ZEBO SPURS RACING ROUT
Munster make a fitting tribute to Axel – a Paris win
A CRUMBLING wreck of a stadium on the Parisian outskirts was illuminated last night, as a rejuvenated Munster penned another one of those magical away-day European tales. It was in stark contrast to the tragedy that had befallen them on their previous trip to France a dozen weeks earlier.
Winning – and winning well for that matter – was their mission, the best way to honour the memory of their fallen head coach, Anthony Foley who passed away overnight on October 16 when they had travelled to Paris for this original fixture.
All week the talk in Irish rugby circles had again been of Axel and what had befallen him. Here, there was a pre-game minute’s applause with a solitary red flare poignantly lit to give proceedings an emotional throwback to the awful tragedy of 12 weeks previous.
Then it was down to business in the old-school manner beloved of Foley, Munster’s forwards, led by the indestructible CJ Stander, pouring everything into laying the foundation that secured the three-try, 25-point interval advantage they were never to lose, the bonus score arriving just 15 minutes after the break.
Admittedly, the Racing outfit Munster faced yesterday was in a very different headspace to how they were shaping up pre-tournament, last year’s beaten finalists and Top 14 champions touted as favourites to make the running over the winter.
However, three defeats on the bounce had counted them out of the reckoning and there was always the chance their understrength selection would fall apart if Munster got a run on them.
So it proved. It may have been hard going but a thoroughly unified performance warmed the soul amid wintry conditions.
With Munster grappling all the emotion wrapped up in the Foley factor, Racing’s initially staunch, hardhitting – which was designed to throw them off the scent – ensured numerous early ball carries made little, if any, ground and there were also a few tackles that could easily have been in the yellow card category.
However, with their scrum yet again a penalty-milking rock, the threat posed elsewhere by Munster had been hinted at in the opening seconds, a lovely offload from Tommy O’Donnell sending Tyler Bleyendaal cantering into the 22 only for the ball to be lost at the breakdown.
They eventually sapped the home team’s resistance in the second part of the first half, Simon Zebo, either side of successful penalties from Bleyendaal from in front of the posts, inflicting the important damage.
Rory Scannell put in his second smart kick in behind the cover that forced Racing to try and play their way out from a lineout.
They never escaped, Munster forcing a turnover and while they were initially held up over the line, a scrum penalty which they scrummed down with was again the catalyst to work the ball across to the other side, Scannell and workhorse Peter O’Mahony carrying before Zebo wriggled over off another Conor Murray slick pass.
Racing were going nowhere, a fact epitomised by how big-tackling Donnacha Ryan, who was just behind his partner in chief Billy Holland in this department, effected the choke to force a further spirit-sapping turnover.
The visitors kept chipping away and while an 11-point advantage would have been rich reward for all their industry, they finished the half with the two-try opportunist flourish that put the result beyond doubt.
Stander, a bulwark in confronting Racing’s physicality who ended up carrying for a total of 62 metres off 21 carries, was the engineer, the No8 blocking an attempted clearance kick which was expertly gathered by the ever-impressive Scannell.
An important carry from O’Mahony followed before the remaining Racing defence fell away. Stander charged all the way to the line for the try converted by Bleyendaal who was to finish the game with five from six off the tee, his second conversion coming after Munster had struck again in the final play of the opening gambit, Murray expertly probing the blindside and his kick through was lapped up by the scoring Andrew Conway.
Racing attempted to salvage some pride at the start of the second half, but their effort was flawed.
Their scrum continued to suffer,
their entire front row hooked on 50 minutes, and five minutes later Munster had their bonus, penalties stemming from their maul enticing them to launch another assault in this fashion and it worked, Niall Scannell the beneficiary.
Racing did get a consolation, Matthieu Voisin beating Conway to the line when ball was kicked through, but there was the only blemish on a fine evening’s work.
Of course, they now need to back it up in six days’ time in Glasgow or relinquish the pool leadership heading into their round six re-match with Racing in Limerick on January 21.
However, all the mathematics and the various permutations could wait until they go back to work tomorrow in Limerick as this was a display to savour.
RACING 92: J Imhoff; J Rokocoko, C Laulala (H Chavancy, 57); A Tuitavke, T Thomas (D Carter 57); B Dambielle (D Carter 12-18), X Chauveau; K Vartanov (J Brugnaut 51), C Chat (V Lacombe 51), L Ducalcon (C Gomes Sa, 51), G Grobler, F van der Merwe (A Williams, 62), C Masoe (S Fa’aso’o 57), M Voisin, A Claassen. Scorers – Try: Voisin 64. Con: Carter 65. MUNSTER: S Zebo; A Conway, J Taute (F Saili 56), R Scannell (Taute 74-76), R O’Mahony (K Earls (56); T Bleyendaal, C Murray (D Williams 66); J Cronin (D Kilcoyne 56), N Scannell (R Marshall 62), J Ryan (S Archer, 66), D Ryan (D Foley 74), B Holland, P O’Mahony, T O’Donnell (J O’Donoghue 48), CJ Stander. Scorers – Tries: Zebo 23, Stander 36, Conway 40+1, N Scannell 55. Cons: Bleyendaal 37, 40+2, 56. Pens: Bleyendaal 15, 34. Referee: M Carley (England).