Munster Take The Points And The Plaudits

Leading by just 12 points at half time and facing into a strengthening wind in the second half, Munster produced a superbly controlled performance to run out 17-0 winners at Musgrave Park

On a night when John Kelly made his 154th and final appearance in a Munster jersey, his colleagues gave him the perfect send off, adding a try to the twelve first half points kicked by Warwick.

The 12 points they led by at half time didn’t really look to be enough given the quality of the Connacht play in the opening half.

However as they had done in the the recent victories over Llanelli Scarlets, Munster gave a master class in controlled rugby in the second half. They rarely allowed Connacht get their hands on the ball in the third quarter and sealed the outcome with a Denis Leamy try in the 67th minute, a score that awed much to the initial work from Warwick and Tony Buckley.

Connacht to their great credit never gave up and laid siege to the Munster line in the closing stages only to be met by the sort of gogged dwefence they themselves had conjured up in the first half to deny the eventual winners.

The one blot on what was a nostalgic evenuing was the knee injury suffered by Ian Dowling who was stretchered off in the 73rd minute.

Munster management remained tight lipped afterwards with regard to the seriousness of the injury, preferring to wait till medical examination revelas the extent of the damage.