Munster Prevail In Nerve Shredding Encounter
22/01/10 23:10 Filed in: Sport
Despite the best
efforts of the referee Romain Poite, Munster
managed to keep their noses ahead of Northampton in
tonight’s Heineken Cup sixth round pool match at
Thomond Park.
I always think that it’s a poor show when the ref ends up as the most influential man on the pitch, and so it was tonight. There was hardly a single decent scrum in the whole match, with the front rows unable to engage properly. Any other top level referee would have stopped the rot early on, hauling the two front rows out and explaining that they had to come in straight. Instead he let them infringe at will. When Paul O’Connell tried to draw his attention to it, he was accused of trying to interfere.
In case anyone needs reminding, this little bollix was the very same ref who tried to ruin the Munster - All Blacks match in November 2008.
But still we won. It wasn’t pretty, but then Northampton came here looking for a win in order to ensure qualification. The bonus point they picked up means that they probably still will get through, and might even end up back at Thomond for the quarter final.
Moment of the match was when Northampton has a succession of five-metre scrums on the Munster line. At the time they were getting all the scrummaging decisions going their way. Munster held them out and looked like they had turned them over, but Monsieur Poite decided that Paul O’Connell had handled in the ruck and binned him. Then the seven men of the Munster pack managed to get one against the head of the dominant Northampton eight-man unit. In an intensely ugly match, it was a rare moment of beauty.
This was Munster’s toughest match to date. There will be sore bodies tomorrow morning, but at least the pain will not have been borne in vain. Munster are three matches away from regaining the Heineken Cup. They must show the same level of doggedness and tenacity in the knockout stages, whoever they meet. Improvement is needed too in certain areas, especially the scrum.
The elite players go off now to International duty. When they come back (hopefully with the Six Nations Trophy safely back in the IRFU cabinet), they will have to be prepared for even more of the same.
I always think that it’s a poor show when the ref ends up as the most influential man on the pitch, and so it was tonight. There was hardly a single decent scrum in the whole match, with the front rows unable to engage properly. Any other top level referee would have stopped the rot early on, hauling the two front rows out and explaining that they had to come in straight. Instead he let them infringe at will. When Paul O’Connell tried to draw his attention to it, he was accused of trying to interfere.
In case anyone needs reminding, this little bollix was the very same ref who tried to ruin the Munster - All Blacks match in November 2008.
But still we won. It wasn’t pretty, but then Northampton came here looking for a win in order to ensure qualification. The bonus point they picked up means that they probably still will get through, and might even end up back at Thomond for the quarter final.
Moment of the match was when Northampton has a succession of five-metre scrums on the Munster line. At the time they were getting all the scrummaging decisions going their way. Munster held them out and looked like they had turned them over, but Monsieur Poite decided that Paul O’Connell had handled in the ruck and binned him. Then the seven men of the Munster pack managed to get one against the head of the dominant Northampton eight-man unit. In an intensely ugly match, it was a rare moment of beauty.
This was Munster’s toughest match to date. There will be sore bodies tomorrow morning, but at least the pain will not have been borne in vain. Munster are three matches away from regaining the Heineken Cup. They must show the same level of doggedness and tenacity in the knockout stages, whoever they meet. Improvement is needed too in certain areas, especially the scrum.
The elite players go off now to International duty. When they come back (hopefully with the Six Nations Trophy safely back in the IRFU cabinet), they will have to be prepared for even more of the same.