Cowan-Dickie scores but Exeter Chiefs can only draw
EXETER’S supremo Rob Baxter was still upbeat despite a disappointing start to his side’s European venture.
After five underwhelming campaigns, which has seen them reach only one quarter-final, Baxter expected to make a significant impact in Europe this time, but Chiefs came perilously close to suffering only their second defeat in 18 games against a hardnosed Munster.
Baxter said: “At half-time I would have been happy with two points but at the end I thought we missed an opportunity to nick it.
“However we’ve got two points and there are a lot of teams who don’t have two on the board after the first round but Munster will be the happier.
“We have to move on as we still need three or four wins from this pool to qualify and I hope it doesn’t come down to the last game at Munster. It would be a great game with a terrific atmosphere but I hope we are both through by then.”
With French champions, Castres, and resurgent Gloucester still to be faced, it wasn’t the start Baxter would have wanted as Munster had the lion’s share of possession and territory with Tadhg Beirne and Peter O’Mahony at the forefront of a fiercely committed pack.
Despite the best efforts of Matt Kvesic and Luke Cowan-Dickie, Exeter couldn’t quite match them and it resulted in Munster’s scrum-half, Duncan Williams, being a key player with some well-judged tactical kicking.
However, defences were firmly on top with neither side able to make any inroads although Jack Nowell and Henry Slade displayed some neat touches with no end product.
Keith Earls was a last minute withdrawal with a hamstring strain but Munster overcame this to make the better start.
Chiefs conceded four penalties during that period but a knock-on from Stephen Archer lost Munster a good attacking position and 70 metres in territory when Gareth Steenson hoofed the ball downfield.
It took until the 16th minute for Exeter to to gain a platform in the opposition 22 and win a penalty for Steenson to put them in front.
Despite this reverse, Munster continued to provide an excellent example of how to play into a gale by keeping the ball tight and were rewarded with a penalty from Joey Carbery.
Just before half-time, Exeter scored a crucial try when Cowan-Dickie forced his way over from close range for Steenson to convert for a 10-3 interval lead.
The conversion attempt was the most talked about incident of the first half as Andrew Conway ran to charge the kick but only succeeded in clattering into Steenson after the ball was on its way to the posts. The outside-half received medical attention but the referee took no action.
After the restart, Munster looked to have picked up their first try but Chris Cloete’s effort was ruled out for a maul obstruction.
However, CJ Stander did finish off a sustained period of pressure with Carbery converting before he carelessly booted the ball dead soon after.
This gave Exeter a platform to besiege the Irish line but Jack Yeandle knocked on and Munster had two valuable points.