Irish Provinces Review after Round Four In Europe
Leinster were the only winners of the three Irish Provinces in the European Champions Cup as they beat Harlequins by one point. Munster managed to scramble a losing bonus point against Clermont Auvergne by scoring ten points in the final minutes of the encounter. Ulster blew a great chance to stay in the competition by losing to the Scarlets. Connacht managed to win thanks to a sensational comeback in their Challenge Cup game against Bayonne.
Munster:
A late Duncan Casey try and a penalty from Ian Keatley in added time helped Munster to a losing bonus point in their game at Clermont. Anthony Foley’s side started superbly but like last week in Thomond Park, they did not take their chances when Clermont offered them up.
They away team could have had two tries in the opening 11 minutes but had to be content with two Ian Keatley’s penalties. Peter O’Mahony especially tore into the Clermont defence in the opening quarter where Munster were dominant at the breakdown.
Clermont came back into the game after Damien Chouly’s try and Noa Nakaitaci’s try just before half time gave the hosts control on the scoreboard. Munster were by far the lesser team in the second half as Clermont took control, especially in the scrum. John Ryan, on his first European start coped fairly well but surprisingly BJ Botha struggled.
Ian Keatley dovetailed well in midfield with JJ Hanrahan and Munster should use this combination in their upcoming games. Next up for Munster is a return to the PRO 12 and a tough trip to Glasgow Warriors this weekend.
Leinster:
Leinster are now level on points with Harlequins in Pool 2 of the Champions Cup thanks to a tense one point win. Leading 11 nil at half time, Leinster only scored one penalty in the second half but it was enough to see off Conor O’Shea’s Quins.
The home side had the better of the first half and had the game’s star performer in Jamie Heaslip. Ian Madigan got man of the match but it was Heaslip that was at the heart of everything good that Leinster did, including the creation of his team’s only try. It was his best performance in Leinster blue for a long time.
Another promising sign for Leinster looking to the rest of the season was the link up play in midfield between Madigan and Luke Fitzgerald. The latter has made no secret that his preferred position is at outside centre and he was a constant threat to the Quins defence. Madigan was also influential at inside centre.
Leinster return to Pro 12 action next Friday when they welcome Connacht to the RDS. The Harlequins win will be a great confidence boost going into the Christmas period for Leinster but Connacht will also be in high spirits after their European exploits.
Ulster:
Ulster’s chances of challenging for the knockout phase of the Champions Cup came to a shuddering end with defeat against the Scarlets on Sunday evening. The Welsh region won on a scoreline of 22-13 in a game that Ulster will be livid they lost.
Rhys Priestland was on form from the kicking tee with all 12 points in a first half that the Scarlets bossed. Ulster failed to score in the opening 40 minutes and were beaten all over the park but especially at the scrum. Declan Fitzpatrick being the main culprit.
Darren Cave’s try and some placed kicks from Ian Humphreys and Ruan Pienaar put Ulster back in the game. Superb work from Tommy Bowe should have seen Ulster take the lead but Darren Cave was unable score or find Luke Marshall with an offload.
With minutes remaining Pienaar had a glorious chance to give Ulster the win but his penalty sailed wide to the right. To add insult to injury the Scarlets added a try from James Davies to secure the win. Ulster get back to Pro 12 action this weekend with another trip to Wales, this time to Swansea to play the Ospreys.
Connacht
20 year old scrum half Caolin Blade was a two try hero on his first start for Connacht as they pulled off a shock comeback against Bayonne. The win sets up a crunch tie with Exeter Chiefs in their next game. Whoever wins is the most likely to top the pool.
Connacht were behind for most of this game with Bayonne up by 11 points until Blade scored his first try and the away side were within one point at the half time whistle. Miah Nikora who was captaining for the first time was in fine form off the kicking tee also.
Blade’s converted try in the 76th minute was enough to get the win and keep Connacht’s excellent season rolling on. They take on Leinster this weekend at the RDS and will definitely fancy their chances of coming away with the win.
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