/”URC Outcome: Munster Triumphs Over Edinburgh 29-26
Currently, Munster dominates the URC table thanks to a gritty yet deserved win against an Edinburgh team that battles to maintain a spot in the top eight. Munster’s 4-2 try lead, ensuring the bonus point, emerged as the decisive statistic, displaying the superior skill of Jack Crowley, the match’s star player.
Edinburgh owes much of its performance to ex-Munster ace Ben Healy’s goal kicking. He racked up sixteen points for the team, his first half contributions setting his team to a half-time advantage of 16-12. Despite an admirable effort by Edinburgh which saw them take Munster down to the wire, their collective firepower was insufficient to pose a substantial threat to the current URC titleholders.
From the outset, Munster displayed an insatiable appetite for victory. However, their early onslaught against Edinburgh faltered, failing to capitalise when the ball moved away to the backs. In the home side’s territory, Munster found themselves foiled again with Pierre Schoeman intercepting the ball and sparking a counterattack. Mark Bennett then executed an expansive, territory-gaining kick, setting up a scrum five metres away.
Occupying this advantageous spot, Edinburgh were unable to penetrate Munster’s defence. That said, they still managed to earn points from a penalty shot by Healy, a former Munster star. He scored an additional three points when the Scottish team won a scrum penalty.
In retaliation, Munster exhibited impressive dexterity, positioning Gavin Coombes for a try. However, Coombes was halted by a stellar defensive tackle from James Lang. This was only a brief respite for Edinburgh, as Munster responded with another faultless execution – a try by Antoine Frisch. The France-born centre retrieved his own kick to score in the corner.
Almost instantly, Edinburgh came back with a third penalty from Healy, extending their lead with a try by Mark Bennett after a smart grubber kick from the centre and quick thinking when the ball got loose.”/
The conversion by Healy granted an 11-point advantage to Edinburgh, but it was rapidly wiped out as Munster mounted a forceful attack on the host’s line which culminated in Frisch’s second try. Crowley neatly converted this, placing his team only four points behind as the first half concluded.
In the second half, Munster quickly redressed their earlier shortcomings. From a scrum near Edinburgh’s line, the visiting team masterfully orchestrated a manoeuvre from their training playbook which resulted in a try and conversion for Crowley. This handed Munster their initial lead in the matchup, which was then neutralised at 19-19 by Healy’s fourth penalty kick.
After several substitutions, Munster’s fresh players promptly had an effect. Edinburgh seemed to withstand the pressure, until they gave away a wasteful penalty, due to Bill Mata, and Coombes seized the opportunity to hammer in from a short distance for a bonus point try. Crowley then completed a straightforward conversion. Edinburgh also deployed reserves, who appeared to take advantage when the team besieged Munster’s line. However, during this time, Conor Murray, substituting for the injured Alex Nankivell, was penalised for moving off his feet while defending.
Boan Venter, a substitute prop, managed to score a try and Healy converted, again bringing the teams to level pegging. A nail-biting finale saw neither side able to crucially score from short range, and Crowley’s later penalty ensured the visitors a well-deserved victory.
Edinburgh featured W Goosen; M Currie, M Bennett, J Lang, D van der Merwe; B Healy, B Vellacott; P Schoeman, E Ashman, W Nel; S Skinner, G Gilchrist; J Ritchie, H Watsons, V Mata in their line-up. Their replacements included D Cherry for Ashman (59 mins), B Venter for Schoeman (59 mins), J Sebastian for Nel (59 mins), M Sykes for Skinner (63 mins), L Crosbie for Watson (63 mins), A Price for Vellacott (62 mins), C Scott for Lang (73 mins), C Dean for Bennett (73 mins).
The following are the line-ups and replacements for the Munster team:
The starting line-up consisted of M Haley, C Nash, A Frisch, A Nankivell, S Daly (backline), J Crowley and Craig Casey (half-backs), and in the forward line were J Loughman, N Scannell, O Jager, F Wycherley, T Beirne, J O’Donoghue, A Kendellen, and G Coombes.
Substitutions were conducted as follows: On the 65th minute, E Clarke entered the field replacing N Scannell, while M Donnelly took the place of J Loughman on the 58th minute. J Ryan stepped in for O Jager at the 50th-minute mark. 43rd minute into the game, RG Snyman came on for F Wycherley. T Ahern substituted A Kendellen on the 50th minute, while C Murray replaced A Nankivell 65 minutes into the game. R Scannell was brought on for M Haley at the 24th minute, and finally, B Gleeson replaced G Coombes at the 70th minute.
The game’s official was a native of Italy, named Gianluca Gnecchi.