Heineken Cup Round 5 Round-Up

Munster secured a quarter-final by beating Castres on Saturday. (c) Ivan O'Riordan.

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Ulster 41-7 Leicester

Friday 13th January @ Ravenhill

Ulster were irrepressible as they ripped the Tigers to shreds in front of an overjoyed crowd at Ravenhill. Tries from Craig Gilroy, Andrew Trimble (2) and Paul Marshall as well as 21 points from the boot of Ruan Pienaar did the damage for Brian McLaughlin’s team. Ulster completely dominated the Tigers, who had hopes of a push for the quarter-finals coming into this game. Ulster remain top of Pool 4 but now have the unenviable task of a trip to Clermont on Saturday.

Clermont showed good form themselves over the weekend as they humiliated Aironi. However, if Ulster can repeat Friday night’s performance then they have a real chance of winning in France. If they do lose, they can still top the group if – 1) they deny Clermont a try-scoring bonus point, 2) get a losing bonus point themselves and 3) either score more tries than Clermont in the game or lose by less than five points. Lots of permutations for what should be another thrilling Heineken Cup game.

Here’s Pool 4 heading into the final round of games next weekend:

Here’s the four Ulster tries from Friday night:

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Munster 26-10 Castres

Saturday 14th January @ Thomond Park

Munster became the first side to secure a quarter-final berth in this season’s Heineken Cup as they overcame Castres at a packed Thomond Park on Saturday. Despite a promising opening ten minutes, which saw Johne Murphy cross for a well-worked try, Munster got dragged into a real battle with Castres’ second-string. Wian du Preez’s try with twelve minutes to go confirmed the win. Ronan O’Gara was as reliable as ever from the tee, converting both tries and adding four penalties.

Speaking after the game, Paul O’Connell admitted that Munster were”frustrated” with their performance. For the second week in a row, plenty of chances were created but there was a lack of accuracy in finishing them. Looking at the positives, Munster are in a much better position than this time last year and go to Northampton knowing that a win would guarantee a home quarter-final. The Saints will be out for revenge in a big way.

Pool 1 looks like this after Round 5:

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Toulouse 24-3 Connacht

Saturday 14th January @ Stade Ernst Wallon

Connacht came away from Toulouse with a certain amount of pride after showing up well. Despite four tries for the home side, Connacht were much improved on last week’s loss to Aironi and were unlucky not to get a couple of tries themselves.  The travelling Connacht fans were rewarded for their loyalty and Eric Elwood will certainly find positives ahead of the final pool match against Harlequins on Friday night at the Sportsground.

Niall O’Connor opened the scoring after 14 minutes but Toulouse gradually got on top. The prolific wing Timoci Matanavou scored two tries with Maxime Medard and Louis Picamoles also crossing the whitewash. Lionel Beauxis was on target with two conversions. Connacht will look to finish off their maiden Heineken Cup campaign on a high against Harlequins. Conor O’Shea’s side can still qualify so a first win for Connacht would be a huge shock.

Here’s Pool 6 after the weekend’s action:

Here’s the highlights from the Toulouse game:

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Glasgow 16-23 Leinster

Sunday 15th January @ Firhill

Joe Schmidt’s Leinster weren’t at their best in Glasgow but still managed a win that sees them secure a quarter-final with a game to spare. As predicted, Glasgow worked hard as they fought for their Heineken Cup lives. They will be dissapointed with the soft try they conceded to Rob Kearney. If truth be told though, the Warriors never had enough quality to come out on top.

Johnny Sexton kicked one penalty for Leinster but when he picked up a calf strain, Fergus McFadden took over the kicking duties. The centre slotted two conversions and two penalties to top off a fantastic all-round performance. Isaac Boss was the other Leinster try-scorer. Leinster host Montpellier at the RDS on Saturday and a win would be enough to ensure a crucial home quarter-final. That win should be well within Leinster’s capabilities.

Here’s Pool 3 after the fifth round of matches:

Here’s the highlights from the Warriors vs. Leinster game:

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Photo courtesy:  Ivan O’Riordan.

Ulster Capitalise on Munster Mistakes

Match Report

Ulster 33-17 Munster

Friday 30th December @ Ravenhill

Humphreys scored 15 points for Ulster. Photo via Fabio Beretta.

Ulster secured a try-scoring bonus point as they strolled to victory over Munster in an entertaining game at Ravenhill. The nature of this defeat will rankle with the Munster players as several of the Ulster tries came from their errors. Brian McLaughlin’s decision to rest his first-choice team for the Stephen’s Day loss to Leinster was vindicated as his more settled team overcame a Munster selection which completely failed to gel. Ulster always looked the more dangerous side in attack as they cut Munster open on several occasions.

