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Fun in the Sun: Munster: 47 – Connacht: 12

Posted by Gayl - WestTerraceView on May 14, 2024 in Season 23/24, URC

It’s that time of the season where you would be hopeful of packing away the thermals and rain gear but in Ireland there are no guarantees. However on Saturday the forecast for the 5.15 kick-off confirmed it was tee-shirt weather. Those on the east basked in the sunshine, glad of their shades or caps. There was a strong breeze though which was influential at times throughout the game.

The Kids themed round provided some additional fun, included pitch-side interviews of Jean Kleyn by young supporters on a step ladder to look him in the eye. Another young fella was warming up with the match officials and he officiated the coin toss also.  The sinbin was policed by another cool dude in his shades. 

Young John on the west terrace was starring in some promotional video that was being recorded and he was very calm despite the big camera right in his face at times! Sinead and I backed away whenever the cameraman made his appearance but John was a real pro! After the game the Connacht players came over to the west terrace with mini rugby balls to hand out to the youngsters nearby who were delighted.

It took a while for Munster to make their pressure, possession and territory count as they dominated for the first quarter of the game but eventually they got their reward on the scoreboard. That pressure led to penalties and eventually a yellow card for Shamus Hurley-Langton. A tap penalty was touched down by RG Snyman. The TMO review was thorough as Jack lined up the conversion and I had to smile when he had the conversion over the bar with 85s remaining on the shot clock, a big change from his more usual 5s remaining!

A superb arcing run by Calvin Nash doubled the lead as Munster attacked off a scrum. Connacht had protested the grounding after watching the replay but the referee was not impressed with their behaviour and allowed Jack to retake the conversion which was successful, 14-0, after 26 minutes.

There was a lot of debate from some on the west terrace about the scrummaging technique when a Connacht player appeared to have his knee on the ground in the defensive scrum to stop Munster driving them backwards.  The officials did not penalise that if they saw it.  Approaching half time Connacht had a purple patch and tested the Munster defence. From a scrum deep in Munster’s 22 Jack Carty floated a long pass out to Ralston on the wing who scored in the corner to make it 14-7 at half-time.

Connacht started the second half brightly, coming close to scoring twice before Munster cut loose. The third try came from a key intervention by Gavin Coombes, fresh off the bench whose tackle on Bundee Aki knocked the ball loose for Alex Nankivell to claim and run in unopposed to score from the other half – 21-7. That turnover was a key momentum shift in the 45th minute. Some of the handling and offloading was breath-taking. It is also wonderful to have enough fit players to have such impact off the bench with Gavin and Oli bringing energy and power to the pack, Frisch made a key try assist for Murray, with Carbery and Ahern also on the scoresheet. Also worth mentioning the progress made by Eoghan Clarke since he arrived earlier this season.

While it was kids night off the pitch, on it the golden oldies shone with Zebo showing brilliantly at times including his assist for fellow veteran Conor Murray’s bonus point try when Simon broke from inside his own half. Several of his contributions were rewarded with chants of “Ze-bo, Ze-bo” which he acknowledged and enjoyed. One more year? We will have to wait and see…. Kudos also to Stephen Archer who continues to break the most appearances record (now 284) while Peter O’Mahony put in another superb 80 minute shift. At the other end of the experience spectrum young prop Mark Donnelly acquitted himself well.

Shortly afterwards another long cut-out pass by Carty connected with Ralston again to score their second try of the night. There was a suspicion that the pass went forward but it stood. The conversion miss left it at 28-12. Zebo was called on to defend shortly afterwards to make a key tackle when Connacht made a break. Nankivell and Frisch combined to put Carbery away. Joey’s conversion made it 35-12 approaching the final ten minutes. A mistake on the Connacht throw in to the lineout saw Tom Ahern react quickest and race down the wing, bumping off the attempted tackle of Tom Farrell to score. Joey’s conversion was wide to leave it 40-12 with 6 minutes remaining. Munster had the last word, scoring through Shane Daly, converted by Joey at the death – 47-12.

On the downside were the injuries to Jack Crowley and Tom Ahern. Hopefully neither are long term as we look to secure home comforts for the playoffs. It would have been even better if Glasgow had not earned 2 bonus points in South Africa but we are on track to earn a home quarter-final and if other results go our way we could squeeze into the top 2 for a home semi-final also… it would be a nice change from doing it the hard way on the road and good for the club’s coffers also.

MUNSTER: Simon Zebo; Calvin Nash, Alex Nankivell, Seán O’Brien (Antoine Frisch, 47), Shane Daly; Jack Crowley (Joey Carbery, 60), Craig Casey (Conor Murray, 59); Jeremy Loughman (Mark Donnelly, 69), Niall Scannell (Eoghan Clarke, 64), Stephen Archer (Oli Jager, 51); RG Snyman (Tom Ahern, 57), Tadhg Beirne (capt); Peter O’Mahony, Alex Kendellen (Gavin Coombes, 46), Jack O’Donoghue.

CONNACHT: Tiernan O’Halloran (Cathal Forde, HT); Shane Jennings, Tom Farrell, Bundee Aki, Byron Ralston; Jack Carty (capt), Matthew Devine (Caolin Blade, 24); Peter Dooley (Jordan Duggan, 52), Dave Heffernan (Dylan Tierney-Martin,, 67), Finlay Bealham (Jack Aungier, 53); Joe Joyce, Oisín Dowling (Niall Murray, 61); Shamus Hurley-Langton, Conor Oliver (Sean Jansen, 52), Paul Boyle.

Match report from RTE.ie Congratulations to Alex on his player of the match recognition – not just for his try and his assists but also for his superb defensive shift.

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Giving it socks: Munster: 45 – Zebre Parma: 29

Posted by Gayl - WestTerraceView on March 3, 2024 in Season 23/24, URC

Club socks to the fore for Origins Round made for a colourful sight on another baltic night in Cork with a significant wind chill factor. Some players wore odd socks to reflect their ties to schools and clubs that were instrumental in developing their skills and love of the game. The conditions were also a factor in some handling errors as was the high pace of the game. With seven tries scored by the home side the supporters had plenty to cheer and clap to help keep warm.

Some of the handling was sublime, passing out of the tackle, offloading so slick it was only after watching several replays you can see what had happened, especially for the first try. That move started right in front of us when RG stole the Zebre lineout throw to put Munster on the front foot from inside their own half. A penalty conceded by the visitors when they played the scrumhalf was punished by an excellent kick from Tony Butler into the visitors 22. The lineout was secured by Tom and the maul formed before they went wide; an excellent carry by Mike Haley followed by the class offload by RG put Ruadhán Quinn in to score his first senior try for Munster.

I was delighted to see Mike Haley back after his hip surgery running so fluidly as he accelerated onto a pass after an initial break by Shane Daly who did well to pop up the ball to Craig as he was tackled. Mike took an excellent angle between the defenders, fending one off before diving to score the second try of the night after ten minutes. Tony converted to make it 12-0.

Zebre struck back, scoring and converting a try in the 19th minute – 12-7. Shortly after a Munster mistake when the ball did not go to hand enabled Zebre to attack again and the referee sinbinned Ruadhán for killing the ball by going off his feet. Zebre kicked the penalty to reduce the deficit to 12-10 after 22 minutes. Being down a man did not stop Munster attacking and RG again showed his skills with a sublime sleight of hand style offload behind his back after another strong carry. Alex Nankivell was close to scoring before play was stopped so he could be checked out as it was feared he had been injured in that play. He was deemed fit to continue and with his nosebleed stopped was straight into action in the scrum giving Ruadhán’s absence. Gavin broke from the back of the scrum; a series of pick and goes followed as Munster laid siege to the line before RG took possession and using his long arm to hold the ball out of reach he pirouetted before grounding the ball one handed – it was as if the ball were super-glued to his fingers… What a skilful player he is! You can see why the IRFU are happy to keep him in Ireland to benefit the up and coming forwards he has played with in Munster and will play with in Leinster. A generational talent for sure. Fingers crossed he will see out the rest of his time with Munster (& beyond) injury free after the run of injuries which he has had to rehab. Another perfect conversion by Tony made in 19-10 after 27 minutes.

