Munster Destroy Viadana in Musgrave

Munster outclassed Italian side Viadana by beating them 64-0 in crisp conditions down in Musgrave Park.

Munster outclassed Italian side Viadana by beating them 64-0 in crisp conditions down in Musgrave Park. The odds were heavily in Munster’s favour even before a ball was kicxked and the main objective of this game was obviously to win, but also to score as many tries as possible to get Munster closer to pool leaders Gloucester.

Munster certainly acheived what they set out to do, and ran in no less than 9 tries over the uninspiring Viadana.

Viadana never really got into the game, as Munster ran in try after try, beginning with a charge over the line by Anthony Foley only four minutes into the game. Their second came from a classic move from a ruck in the middle of the park, when a string of passes saw Anthony Horgan run over the line.

Viadana then lost their captain for disagreeing with the referee, and this gave Munster even more of an edge over the Italians, Munster ran in another two tries before the break from Frankie Sheahan and Paul O’Connell, who has obviously recovered fully from the injury that plagued him since the Irish tour to New Zealand. At the end of the day, O’Connell received man of the match for the massive effort he put in throughout the game.

The second half seemed to bring some life into the Viadana side, but unfortunately it did not last long and from then on it was more of the same from Gaffney’s men, five more tries to be exact. The first came when Munster were awarded a penalty try as two Viadana players came into a rolling maul from an offside position. Then, Ronan O’Gara scored a rare try for the Munstermen, before another from Foley.

Minutes later, Jason Holland went over following a great move and pass from Mike Mullins. Good pack work saw Mike Prendergast make the last try of the evening, and with O’Gara converting eight of the nine, and kicking one penalty. Munster racked up serious points against a side that couldn’t compete at that level.

Munster had several Man-of -the-Match performances, with Paul O’Connell playing fantastically well in his first big test since his shoulder operation. However, the unsung hero tonight was Alan Quinlan who defended very well when it was required, and created many of the try scoring opportunities. It was unfortunate he didn’t go over himself. Not to worry, he’ll have plenty more chances when Munster travel to Italy next weekend for the away tie. If Viadana are as undisciplined next weekend, Gaffney’s men should easily rack up another 50 odd points.

Scorers:

Munster

Tries: Anthony Foley (2), Anthony Horgan, Frankie Sheehan, Paul O’Connell, Pen try, Ronan O’Gara, Jason Holland, Mike Prendergast. Conv: R O’Gara (8). Pen: RO’G.

Teams:

Munster

Jeremy Staunton; Anthony Horgan, Mike Mullins, Jason Holland, Mossie Lawlor; Ronan O’Gara, Peter Stringer; Marcus Horan, Frank Sheahan, John Hayes; Paul O’Connell, Donncha O’Callaghan; Jim Willliams capt, Alan Quinlan, Anthony Foley.

Viadana

C Steyn, M Dolcetto, G Frasca, H Crane, R Pedrazzi, R Pickering, P Roux, A Persico, D Farani, M Phillips, F Gumiero, R Denhardt, L Bocchini, E De Bellis, M Savi.