The opening quarter of the game was a scrappy affair which foretold the entertaining game that was to follow. Ulster opened the scoring through the boot of Ian Humphreys after Lifemi Mafi went offside chasing Ian Keatley’s garryowen. Munster hit back with a try from their impressive young wing Luke O’Dea. The Shannon man collected Keatley’s cross-field kick and did well to beat the tackle of Adam D’Arcy to dive over in the right-hand corner. Keatley was on target with the difficult conversion from the touchline.

An incisive passage of Ulster play led to their next score. Humphreys slipped Pedrie Wannenburg through the Munster defence with a neat inside pass. Munster came offside as they scrambled to halt Ruan Pienaar’s snipe down the blindside. To the left of the posts, Humphreys slotted the penalty. Better was to come for Ulster as they dished out maximum punishment for a Munster mistake.

Denis Hurley spilled the ball forward as he attempted to counter-attack from his own half. Humphreys sprayed a long pass out to Darren Cave on the left. The centre had enough pace to get outside the covering defence and draw the last defender to put Stefan Terblanche over in the left-hand corner. Humphreys added the extras from the touchline to put Ulster into a 13-7 lead.

Ulster try-scorer Terblanche is a recent signing from the Natal Sharks. Photo via Ryk Neethling.

In reply, Keatley drilled over a lovely penalty from out to the right after Pienaar was penalised for questioning referee Alain Rolland’s decision-making at the breakdown. After the Munster scrum had got a strong nudge on to win another penalty, Keatley had the chance to level the game. However, he missed from what seemed an easier position than his previous kick and Ulster were let off the hook.

McLaughlin’s team responded with another try which began with Terblanche bursting out of the Ulster 22 down the left. The ball was moved through five or six pairs of hands all the way out to the right, inside Munster’s half. Chris Henry then burst through only to be hauled down by Duncan Williams. The ball was recycled and moved to Terblanche in space out on the left. The South African chose to step inside and was tackled but John Afoa was on hand to go through Williams’ tackle from just metres out. Humphreys was successful with the conversion to send Ulster into half-time 20-10 to the good.

The first half had seen Munster clearly dominant in the scrum, but on resumption of play, Ulster turned the set-piece on its head. From a Munster put-in on their own 10 metre line, Ulster got a huge shove on. As Williams picked from the base of the retreating scrum, Willie Fallon’s tackle forced him into a knock-on. Humphreys hacked the bouncing ball ahead and won the race to touch down. The outhalf inexplicably missed the easy conversion but still, it was a weak 5 points to concede from Munster’s point of view.

More of the same followed 10 minutes later. Once again, Ulster shunted Munster back on their own put-in to the scrum. Williams tried to dig the ball out of the scrum as it travelled backwards. Under pressure from Henry, his attempted pass went loose and bounced up perfectly for Pienaar to run onto and stride over from inside his own half. Humphreys missed again with the conversion but Munster now had a mountain to climb after the complete turnaround of their first-half scrum dominance.

Chambers came on for the injured Gleeson and looked Munster's most dangerous player. Photo via M+MD.

Despite a period of sustained possession, Munster failed to create any semblance of a try-scoring opportunity. On the occasions they did find their way into Ulster territory, knock-ons meant they coughed up that possession. It was Ulster who continued to look the more threatening as they moved the ball wide at every opportunity. Humphreys extended their lead with a penalty from under the posts after David O’Callaghan had entered a ruck from the side.

With the clock running down, Munster did get a consolation try. Ulster looked to attack out of their 22 but Pienaar’s pass to substitute Peter Nelson was at the young fullback’s feet. The ball rebounded up for Johne Murphy to gather and stretch over. Keatley converted with the final score of the game.

In the end, a comfortable win for Ulster. Tony McGahan will be disappointed with some of the individual performances from his team. There weren’t many positives to be taken from this game, apart from the promising glimpses of talent from Luke O’Dea. McLaughlin will be delighted with the five points and relieved that his decision to rest players against Leinster was vindicated. Without the Irish internationals, this inter-provincial derby was always going to be devalued. Ulster dealt better with the losses and these five points mean they remain in the hunt for a play-off place.

ULSTER: 15 A D’Arcy (P Nelson, 71), 14 C Gilroy, 13 D Cave (C Farrell, 63), 12 I Whitten, 11 S Terblanche, 10 I Humphreys (P Marshall, 67), 9 R Pienaar, 1 P McAllister (C Black, 62), 2 A Kyriacou (N Brady, 55), 3 J Afoa (A Macklin, 71), 4 J Muller (capt.), 5 D Tuohy (L Stevenson, 62), 6  C Henry, 7 W Faloon (A Birch, 71), 8 P Wannenburg.