The bonus point was secured in the 33rd minute while still down to 14 players, the sustained pressure eventually opened a gap when the ball went wide and Nankivell’s skipped pass put Sean O’Brien in to score to make it 26-10. Before the break Craig Casey tapped a quick penalty and set off for the line, weaving his way before his pass to Antoine who ran a great support line put him in to score behind the posts. Tony converted bringing the score to 33-10 at half-time when Munster played with the advantage of the wind.

Shane Daly thought he was in for the first score of the 2nd half in the 54th minute but the TMO review resulted in it being struck off as he had knocked on the ball as he juggled it.

A slick pass from Shane to Mike and back to Shane who had moved from his inside to his outside drew gasps of admiration from the crowd and shortly after Munster were almost through again only for the final pass to go out of play with both Shane and Tom ready to take advantage. Their loss was Ruadhán’s gain as he gathered the long throw-in from Zebre and ran in unopposed between two defenders to score his second of the night. Another successful conversion made it 40-10 as the clock turned 60 minutes.

However, instead of turning the screw and being ruthless as their coach has asked them to be the final quarter was a real purple patch for the visitors. Their second try was scored by Thomas, the son of Diego Dominguez, the famous Italian fly-half, after a great break down the wing by Simone Gesi. The pass had looked forward to me but there was no TMO intervention. The conversion went wide 40-15. A third try was sealed for the visitors after a spilled Munster ball was hacked downfield and the fullback Prisciantelli won the race to dive on the ball. The conversion was good and more importantly with 11 minutes remaining a losing 4 try bonus point was a real possibility. Hence when Munster’s grubber kick close to the Zebre line turned over possession the Italians went wide quickly and counter-attacked before winning a penalty deep in Munster’s half. They kicked to touch but somehow Munster came away with the ball and Ethan’s pop pass off the ground to Haley enabled Mike to counter attack. A few phases later Munster were back on the Zebre line but again lacked composure and before we knew it they were defending again as Zebre were back on the Munster line! Eventually with 5 minutes remaining the visitors got their bonus point try through Dylan de Leeuw. With the conversion it was 40-29 with four minutes remaining.

It was fast and furious, end to end action and there was time for a final score but would it be Munster’s or would Zebre get a second bonus point for their efforts? Their coach had set them the task to win the 2nd half and they delivered. However it was Munster who had the final say. Ruadhán dived on the loose ball. Brilliant hands from Ethan to Gavin, to Rory, Mike, Tony and Alex set up the break by Shane Daly to finish in the corner. There were moments of brilliance and there were mistakes but overall both teams gave it everything and provided another excellent night for the supporters who had braved the conditions.

Match report from the IrishTimes and RTE.ie

I like this version of the team sheet with the origins from the MunsterRugby match report:

Munster: Mike Haley (Preston Grasshoppers); Seán O’Brien (Mullingar RFC), Antoine Frisch (Paris Université Club), Alex Nankivell (Christchurch Boys High School), Shane Daly (Highfield RFC); Tony Butler (Ennis RFC), Craig Casey (Shannon RFC); Josh Wycherley (Bantry Bay RFC), Niall Scannell (PBC Cork), John Ryan (Muskerry RFC); Tom Ahern (Youghal RFC), RG Snyman (Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool); Ruadhán Quinn (Ballina-Killaloe RFC), Alex Kendellen (C) (PBC Cork), Gavin Coombes (Skibbereen RFC). Replacements: Eoghan Clarke (CBC Monkstown) for N Scannell (51), Jeremy Loughman (Athy RFC) for J Wycherley (51), Stephen Archer (Cork Constitution FC) for Ryan (51), Fineen Wycherley (Bantry Bay RFC) for Snyman (54), Ethan Coughlan (Ennis RFC) for Casey (54), Jack O’Sullivan (Sunday’s Well RFC) for Ahern (60) , Rory Scannell (PBC Cork) for Frisch (63), Ben O’Connor (Highfield RFC) for M Haley (79).

ZEBRE PARMA: Geronimo Prisciantelli, Scott Gregory, Luca Morisi, Damiano Mazza, Simone Gesi, Tiff Eden, Alessandro Fusco; Luca Rizzoli, Luca Bigi, Muhamed Hasa, David Sisi, Leonard Krumov, Giacomo Ferrari, Bautista Stavile, Giovanni Licata (Captain). Replacements: Giampietro Ribaldi, Samuele Taddei, Riccardo Genovese, Dylan de Leeuw, Davide Ruggeri, Thomas Dominguez, Jacopo Trulla, Josh Kaifa

At the end of Round 11 Munster have moved up to 6th place tied on points with Edinburgh and Ulster so points difference may well be a factor in deciding the final places. Looking at the table below Edinburgh are ranked higher due to having more wins while Munster have amassed 8 BPs to date. There is no room for error in the remaining rounds to have a shot at a home quarter final, especially the games against Edinburgh and Ulster as we look to overtake them but one step or game at a time, starting with Ospreys away before we return to Thomond on Easter weekend to play Cardiff.

It was great to be back on the terrace, it had been a long six weeks since the Northampton game. The 2 wins in the interim – Crusaders and Harlequins – had helped to build momentum and develop some of the younger players with the Internationals away with Ireland. The Under 20s are unbeaten also which bodes well for Munster with great performances by several from the Academy. Before the game Anne was telling us about the recent Q&A in Cork which she had attended with Ian Costello, Alex Nankivell and Antoine Frisch. We spoke of the Six Nations also and there was also a general consensus that the Italians had been robbed, they should have been allowed to take the penalty again, 10m closer due to the French infringement. By the time we meet at the end of the month in Thomond the defence of the senior and under 20s Grand Slams will be hopefully have been achieved while the Women’s team will be looking to continue to develop. I look forward to seeing young Stevie singing them on with his wonderful rendition of Ireland’s Call. What a national treasure!

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Pilou Pilou: RC Toulon: 18 – Munster: 29

Posted by Gayl - WestTerraceView on January 16, 2024 in European Champions Cup, Season 23/24

The Toulon battlecry prior to kickoff certainly gets the blood pumping and the supporters engaged but it was the warriors from Munster who were celebrating by the final whistle. After absorbing attack after attack before some brilliant counter punching or in many cases kicking they came away with a bonus point try scoring performance to again confound the pundits and bookies.

The stadium has a capacity of 17.5K. With both sets of supporters wearing red and waving red flags it was hard to judge the numbers but you could hear us singing in pockets around the stadium and when the game was over you got a better sense of size of the Munster support.  As Gerry Thornley noted in the Irish Times: Toulon, the three-time champions and reigning Challenge Cup holders, were desperate for a win, as locked and fully loaded as they could be and they had only been beaten in their Stade Felix Mayol fortress four times in 15 years. Make that 5!

