went scoreless in the second 40 minutes.
They had two shots at goal from Paddy Jackson in that second half but he was short with both difficult efforts.
Ulster led 7-3 at the break in what had been a fairly scrappy opening half which they largely dominated.
Munster – who lost Andrew Conway and Dave Foley just prior to kick-off – managed to open the scoring when Keatley landed an eighthminute penalty after Nick Williams was penalised at a breakdown.
Ulster then came close to hitting back but Ruan Pienaar was penalised for holding on and shortly afterwards Trimble brought Rory Scannell crashing to earth just as the centre looked certain to score.
This led to the home side’s most sustained period of pressure in Munster’s 22 and eventually Ulster’s possession resulted in a breakthrough when Pienaar’s pop pass saw fullback Ludik dive over after 23 minutes.
Paddy Jackson converted to give Ulster a 7-3 lead, although they lost prop Wiehahn Herbst to injury before half-time.
The second half saw even more scrappy play and handling errors from both sides but it was Keatley who nailed the first points with a 57th-minute drop goal following a scrum turnover.
And, shortly afterwards, Munster took a two-point lead when Keatley struck a penalty on the hour mark after Ricky Lutton was penalised for offside.
Ulster had to respond and after BJ Botha was pinged at a scrum, Jackson had a shot at goal, three minutes after the hour, but the chance fell just short and Munster cleared.
From there, the familiar pattern continued with both sides still making high-profile errors but with Ulster now having to increasingly force the play.
It looked a lost cause but then the home side had a shot at it after Gerhard van den Heever was offside from Lucas Amorosino’s knock-on. However, Jackson’s 78thminute effort from near the touchline was well short and Munster hung on for the valuable four points. UlsteR: L Ludik; A Trimble, L Marshall (S Arnold 54), S McCloskey, R Scholes; P Jackson, R Pienaar (P Marshall 71); K McCall (C Black 64), R Best (capt), W Herbst (R Lutton 35), L Stevenson (A O’Connor 52), F van der Merwe, R Diack (R Wilson 54), C Henry, N Williams (R Herring 71). scoReRs – try: Ludik (23) con: Jackson (25) MUnsteR: L Gonzalez Amorosino; G van den Heever, F Saili, R Scannell (D Hurley 57), R O’Mahony; I Keatley, T O’Leary (D Williams 57); D Kilcoyne, M Sherry (N Scannell 56), BJ Botha (J Ryan 72); B Holland, M Chisholm; J O’Donoghue, T O’Donnell (R Copeland 56), CJ Stander (capt). scoReRs – Pen: Keatley (8, 60), Drop-goal: Keatley (27) RefeRee: G Conway (IRFU).