MUNSTER: 15 D Hurley, 14 L O’Dea, 13 T Gleeson (W Chambers, 27), 12 L Mafi (S Deasy, 63), 11 J Murphy, 10 I Keatley, 9 D Williams (T O’Leary, 62), 1 W du Preez (M Horan, 69), 2 D Varley (D Fogarty, 49), 3 S Archer, 4 I Nagle (B Holland, 73), 5 M O’Driscoll (capt.), 6 Dave O’Callaghan, 7 T O’Donnell (P Butler, 37), 8 J Coughlan.

Referee: A Rolland (IRFU).

 

Photos courtesy:  Ryk Neethling, M+MD, Fabio Beretta.

Who Will Replace Howlett?

Howlett's injury is a big blow for Munster. Photo via M+MD

As Doug Howlett collapsed onto the turf at the Liberty Stadium last Saturday, under no contact, Munster fans immediately feared the worst. This is not a man who goes down or stays down. Howlett is one of the hardest-working backs to ever grace the field for Munster and has no time for feigning injury. Confirmation of those fears came yesterday as the All Blacks legend was ruled out for the remainder of the season.

This is a cruel blow for a Munster squad who have already had to cope with losing their two other most penetrative backs in Keith Earls and Felix Jones. With David Wallace missing too, Munster are a side short on players who can go through holes in opposition defences. This season, with Earls and Jones missing, Howlett has been the only back to make consistent inroads into defences for Munster. Even against the Ospreys on Saturday, as many of those around him struggled, Howlett made positive yardage every time he got on the ball. His work-rate was as high as ever and was rewarded with a try when he dived on the rebound of Will Chamber’s grubber.

That was Howlett’s third try in three games and he had looked in fantastic form recently. But unexpected injuries are part and parcel of sport. Munster now have to move past this disappointment as they prepare for a trip to the Scarlets on Saturday. How will McGahan replace the superb Howlett? We look at some of the options within the Munster squad.

This weekend comes too early for Earls who is almost recovered from his knee injury. The Ireland winger is expected to be back in training next week and is hoping to be fit for the return match with the Scarlets in Thomond Park. Meanwhile, Jones is still sidelined with his foot injury and is not expected back for another 4-5 weeks.

Simon Zebo went over on his ankle in training yesterday in another blow for Munster. He is hoping to be recovered in time for the 3.40 kick-off on Saturday but it is always hard to predict how long ankle injuries take to heal. In one Twitter update, the young winger said “Hurt ankle pretty bad today hoping for a good recovery per next day or two to try play #godihateice”.

Zebo has looked good on the ball in his last two outings for Munster so McGahan will be hoping that the Cork Con speedster will recover in time. If Zebo is fit, he will most likely be part of a back-three with Denis Hurley and Johne Murphy. Hurley has put in two strong performances at full-back in the Munster’s last two matches and he deserves to keep his place there. Murphy is comfortable on the wing and should be moved there to accommodate Hurley’s good form.

If Zebo does not recover in time then Munster will have to move one of Danny Barnes, Will Chambers or Lifemi Mafi onto the wing. The most likely of these three is Barnes who, even when playing at centre, often spends large parts of games out in wide channels. Mafi and Chambers certainly looks like the best centre partnership at the moment for Munster.

McGahan does have one further option in re-jigging his backline. Ian Keatley played full-back for Connacht many times last season and he could come into the back three, leaving Zebo, Hurley and Murphy battling for the wing positions. Keatley hasn’t featured at full-back for Munster yet this season so this will most probably be one of McGahan’s least favoured solutions.

Whatever backline Munster do decide on, they are facing a young, talented and dynamic Scarlets backs division. The likes of Scott Williams, George North and Liam Williams are devastating if given space. Rhys Priestland directs play from outhalf and they also boast Wales centre Jonathan Davies. However, the Scarlets are facing injury worries of their own as North and Davies hope to be fit in time for what should be another magnificent Heineken Cup clash.

With Howlett out, the most obvious choice of backline for Munster would be Murray and O’Gara at half-backs, Mafi and Chambers in the centre, and Zebo, Hurley and Murphy making up the back-three. Hopefully Zebo recovers from his ankle injury in time, as Munster will need the pace and penetration that he offers. While it’s not quite do-or-die time for Munster yet, whoever is chosen will need to step up to the plate and help make up for the loss of Howlett.

Photo courtesy:  M+MD