Munster started playing into the sun which added a challenge for the opening half hour until the shadows lengthened.  This was a tactical decision by the hosts who had won the toss and choose the other side. While Toulon put their first three points on the board after a quarter hour I thought it wasn’t a lot to show for the number of opportunities they had, credit to the strong Munster defensive effort and counter rucking to force an turnover.  Each time they lifted the siege the cheers of the Red Army were as good as if they had scored. The first scrum was a Munster put in and held firm.  The first try conceded came from a loose Munster kick and the slippery surface was a real issue as three players lost their footing as they tried to tackle the elusive winger Jiuta Wainiqolo who offloaded to Duncan Paia’aua who scored their first try. Maybe the rain from earlier in the week had been heavy, the pitch cut up easily also throughout the game. Fullback Jaminet converted to make it 10-0 after 23 minutes. However, Munster were on the scoreboard themselves within 4 minutes.  Jack Crowley on his 24th birthday kicked a penalty to make it 10-3.  The noise levels rose as we urged the team on. Momentum remained with the men in red and Gavin made great ground to set up the first try for Alex Nankivell under the posts. Jack converted, 10-10. An excellent return from Munster’s first incursion to the hosts 22. 

Toulon kicked an easy penalty to restore their lead minutes later, 13-10 but Munster were quickly back on the attack and into the Toulon half. Playing with advantage a perfectly weighted chip over the defence was gathered by the onrushing Simon Zebo in full flight.  He still had to fend off a defender before touching down and lapping up the chants of “Zebo, Zebo..“

The match clock was across from us and a small red count down displayed tracking down the time available to convert which was very interesting for those in the stadium albeit built tension for one kick when it had dipped belong 10s remaining! In the below photo for converting Zebo’s try there are still 47s remaining as the ball clears the bar!

Toulon had an opportunity to add to their score just before half time when they won a penalty but they opted to kick to touch and the Munster defence again held firm.

The highlights video below does not show the controversial moment in the build up to the third Munster try so it is worth watching the clip in this tweet to see for yourself. The TMO and referees took a long hard look with lots of replays and different angles and despite the home town boos the on-field decision and try stood. The countdown clock had gone down to 22s before being stopped. It was reset to 90s but the conversion went wide – 13-22. 

A penalty for kicking the ball away to prevent Toulon taking it quickly gave the hosts a launchpad which led to their second try; finished by du Preez. The conversion went wide – 18-22 on 55 minutes.

Calvin Nash’s bonus point try was positively balletic as he soared into the air to claim Craig’s box kick, landed and accelerated away to score without missing a beat. A superb display of fielding, balance, pace and a bit of thievery. Jack converted to bring it to 18-29 with twenty minutes remaining.

Gavin almost scored, the TMO denied him as a double movement as Munster continued to attack, looking to keep the pressure on Toulon in their own half. Memories of the collapse against Exeter were fresh and attack is the best form of defence rather than trying to protect a lead.

It was wonderful to hear the chorus of Zombie breaking out organically in the second half as we attempted to sow seeds of doubt “in your head” of the Toulon players and to lift the spirits of our team. 

TOULON: Melvyn Jaminet; Jiuta Wainiqolo, Waisea Nayacalevu (Seta Tuicuvu, 60), Duncan Paia’aua, Leicester Fainga’anuku; Dan Biggar (Brian Alainu’uese, 60), Ben White (Jules Danglot, 64); Dany Priso, Christopher Tolofua (Bruce Devaux, 52), Kieran Brookes (Jack Singleton, 52); Mathhias Halagahu, David Ribbans (capt) (Jules Coulon, 35); Cornell Du Preez, Selevasio Tolofua (Jérémy Sinzelle, 60), Facundo Isa.

MUNSTER: Simon Zebo (Sean O’Brien 72); Calvin Nash, Antoine Frisch, Alex Nankivell (Joey Carbery, 70), Shane Daly; Jack Crowley, Craig Casey ( Conor Murray, 70); Jeremy Loughman (Josh Wycherley, 76), Niall Scannell (Eoghan Clarke, 76), John Ryan (Stephen Archer, 65); Tom Ahern, Tadhg Beirne (captain); Peter O’Mahony (Alex Kendellen, 63), John Hodnett, Gavin Coombes (Brian Gleeson, 76).

Photos are saved to my Facebook page as I need to delete older posts to free up space for photos in my newer blogs – see www.facebook.com/wtview. Match reports from RTE.ie and their blow by blow record also. Munster Rugby report

Reconnecting

The Red Army travelled in numbers to Toulon including a sizeable party from the west terrace crew. Santa was very good to some of us this year. My first Munster overseas trip since covid more than lived up to my hopes and expectations.  Meeting old friends not seen in years while boarding at Dublin airport or when wandering along the port sea front was a real treat. The sunshine a bonus as we enjoyed outdoor eating options during the day, soaking up the Vitamin D. Mind you the temperature was noticeably lower in the shade. Many travelled through Marseilles and Nice while others took more circuitous routes through London, Amsterdam and Paris to name a few. 

It was a real treat to come across the Toulon supporters club on the Friday night where a singsong was in full session, three glasses of wine and a soft drink cost just €7.50 and there was finger food provided for free to supporters from both sides. Thanks to Bab (not to be mistaken with Babs who had not travelled) who was busy serving everyone with delicious cuts of French baguettes with chunks of cheese and other snacks.  From there we went to the Pilou Pilou bar across the road from the stadium to meet up with our friends from the west terrace before the early start caught up with us.

On the Saturday morning down by the port Niallo and Ian Costello walked by as we chatted at a cafe while later we passed by Brian Gleeson and Ben O’Connor. In between a French journalist and cameraman was looking for a French speaking fan for a segment on the news and sat with us for a while recording a monologue as our school french was not up to scratch. Maybe he found someone to interview later.

We walked up to see one of the attractions near the train station, the gardens at Chauculet which were lovely. It felt so tropical amongst the palm trees, banana trees, cacti etc. En route we met Mick Galway who stopped to chat to Tony and posed for a photo. He was flying home that evening and heading to Croke Park the next day for the Club finals. Many of the west terrace crew met up on the waterfront and a lovely French lady took a group photo for us. People were very friendly with plenty of “bonne chance” and Allez les Rouges (et Noir) greetings being exchanged.

The Toulon team bus pulls up outside the stadium and their players make their way in to the grounds through their cheering supporters along the avenue of legends – a bit like the Hollywood stars, there are plaques embedded into the ground to honour their famous stars including Jonny Wilkinson. Super sleuth Sinead had discovered that the visiting team arrive on the upper level beside the Ibis hotel so we were there to form the guard of honour to cheer them into the stadium. 

The security checks were slow as everyone had to pass through the metal detectors after emptying their pockets. It was disappointing that Brian had to check his camera into the cloakroom as it was not allowed to take them into the stadium. Shout out to Anne for bringing her home baked shortbread all the way to Toulon to give us sustenance for the game!

There were microphones in the centre of the pitch and their singers came out during the warm up to sing their local song with beautiful harmonies before then singing Irelands Call and the Marseillaise. The locals must have thought we were very disrespectful not standing for our anthem but we were taken by surprise! The other surprise was in seeing three or was it four parachutes landing in the stadium while the players were in the changing room. One of them brought the match ball. See photos on https://www.facebook.com/wtview . Before kick-off comes the Pilou Pilou which really gets the crowd going as they answer the call. You can also see a performance of it from my blog of the 2014 semi-final Their band was seated to the left of the goals near us and were great but I think the Munster “choir” performed better.  

After the game the players again left through the upper level and got a great send-off as they boarded the bus to Toulon airport for their charter flight. Several of our group were on that flight. The rest of us enjoyed another singsong this time in Le Corsaire after getting dinner. 

Over breakfast the next morning I was chuffed to discover while chatting to Eileen and PJ at the next table that when she said she recognised me it was not just as a familiar face from the tv shots of supporters at our home games as when I mentioned I wrote a blog she knew my name. Fame at last! We had a great chat about the game, the weekend and our experiences at the Rugby World Cup last year. 

