Late surge secures victory for All Blacks XV over plucky Munster
MATCH REPORT: The All Blacks XV arrived at Thomond Park eager to show put their hands up for the New Zealand selectors against URC heavyweight side Munster.
It was evidently a clash between a mixed bag of talent and a more polished, mid-season outfit, but the visitors found their feet throughout the clash and produced a rapid final five minutes for a 38-24 victory.
AJ Lam made his presence felt early when he won the first turnover of the clash.
The opening five minutes saw possession switching hands swiftly thereafter, with Munster coming out of the period with attacking field position and looking the more dangerous outfit with ball in hand.
Munster’s scrum let them down but the All Blacks XV’s ill-discipline allowed them the option of the lineout which worked out much better.
The home side’s rapid defence defused the New Zealand XV’s early attack and put huge pressure on the visitors.
The All Blacks XV got their first crack at Munster’s line when Diarmuid Kilgallen got his fingertips on a penalty kick that went dead.
The strike play was scrappy but another Munster offside infringement gave the visitors another crack and Harry Plummer found AJ Lam on a strong line for the opening try which Plummer converted.
Devan Flanders’ lineout steal ignited a loose attack from the visitors, with Shaun Stevenson beating defenders down the left touchline before Kini Naholo bullied his way through a couple more around the breakdown.
The ruck speed was never more than half a second in each of the breakdowns as the All Blacks XV easily worked their way downfield which ultimately ended in their second try when Chay Fihaki dotted down in the right corner which Plummer converted.
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Just as the New Zealand XV’s defence looked to find some cohesion, their ill-discipline let Munster deep into their half and the hosts spotted the opportunity before them with half-time nearing.
After an energetic passage of play saw Munster bashing away at New Zealand XV’s line before Mike Haley ran and wrestled his way across the whitewash for an unconverted try.
Isaia Walker-Leawere was penalised when making an attempt for the ball at the breakdown and from the ensuing Munster lineout maul, the lock illegally collapsed Munster’s drive just short of the line which resulted in a penalty try and a yellow card for the lock.
The play transpired on the stroke of half-time which saw the side’s head into the sheds with just two points separating them at 12-14.
Despite the one player disadvantage, the All Blacks XV found themselves with an overlap as they put the ball through the hands a minute into the second-half which saw captain Du Plessis Kirifi go over, but the try was disallowed after the TMO revealed a knock-on at the previous breakdown.
Another strong All Blacks XV earned them a penalty and the visitors opted for the corner of which they set-up a driving maul that saw Brodie McAllister cross the line for their third try which Plummer converted.
Ruadhan Quinn won a breakdown turnover to get the ball back into the All Blacks XV’s 22 and after one Munster maul threatened but was illegally collapsed, but the second bite of the cherry got over the line as the match intensity went up another level.
Back to their full complement, the Kiwi’s launched a counter-attack from their own half with replacement Ruben Love busting tackles to work his side near the 22.
Devan Flanders followed suit and with the defence reeling Shaun Stevenson spotted the opportunity for a cross-field kick and found Quinn Tupaea on the wing who crossed over for an unconverted try.
Flanders botched the restart and Munster’s attack kicked into life, with Kilgallen making metres down the left touchline before Rory Scannell was shunted backwards in the tackle but not held, getting up and sprinting just short of the line before finding Tom Farrell who reached over the line to bring the game back to a two-point score.
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The hosts weren’t far off the line once more with six minutes remaining, but Noah Hotham and Corey Kellow tackled Kilgallen into touch.
Fineen Wycherley ripped the ball in the tackle a minute after Munster knocked the ball on in the lineout but it fell into the arms of Noah Hotham who broke the Munster line and found Quinn Tupaea who set Kini Naholo away under the posts to clinch the result.
‘Heartbreak for Munster’ was the call from the commentary team as 22-year-old Fabian Holland was named the player of the match.
With one final shot at the All Blacks XV’s line, Munster had their pass intercepted by Harry Plummer who ran 75 metres to finish the game with a try in the corner to seal a 38-24 victory for the visitors.
The scorers:
For Munster
Tries: Haley, Hodnett, Farrell, penalty try does not require a conversion
Con: Butler
For All Blacks XV
Tries: Lam, Fihaki, McAllister, Tupaea, Naholo, Plummer.
Cons: Plummer 4
Teams:
Munster: 15 Mike Haley; 14 Shay McCarthy, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Diarmuid Kilgallen; 10 Billy Burns, 9 Ethan Coughlan; 8 Gavin Coombes, 7 John Hodnett, 6 Peter O’Mahony, 5 Tom Ahern; 4 Fineen Wycherley, 3 Stephen Archer, 2 Diarmuid Barron (Captain), 1 John Ryan.
Replacements: 16 Niall Scannell, 17 Kieran Ryan, 18 Ronan Foxe, 19 Evan O’Connell, 20 Ruadhán Quinn, 21 Paddy Patterson, 22 Tony Butler, 23 Ben O’Connor.
All Blacks XV: 15 Shaun Stevenson, 14 Chay Fihaki, 13 AJ Lam, 12 Quinn Tupaea, 11 Kini Naholo, 10 Harry Plummer, 9 Finlay Christie, 8 Devan Flanders, 7 Du’Plessis Kirifi, 6 Oliver Haig, 5 Fabian Holland, 4 Isaia Walker-Leawere, 3 George Dyer, 2 Brodie McAlister, 1 George Bower.
Replacements: 16 Bradley Slater, 17 Xavier Numia, 18 Marcel Renata, 19 Naitoa Ah Kuoi, 20 Corey Kellow, 21 Noah Hotham, 22 Josh Jacomb, 23 Ruben Love
Date: Saturday, November 2
Venue: Thomond Park, Limerick
Kick-off: 17.30 (17.30 GMT; 06.30 Sunday, November 3 NZDT)
Referee: Takehito Namekwa
Assistant referees: Matthew Carley, Anthony Woodthorpe
TMO: Damon Murphy
Image credits: @MunsterRugby
By Ned Lester @Rugbypass
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