It was great to meet new people and to reconnect with others from previous trips and from MRSC Dublin days, pre Covid. It was different to socialise with folks from the west terrace as normally we stand and chat on the terrace rather than in restaurants and bars. A new dimension to our friendship and a great shared experience. Let’s see where the knock out stages will take Munster but they know and appreciate how well supported they are and we appreciate them for days like these. Bring it on!   

An interesting stat to back up our thoughts that Munster were very efficient converting territory to points.

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Bayonne debut in Europe: Munster: 17 – Bayonne: 17

Posted by Gayl - WestTerraceView on December 11, 2023 in European Champions Cup, Season 14/15, Season 23/24

We could hear them singing during the warm-up, laying down their marker in the terraces and stands, waving their blue and white flags, letting us know they had travelled in numbers to support their team as they made their debut in the European Cup. Their team responded, putting in a very physical and skilful performance in difficult conditions on a blustery showery December evening. Munster should still have prevailed. They created opportunities especially in the second half but failed to convert pressure into points. A lack of accuracy, of composure, of physicality… plenty to review as they prepare to return to Exeter next week. As Graham noted post match, it felt like a loss.

I don’t have time to watch the match back this week, maybe if we had won I would have been more motivated to find the time. Hopefully we will have some of the senior players available for next weekends game to strengthen the team or the European campaign will be short lived this season. It won’t get easier either in the URC with the visit of Leinster the following weekend before Munster travel to Galway for the first game of 2024. Plenty to work on but the team had a superb away form to end last season and we can only hope for a similar performance in Exeter.

One of the highlights of the evening was the half time presentation to two men who lit up the stadium on numerous occasions. It was lovely to have the opportunity to show our appreciation and to wish them well. It is a pity we have not been able to do it for others over the years.

It seemed fitting that the first try was scored by an up and coming Academy winger, Shay McCarthy on his European debut. With only 5 senior caps to his name to date it was a massive night for the young man and he took his try in style. With the injury to Sean O’Brien in the first half another bright young prospect Ben O’Connor made his second ever senior appearance and first in Europe while a third Academy player Tony Butler also got game time later in the second half. Tony had featured during the historic covid Wasps away game and has been building up his minutes this season with the injury to Joey Carbury.

Other highlights were Anne’s millionaires shortbread and the flame throwers pre game and at half time. I had dressed for the forecasted 10C temperatures but missed the small print – thanks to Storm Ellen and the wind chill factor it only felt like 2C! As I tweeted pre-game the flags were flying in opposite directions at times making it a challenging night for kickers. Munster played into the wind in the first half so I expected the 14-3 lead to be improved upon significantly with wind advantage in the second half. Even when Bayonne were first to score in the second half I thought we had plenty of time to kick on.. not expecting we would only improve our score by a further 3 points.

MUNSTER: C Nash; S McCarthy, A Nankivell, R Scannell (T Butler, 68) , S O’Brien (B O’Connor, 19- HIA); J Crowley, C Murray (C Casey, 51); J Loughman (J Wycherley, 60), S Buckley (E Clarke, 72), J Ryan (S Archer, 51); F Wycherley, T Beirne – captain; T Ahern, J Hodnett (J O’Donoghue, 73), G Coombes (A Kendellen, 55).

BAYONNE: C Tiberghien; B Pourailly, P Muscarditz (A Erbinartegaray, 29 – HIA), R Buliruarua (T Spring,58), R Baget; T Dohagary, M Machenaud (G Aprasidze, 72); M Perchaud (S Cormenier, 61), F Bosch (T Acquier, 68), T Tatafu (J Taqi, 44); D Marchois, K Mikautadze (A Iturria, 55); P Huguet, B Heguy, R Bruni (R Bordeau, 55).

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See the (lock / flanker) winger go! Munster: 40 – Glasgow: 29

Posted by Gayl - WestTerraceView on December 3, 2023 in Season 23/24, URC

Last week I was surprised to see Thomas Ahern named at #6 in the team but liked the lineout option he provided from the back row. This week it wasn’t such a surprise and I enjoyed seeing him in action as he put in a player of the match performance, scoring two tries and showing up on the wing more than once during the game. I recall reading how he had started his rugby in the back line until he stretched to his impressive 6’9″ (2.06M). When I checked the Munster Rugby site to confirm his height I was very surprised to see that he has made 30 senior appearances already. My surprise was more due to his injury last season which reduced his opportunity to be included; his potential has been obvious for some time as we watched him shine for the Ireland Under 20s.

It was a bitterly cold evening in Cork but dry and calm conditions for rugby. I had five layers on and was still unable to warm myself up in the second half as the cold settled into my bones. However it was worth the effort to enjoy the action up close. Glasgow brought their formidable maul to ensure it was not one sided and earned their losing bonus point, scoring 5 tries. If they had more success with their conversions they would have earned 2 bonus points. Munster’s maul defence will need to improve to ensure other teams do not exploit this also.

While Tom took the plaudits on the night Edwin continues to shine and will surely be fast tracked out of the academy. He scored his third try of the season after a long period of sustained pressure by Munster who kicked three penalties to touch in succession and their pressure eventually paid dividends, both with that try and with the high penalty count against Glasgow which led to the first of their yellow cards just 3 minutes later.

The try finished by Diarmuid Barron was breath-taking as Munster attacked from deep in their own half through Shane Daly, Antoine Frisch, Tom Ahern, Sean O’Brien and Alex Nankivell before Craig Casey passed to Barron. When you watch the replay you can see that Barron was involved as a decoy in Munster’s 22 at the start of the wave of attacks before scoring on the wing. Jack co verted to bring the score to 19-0 after just 16 minutes. Such pace, precision passing and composure under pressure… it was worth the entrance price alone!

While Glasgow hardly had any possession in the first quarter they were able to deploy their maul to score after 26 minutes. It went unconverted to bring the score to 19-5 Ten minutes later Munster restored their lead with another flowing move. Gavin Coombes charged through the defensive line before play went wide with Calvin Nash putting Ahern away to score in the corner, Crowley converted to make it 26-5.

Glasgow impressed on the resumption after half time, scoring their second try through their hooker to bring the score to 26-10 before new signing Alex Nankivell got onto the score sheet for his first try for Munster. Jack’s conversion made it 33-10.

A third maul brought Glasgow to 33-15 and they went on to grab a bonus point 4th try just 6 minutes later, reducing Munster’s lead to 11 points, 33-22. To add insult to injury that was a penalty try and Beirne was sent to the bin.

The hero from the URC Final John Hodnett driven over by Killer and Jager after a quick tap penalty helped Munster to extend their lead to 40-22 but it was Glasgow who struck next, at the death to finish up 40-29 scored by their replacement hooker Angus Fraser.

Oli Jager made his debut off the bench and showed his power in the scrum, in the 6th try drive and he also won a turnover penalty. Early days for the “huge human” as Graham referred to him but a positive start to his career at Munster.

There was plenty of controversy too – the tackle on Tom before he scored his first try when he was in the air and a late tackle on Craig after he had launched a box kick both seemed to be worthy of more attention from the TMO. Mind you Sean O’Brien got away with a clumsy backing into a Glasgow player in the air in the first half. He was penalised for a similar offence in the second half.

Some big selection calls to be made for the return to European Cup action next weekend in Limerick. Rowntree tends to back form over experience. Whatever team is selected we know they will do the jersey proud as will the supporters singing and cheering from the terraces and the stands as we welcome Bayonne to Thomond Park.

Munster: Shane Daly; Calvin Nash, Antoine Frisch, Alex Nankivell, Seán O’Brien; Jack Crowley, Craig Casey; Jeremy Loughman, Diarmuid Barron (capt), Stephen Archer; Edwin Edogbo, Tadhg Beirne; Tom Ahern, John Hodnett, Gavin Coombes. Replacements: Scott Buckley, Dave Kilcoyne, Oli Jager, Fineen Wycherley, Brian Gleeson, Conor Murray, Rory Scannell, Alex Kendellen.

Glasgow Warriors: Josh McKay; Kyle Rowe, Sione Tuipulotu, Stafford McDowall (capt), Ollie Smith; Duncan Weir, Sean Kennedy; Nathan McBeth, Johnny Matthews, Lucio Sordoni; Sintu Manjezi, Scott Cummings; Sione Vailanu, Rory Darge, Henco Venter. Replacements: Angus Fraser, Oli Kebble, Zander Fagerson, Greg Peterson, Max Williamson, Thomas Gordon, Ben Afshar, Tom Jordan.

So many publications now are behind paywalls so just including the RTE report https://www.rte.ie/sport/united-rugby-championship/2023/1201/1419673-ahern-stars-as-munster-see-off-glasgow-in-cork/

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Calvin Shines: Munster: 45 – Dragons: 14

Posted by Gayl - WestTerraceView on November 8, 2023 in Season 23/24, URC

A fast paced high scoring game to keep us warm on a chilly, blustery November evening in Cork. Young flyhalf Tony Butler made an early break before putting player of the match Calvin Nash in space. While that attack eventually broke down it was a good early statement of intent for the following 78 minutes! Unfortunately for the Dragons fullback Angus O’Brien who was injured in the defensive line his night came to an early close.

It took 14 minutes for the first try to be registered on the scoreboard but it was a beauty, a set move off the lineout secured by captain Jack but the break by Calvin and support line taken by Rory were superb. Tony nailed the conversion to make it 7-0. Watching it back I could appreciate Calvin’s pace more as he left Shane Daly treading water in his wake while Rory was there to support only because he had a head start!

Gavin Coombes was driven over by Alex Nankivell and Thomas Ahern to score the 2nd try just three minutes later. Shane Daly held the ball steady on the tee for the conversion from out wide but it drifted off target bringing the score to 12-0.

A photo I took from the east terrace as Gavin breaks from the back of the scrum

A break from half-way in the 21st minute by Calvin lit up the stadium and this time he did not need any support, diving over in the corner to make it 17-0. Another difficult conversion missed but on track to wrap up the bonus point in the first half we thought. Playing with wind advantage it was important to keep the score board ticking over.

Dragons were missing a lot of players through injury and call-ups to Wales who played the Barbarians that weekend but they managed to put together some good phases and hold onto possession. An accurate cross field kick led to their first half try for Woodman their flanker to score in the 35th minute. The conversion brought it to 17-7.

A superb break by John Ryan got everyone excited early in the second half. The ball went wide to new signing Sean O’Brien who looked impressive on his debut on the wing. A knock-on gave Munster a scrum before an excellent carry by Edwin put them into a great position. Munster retained possession through the phases before Thomas dived over the line from short distance to secure the bonus point.

There were some handling issues but also some breath-taking offloads including one by Shane under pressure in the tackle to put Calvin in space and another by Sean at full pace offloading to Alex Nankivell out of the tackle over his shoulder. Unfortunately the defence forced Alex into touch but Munster kept putting on the pressure and it led to probably the pick of the tries on the night, Thomas to Edwin with the flick onto Shane who selflessly passed to Craig who raced in behind the posts. Tony converted to bring it to 29-7 after 54 minutes.

Paddy replaced Craig, Brian Gleeson came on for Edwin with Gavin moving to the second row. Jack made a great break and shortly afterwards we thought that Sean was in for his debut score but he could not keep the side of his boot out of touch. However the resulting Dragons lineout was overthrown and Scott Buckley charged forward. After a series of pick and goes it was Brian who eventually got the 6th try. An impressive start to the season for the Under 20s player from my own home town club of Thurles RFC. The conversion brought the score to 38-7.

The 7th try arose from an excellent chase of Jack’s grubber kick by Calvin who was injured in the process of scoring. Jack converted to make it 45-7 in the 74th minute but the Dragons finished with a score at the death, a penalty try to bring the final score to 45-14.

MUNSTER: Shane Daly (Ben O’Connor, 64); Seán O’Brien, Alex Nankivell, Rory Scannell, Calvin Nash; Tony Butler (Jack Crowley, 66), Craig Casey (Paddy Patterson, 55); Kieran Ryan (Mark Donnelly, 71), Diarmuid Barron (Scott Buckley, 64), John Ryan (Stephen Archer, 71); Edwin Edogbo (Brian Gleeson, 55), Tom Ahern; Jack O’Donoghue (capt) (Ruadhán Quinn, 70), Alex Kendellen, Gavin Coombes.

DRAGONS: Angus O’Brien (Dane Blacker, 3); Corey Baldwin (Ewan Rosser, 53), Steff Hughes (capt), Jack Dixon (Aneurin Owen, 66), Ashton Hewitt; Will Reed, Rhodri Williams; Rhodri Jones (Aki Seiuli, 66), Bradley Roberts (Brodie Coghlan, 66), Luke Yendle (Nathan Evans, 64); Joe Davies, George Nott (Barney Langton-Cryer, 64); Ryan Woodman, James Benjamin (George Young, 71), Taine Basham.

A Saturday evening game in Cork was much more accessible than a Friday night game. With the removal of the Dunkettle roundabout the journey would have been easier too except there was a long tailback to the ring road exit, not helped by a soccer game in Turners Cross at the same time. We were still on the terrace in plenty of time. It was strange to see the Dragons and then Munster out on the pitch while Stand Up and Fight was being sung, there must have been a mix-up on the time, the whistle to start the game blew just as the song finished.

There were several excellent Movember ‘taches on display, Craig was possibly the pick of the bunch. The younger players have been excellent the past few home games especially in the second row and back row. Calvin was in flying form, topping the stats across all games for Round 3 on both defenders beaten and metres made while making a huge impact on this game with 2 tries and the try assist for Rory. He popped up all over the pitch, not just on his own wing as did the other back three players. Hopefully his injury is not serious as Munster will need to be at their best for the tough trip to Ravenhill. Some more of the internationals may be available for that round to give the selectors a strong hand from which to pick. The league table is certainly looking much better than at this stage last year with Munster in second place a point behind Connacht but the next few weeks will certainly test the squad.

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Scrumcap confusion: Munster: 34 – Sharks: 21

Posted by Gayl - WestTerraceView on October 25, 2023 in URC

With 6 of the forwards and Rory Scannell sporting headgear it was more difficult to keep track of who was who at times during the game but it was great to get back to Thomond and to enjoy a positive start to the new season. With the internationals away there was an opportunity for some younger players to stake a claim and none were found wanting. Andrew Conway’s return for his 150th cap was as good as a new signing and he adapted seamlessly to the new playing style. Also returning was John Ryan after his stint in New Zealand and I am sure he picked up some new tricks down under. New signing Alex Nankivell also made his appearance off the bench and picked up his first try assist with a superb long pass out to Conway on the wing as he scored his 50th try for Munster. The delight of his team mates as they celebrated with him was fantastic. They understand the efforts he put in to get himself back onto the pitch and to play the full 80 minutes on his return was a testament to him and the S&C team.

A minutes silence was observed for the victims in Israel and Palestine.

Shane Daly showed his pace to snuff out a very promising attack by the visitors in the opening minutes while in the 13th minute Munster defended a peel off the lineout when Carbery and Barron combined well. In between Shane Daly claimed a tricky highball and made a great break but it was the visitors who dominated possession 60/40 albeit they had nothing to show for their efforts. However, approaching the 20 minutes mark Munster enjoyed phase after phase of possession before Edwin Edogbo stretched over the line despite being surrounded by Sharks defenders to score the opening try of the league campaign.

The second try was another great example of keeping the ball alive as Munster attacked in wave after wave before Joey’s half-break and offload to Kendellan running the perfect support line. As Alex took the tackle he released Diarmuid Barron who raced clear to score the second try. Joey added the conversion to make it 14-0.

An impressive break by Curzon in the 37th minute resulted in a try for winger Werner Kok but Munster responded in style before the break. Sometimes you make your own luck and Antoine Frisch’s kick ahead and excellent chase by him and Joey sowed confusion in the defence allowing Antoine to touch down. The TMO reviewed and agreed that he had scored. Three visits to the 22 and three tries to show for their efforts was a great conversion rate!

Munster scored first in the second half, adding a penalty to their tally before an error gave the visitors a foothold. It started with a blocked kick and a kick ahead. Shane Daly let the ball go out of play, presumably not realising it was a 50/22 and the throw in would be to the Sharks. When they took it quickly the defensive line had not had time to set and they charged over the line. The successful conversion made it 21-14 after 49 minutes. It took a great turnover by Barron to stop them scoring again five minutes later as the visitors enjoyed their purple patch.

Edwin got a great reception as he was replaced by another home grown talent Thomas Ahern. A clever kick through by Conway, chased hard enabled him to put the visitors on the backfoot as he made his tackle, with Antoine followed up on the next receiver while Rory tackled the third man to carry, forcing them to kick for touch to regroup. While Munster did not score from that lineout or the subsequent penalty they were playing in the right part of the pitch as “new” signings John Ryan and Alex Nankivell made their appearances. A high tackle on Shane Daly saw their scrumhalf shown a yellow card.

From the lineout a wide pass found Conway in space on the wing and his inside pass to Shay saw the youngster almost get to the line but crucially Munster held onto possession. The forwards had a couple of charges for the line before the backs took it on and an excellent long pass from Nankivell found Conway on the opposite wing to where he had started for him to score the bonus point. The beaming faces said it all about his delight and that of his team mates at his return to action, scoring his 50th try on his 150th appearance.

Neil Cronin made a tryline tackle to keep the visitors out before another replacement Fionn Gibbons was injured when 2 Sharks players collided going for the same ball. It was Werner Kok who fell backwards hitting Fionn and ending his evening prematurely. Ethan returned to action and took up position on the wing to replace him. Moments later a double tackle by the locks turned over possession, John Ryan got the pass to Kendellan who set Frisch free. He took out two defenders as he offloaded to Coughlan who scampered over to score. There was less than a minute left on the clock but Munster failed to win back possession and in the 81st minute after battering away through phase after phase a simple kick over the top paid dividends for the visitors. The conversion brought proceedings to a close. An imperfect performance but a lot of encouraging signs of improved skill sets letting them keep the ball alive comfortably for long periods.

Munster: S Daly; A Conway, A Frisch, R Scannell (A Nankivell 62), S McCarthy (F Gibbons 68, Coughlan 77); J Carbery, E Coughlan (N Cronin 70); J Wycherley (K Ryan 71), D Barron (S Buckley 68), S Archer (J Ryan 62); E Edogbo (T Ahern 55), F Wycherley; J O’Donoghue (c), A Kendellen, G Coombes (B Gleeson 70).

Sharks: B Chamberlain (A Fassi 62); W Kok, M Koster (R Janse van Rensburg 40), F Venter (c), M Potgieter; C Bosch, C Wright (Z Mkhabela 74); N Mchunu (D Bleuler 70), K van Vuuren (D Jooste 70), C Oosthuizen (H Jacobs 55); E van Heerden, R Hugo; J Venter, P Buthelezi, G Cronje (S Notshe 62).

Match reports from Munster Rugby, Irish Times and RTE.ie – with The42.ie and Irish Examiner now behind a paywall these links will not work for all: Examiner Post match thoughts from Graham (Examiner2) and if you do have The42.ie this pre-season interview with Graham reflecting on last season is well worth reading.

I was impressed by Wernen Kok, their winger who showed his concern after Fionn was injured as Werner clashed with his own player. Again at the end he came over to greet some Sharks supporters before shaking hands with the team of ball boys. He also put in a handy shift as scrumhalf when their #9 was in the sinbin.

Normal service has been resumed, Joan caught the cameraman’s eye again, Anne treated us to her home-baked biscuits and this week we were treated to an appearance by Simon Zebo and Liam Coombes pre-game on the terrace. It was great to catch up with so many of the crew and a bonus to have a dry day for travelling down. The second big screen was missed, hopefully it will be back for the future games. See ye in Cork for the next home game. I have run out of space for my photos so you can check them out on my blog facebook page instead -I like this one as you can see Jack, Alex and Thomas ready to drive the maul.

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Brave, Battle Hardened Champions! Stormers: 14 – Munster: 19

Posted by Gayl - WestTerraceView on May 30, 2023 in Season 22/23, URC

After twelve long seasons of highs and lows Munster finally won silverware, doing it the hard way, on the road since March 25th, taking records along the way, in Cape Town, Glasgow and in the Aviva. Over the years we thought there were omens that success was nigh but time and again we left knockout games at Scotstoun, Montpellier, Marseilles, Coventry, Ravenhill, the Aviva or RDS disappointed. You don’t always get what you think you deserve in life or in sport. The below quote came to mind as I reflected on the recent performances, on the self-belief in the team and their bravery in going for the lineout over kicking their penalties, in trusting in each other and in their tactics and playing with a tempo and accuracy that at times is sheer breath-taking. I tweeted to carpe diem on Saturday and the players took the game by the scruff of the neck and did just that.

“There is no fate but what we make for ourselves”

Terminator 2

After our last home game on March 25th I had no expectation of silverware. We were all so disappointed with that performance and were writing off the season; saying it was too much to expect “instant” success given the rebuilding exercise was still a work in progress. We felt that we had to content ourselves with another year of transition and enjoy the green shoots and hope that there would be a harvest. The round of 16 heavy defeat just reinforced that idea but the following weeks renewed our optimism and strengthened our belief. Our team is special and the bond we have with them is tight.

As I wrote in the semi final blog there has been a real South African theme to the season, from the disruption of the Emerging Ireland tour (albeit it did benefit the younger players who did well there) to the historic game in Pairc Ui Chaoimh and then claiming 7 points there from the final two rounds of the season. Those points and the belief they instilled fuelled the marvellous knockout run all the way back to Cape Town.

Carpe Diem – easy words to type but harder to deliver yet Munster did just that. The fact that they should have won by more both in the semi final and final shows that this team is not yet the finished article. I have every confidence that they can build on this to win more silverware in the seasons ahead, given the age profile of the team, the talent coming through who played their part throughout the season and the depth of the bench / squad. The coaching ticket which Graham assembled has achieved so much this season. The style of play, the fitness and tactics, the belief and buy in from the team all provide a solid foundation for the coming years.

Watching the game unfold on TV was nerve wracking. Positive start with good gains made by John Hodnett and Diarmuid Barron was undone conceding an early try through a mistake but Munster responded quickly to reduce the deficit to two points 7-5 when they mauled over the line. A penalty was kicked to a sublime touch by Jack in the build-up, eeking out every inch for the team. Opportunities went abegging, a few lineout mauls were penalised for a player being in front of the ball carrier, Gavin was over but the TMO adjudged it to be a double movement rather than placing the ball (Graham did not agree with that call) while Mike Haley was denied glory by a forward pass. The second try when it came was another perfectly weighted kick, this time the intended target was Calvin Nash who raced in to score behind the posts.

That brought the score to 7-12 with the hosts down a man as their #8 was in the sinbin for being offside after a superb break by Jack Crowley. Peter had to go off for a HIA and what an impact sub we had to come on in his place as RG Snyman joined the fray. Munster had to sustain a lot of pressure leading up to the break as the Stormers went in search of a second score but the defence was resolute.

After the break the Stormers missed a penalty kick before they regained the lead after Mike Haley was sinbinned. Munster turned down a kickable penalty to look for more only to be foiled and I wondered if they would regret their decision. However as they did in the Aviva they saved their best for last, a wonderful piece of continuity rugby, backs and forwards combining to keep the attack flowing until John Hodnett scored. Jack’s conversion provided a five point cushion and set up a nail-biting finale as Stormers threw the kitchen sink at Munster.

As the clock slowly ticked down the Stormers threw everything at them and made territory gains. Jack was sinbinned enabling them to get deeper into the Munster half but as at the end of the first half the visitors defended their line successfully. Stand-in Captain and world-class champion Tadhg Beirne winning the final turnover to seal victory. This clip shows how hard the team worked to win back the ball in the dying seconds of the game. Battle-hardened Champions!

The joy, the excitement, the ecstasy, the emotional overload by players, management and supporters as tears flowed before the champagne was uncorked… I was beaming from ear to ear myself, soaking it all in. In the aftermath social media was full of clips and interviews and an outpouring of emotion. Watching Peter and Keith embrace, the duracell bunny Craig bouncing around the place, the reaction in the coaching box, supporters in the stadium sharing hugs and shedding the odd tear… This is why we are supporters, to be part of the collective experience. We share the highs and lows, block out the negativity from certain parts of the media and keep going – as I wrote after the Glasgow game when we thought that the season would peter out from there: Season ticket renewed, we will go again next September. Hopefully we will find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. In the meantime Easter greetings to my readers. Let’s keep the faith and believe in our club, coaches and players. See you next season to SUAF!!. “Munster by the grace of God”

STORMERS: Damian Willemse; Angelo Davids, Ruhan Nel, Dan du Plessis, Leolin Zas; Manie Libbok, Herschel Jantjies; Steven Kitshoff (capt), Joseph Dweba, Frans Malherbe; Ruben van Heerden, Marvin Orie; Deon Fourie, Hacjivah Dayimani, Evan Roos. Replacements: JJ Kotze, Ali Vermaak, Neethling Fouche, Ben-Jason Dixon, Willie Engelbrecht, Marcel Theunissen, Paul de Wet, Clayton Blommetjies.

MUNSTER: Mike Haley; Calvin Nash, Antoine Frisch, Malakai Fekitoa, Shane Daly; Jack Crowley, Conor Murray; Jeremy Loughman, Diarmuid Barron, Stephen Archer; Jean Kleyn, Tadhg Beirne; Peter O’Mahony (capt), John Hodnett, Gavin Coombes. Replacements: Niall Scannell, Josh Wycherley, Roman Salanoa, RG Snyman, Alex Kendellen, Craig Casey, Ben Healy, Keith Earls.

Match Reports from the Irish Times, The42.ie and Irish Examiner, plus analysis of the third try from Murray Kinsella in The42.ie and from RTE.ie/Rugby which provides the fascinating insight that there were 33 touches in the build-up, including 12 breakdowns, during which 14 of the 15 players on the field played the ball. I enjoyed reading this report by Brendan Nel also from Supersport. From the South African commentary in the video highlights I learned from it that I have been mispronouncing RG for the past 3 seasons!

There were plenty of candidates for Player of the Match. I thought Malakai was fantastic again, Jack and Conor’s kicking and passing games were immense, the back three were superb and the pack was class. The impact of the bench was so significant also, just watch their contribution in the build-up to the third try. Credit also to the squad who helped to prepare them by running plays as the opposition and by pushing standards up in the competition for places. Congratulations to the official POTM. Peter’s reaction in the clip below made me laugh every time I replayed it.

Home Coming

I had promised myself that if they brought back the Cup I would get down for the homecoming, a consolation prize for not getting to Cape Town so when the free tickets were announced on Sunday I was delighted. We were there after five, long before the gate opened and it was great to meet up with our friends. Signing off my March blog with “see you next season” turned out to have been premature but what a delight it was to bask in the sunshine albeit on the unfamiliar East Terrace and enjoy the celebrations as Jack O’Donoghue, who had often taken the role of captain during the league campaign emerged with the URC Cup followed by his team mates and the staff. Many of them were accompanied by their families who had hardly had a chance to catch up as the squad had only arrived back into Limerick at 10am that morning.

There was singing, chanting, dancing, speeches – with Barry Murphy as MC – selfies and autographs. It is a pity that the sun was right behind them for the interview part of the night making photography challenging but there are plenty of professional shots in the links below, especially from the Limerick Leader. Credit to the players who kept going, meeting, greeting and engaging with the supporters for over 2 hours. I enjoyed this interview with Calvin who deserves his inclusion in the World Cup squad.

There were plenty still in the grounds when I left after 8 to head back to Kildare. I was delighted to meet Paul on the way back to my car, reminiscing about how we first met on the small Aer Arann plane heading to the league semi-final in Scotstoun in 2014 which brought Rob Penney’s stint as coach to a close.

Report of the homecoming from MSN and the Irish Examiner with plenty of great photos in this article from the Limerick Leader.

Thanks to Darrin for taking the below photo when Tadhg came by. I have some more photos on my blog facebook page

Tadhg Beirne with the supporters

Spot the west terrace crew giving it socks during Zombie in the VMSport video collage below! A fabulous souvenir of the celebrations of a season of change, growth, bonding, belief and bravery and ultimately of success. #SUAF

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Proving their mettle: Leinster: 15 – Munster: 16 (URC Semi-Final)

Posted by Gayl - WestTerraceView on May 17, 2023 in Season 22/23, URC

Too many times we have travelled to the Aviva / RDS in hope and expectation only to leave disappointed. The only recent win was in the Rainbow Cup during covid restrictions so we could not attend. This Munster team however have shown on the road in recent games that they have what it takes, physically and mentally. The belief in the squad is so immense that disruptions including the loss of four starters to HIAs in the quarter final did not shake them. Their fitness has been taken to a new level as have their ball handling skills as the new coaching team have implemented their game plan and the players have responded.

It was a physical, bruising encounter with the medics on both sides conducting running repairs throughout the game. Donn O’Sullivan on Limericks Live95 commentary with Barry Murphy noted that the first half took 55 minutes to play. Their highlights reel captures the emotion and noise levels from the Aviva very well and is worth checking out here. The many stoppages were probably a silver lining for the players to get a breather given the high ball in play time of over 44 minutes. By the last quarter you could see the impact of the pace and physicality on the players yet they managed to make one last stand, turning over possession near their own try line and rapidly transitioning from defence to attack. Some of the interplay in the closing minutes are absolutely breath-taking and a credit to the way the team are training at pace and intensity. The drop goal is another iconic moment to add to those of ROG, Paul Warrick and Ian Keatley. Murray Kinsella’s analysis of that is excellent on The42.ie if you have a subscription.

Also worth checking out the analysis thread by Overthehillprop who highlights how it was the younger players driving Munster forward in those key phases.

Keith Earls was outrageously physical in defence and you could see how much it meant to him after the game given his recent injury problems and lack of game time this season.

The turnovers won, the tackles made, the linebreaks and offloads and the sheer pace of attack were awesome. Battered and bloodied they kept backing themselves, turning down multiple opportunities for three point penalties in favour of looking for the try. I hoped those decisions would not come back to bite them and so it proved.

The sheer jubilation when the drop goal sailed over the bar, the control in the final minutes to see out the game, the players celebrating with family, friends and supporters, soaking up the atmosphere, the singing in the stairwells and outside the Aviva as supporters made their way home, the smiles on faces, what a wonderful feeling! We know that this was not the full strength Leinster team but we should have won by more. Munster created the opportunities to do so but lacked the clinical finishing which will come as the team build on what they have achieved this season which given the shaky start has more than surpassed expectations. Well done to all and especially Graham who has assembled a great coaching ticket and driven the belief in the squad.

LEINSTER: Jimmy O’Brien; Tommy O’Brien, Robbie Henshaw, Charlie Ngatai, Dave Kearney; Harry Byrne, Luke McGrath (capt); Michael Milne, Rónan Kelleher, Michael Ala’alatoa; Ryan Baird, Jason Jenkins; Max Deegan, Will Connors, Jack Conan.

Replacements: Josh van der Flier for Connors (2 mins), Ciarán Frawley for J O’Brien (h-t), Cian Healy for Milne (48), Joe McCarthy for Jenkins (61), John McKee for Kelleher (65), Nick McCarthy for McGrath (68), Thomas Clarkson for Ala’alatoa (71), Liam Turner for Ngatai (79).

MUNSTER: Mike Haley; Keith Earls, Antoine Frisch, Jack Crowley, Shane Daly; Ben Healy, Craig Casey; Jeremy Loughman, Diarmuid Barron, Stephen Archer; Jean Kleyn, Tadhg Beirne; Peter O’Mahony (capt), John Hodnett, Gavin Coombes.

Replacements: Rory Scannell for Healy (32 mins), Fineen Wycherley for Kleyn (46), Niall Scannell for Barron, Josh Wycherley for Loughman, Roman Salanoa for Archer, Jack O’Donoghue for O’Mahony (all 52), Alex Kendellen for Beirne (71)

https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/2023/05/15/munsters-match-winning-drive-a-microcosm-of-their-progress-as-epic-encounter-gets-fitting-end/

https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/2023/05/15/old-man-earlsy-relishes-notable-victory-over-provincial-rivals-leinster/

https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/rugby/arid-41138896.html

https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/rugby/arid-41138515.html

There are so many excellent articles and images to share including this one from 2022 when Jack made his international debut. He was awarded the Player of the Match but there were 23 heroes plus the larger squad, management and support staff who made it happen. This team have been building all season with some hiccups on the way. It was an incomplete imperfect performance with dropped passes and errors but those hint at what heights we can hope to achieve next season. As Peter and Graham said post game this cannot be our final. They have one more stand to make this season and will hopefully get the result and bring home the silverware from Cape Town. While the travel is challenging for teams and supporters the addition of the South African sides has added to the competition.

We were there…. I was moving house at the weekend and after so many disappointments in the Aviva and RDS (Toulouse, Saracens, Scarlets as well as Leinster) I considered just watching the game on tv. However I also had a feeling that this could be our opportunity when the team announcement unexpectedly included Peter and Diarmuid along with the Lazarus-like return of Keith Earls. Hence I decided on Friday evening to buy tickets and show my support one more time in Dublin. The upper tiers were left closed which I believe helped the travelling supporters to take a good percentage of the tickets and make themselves heard throughout the game. Our tickets were 6 rows back behind the goals on the Lansdowne Road end. Thankfully there wasn’t a constant in and out to the bar or toilets in our section but the pair in front only stayed for the first half. That gave us a better view and there was plenty of action in the 22 to enjoy.

After Beirne’s try I saw I had a message from Thurles which read “looking good” and I assumed that Noelle was referring to the scoreline before I realised that she had sent me a screen shot of us celebrating the score from TV. More messages came in from Imelda in Limerick, Olive in Bristol, Anne in Cork while later on Twitter I heard that I had been spotted from Hilary in Luxembourg and Rob in Sale. I was also delighted to hear from Gareth the son of Eilis, a great friend from my Meals on Wheels route whom I wrote about in 2014. Both Eilis and her brother Dermot were huge sports fans and we had many the great chat on a Friday when I delivered their dinner. Gareth recalled how they had gotten a great kick out of being mentioned in my blog. May they rest in peace and enjoy watching their choice of sports from above.

Cape Town beckoned and while my heart would love to be there in person to cheer on the team the ~17 hour journey each way was the main deterrent. The West Terrace crew will be well represented by Kevin and Joan, Mark and Paul that I know of and maybe a few more familiar faces will appear on screen to celebrate when Munster score. The challenge is tough but the team are battle hardened. Recent results have only strengthened their belief while the defence is unrecognisable from that which capitulated from the second half against Scarlets through the first half against Glasgow. As the historic game against South Africa had seemed to turnaround the disappointing start to the season, so too it was the games in South African which kickstarted this recent run of form and so there would be a poetic justice were Munster to finally lift a Cup on African soil. Maybe some credit is due also to the Emerging Ireland tour there at the start of the season which did not help Munster in their early league games due to the absence of so many players but did appear to give great exposure and confidence to the Munster contingent including Jack, Diarmuid and Calvin who have gone from strength to strength this season. There are no guarantees of fairy tale endings but the hopes, prayers and cheers of a province will lift the team up and carry them on to glory, glory Munster… (if you did not catch the giftgrub celebrating the semi-final victory you can listen to it here)

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Easter Greetings

Posted by Gayl - WestTerraceView on April 9, 2023 in Season 14/15

At the final whistle in Thomond Park on March 25th all we could do was turn to each other and say “see you next season” The disappointing loss meant that the potential home last 8 game in the league had disappeared as we could not get into the Top 4. Indeed with two tough rounds to come in South Africa there is still a risk of missing out on the top European competition next season. https://www.unitedrugby.com/match-centre/table/2022-23

While a lot of the damage this season was done in the opening rounds Munster had been on such a positive run of form from the historic South Africa game until the second half against the Scarlets when they were desperately holding on for the win. The performance in the Glasgow game seemed to pick up where the Scarlets game had left off. The porous defence was very disappointing. The losses since the South Africa A game had arisen from very close games against Leinster and Toulouse so those were some respectability in those defeats given the calibre of the opposition.

There were some positives. Calvin Nash and John Hodnett stood out and RG Snyman continued his return to action. Munster finished strongly, pushing hard to get the second bonus point but conceding the try in the second half put the win out of reach.

The game in the round of 16 showed similar frailties in defence especially in the third quarter. Even in the first half we were being overpowered but did well to hang in with two tries apiece. Heat and humidity had an impact on their ability to keep in touch with their hosts but even if they had eeked out a victory there, Toulouse would have brought the European campaign to an end over the Easter weekend.

The game plan has evolved a lot in a couple of months but it will take longer to bed in and bring through some additional players. In the meantime a core group of younger players are gaining valuable experience. They will form the backbone of this team as several of our senior players approach the end of their careers. In the remaining games this season hopefully we will see an improvement in defensive alignment so that we finish strongly. We want to ensure that no team will be delighted to draw Munster in the last 8 playoffs. An away win to make the semifinal would be a decent result for this season and something to build on.

Before the game Anne provided seasonal treats, cute Easter chicks icing on her home made shortbread. We sent a photo to Tony and Imelda on their holiday to let them know what they were missing out on.

Later Jeremy and Eoin dropped by to say hello. Patrick and Eilis managed to join us also while Paul McC showed his athleticism as he hoisted himself up and over the wall into our section after completing his MRSC duties on the pitch to take his usual position.

Season ticket renewed, we will go again next September. Hopefully we will find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. In the meantime Easter greetings to my readers. Let’s keep the faith and believe in our club, coaches and players. See you next season to SUAF!!

BKT URC dedicated round 16 as a Unity round, promoting inclusivity in sport.
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