Saracens 33
Munster 10
Murray Kinsella reports from Allianz Park
MUNSTER’S EUROPEAN SEASON came to a definitive and depressing end at Allianz Park as Saracens excelled in a 33-10 victory.
Anthony Foley’s side delivered a hugely disappointing performance at the North London venue, finishing with a result that means they will fail to make the knock-out stages of the European competition for just the second time in 16 seasons.
A late try from Denis Hurley proved to be mere consolation and in truth the balance of the 80 minutes meant Munster probably deserved nothing more from the game. A home tie against Sale Sharks next weekend now becomes meaningless and Munster’s attention will turn to the Guinness Pro12.
While Munster will regret their own failings, Saracens will be buoyed by an energetic, intelligent and imposing display, reaffirming their pre-season status as strong contenders in this tournament.
A disastrous first-half left Foley’s men trailing 23-3, as a high error count fed right into the hands of the highly-accurate Saracens.
Munster’s knock-ons, missed tackles, kicks out on the full and poor reorganisation in defence constrated starkly with Saracens’ aggressive linespeed, crisp passing and variety in attack.
A poor decision from Duncan Williams in attempting to run the ball out of his own 22, very much going against the Munster game plan of kicking back at Sarries, led to the opening score from the boot of Owen Farrell.
Denis Hurley went off his feet in desperation as he attempted to retrieve the situation when Ashton caught Williams, allowing England international out-half Farrell to slot his first shot at goal.
Foley’s men looked to dominate territory through the kicking of Williams and Ian Keatley thereafter, but another error resulted in Saracens’ first try. Keatley looked for the corner, but his low kick rolled all the way dead and gave the home side a scrum on Munster’s 10-metre line.
Mako Vunipola and the front row powered forward, laying the foundation for an impressive Saracens attack that saw Chris Wyles finish in the corner. Farrell’s screen pass to Chris Ashton, after Andrew Conway bit in on the decoy-running Billy Vunipola, freed the ball for a three-on-one in the wide left channel, Alex Goode sending Wyles over.
Farrell’s conversion made it 10-0 with just 22 minutes gone, a lead he extended off the tee soon after, punishing Paul O’Connell’s excursion in the side of a Sarries maul.
Munster did register their first points of the tie on the 33-minute mark, Keatley slamming over a scrum penalty when referee Romain Poite got frustrated with Saracens’ early shove.
But the tide was far from turned, and yet another Munster mistake gave Saracens the platform. Felix Jones went off his feet at an attacking ruck near the halfway line, whereupon Richard Wigglersworth quick-tapped, released Marcelo Bosch and caught Munster napping.
Bosch sent Wyles bursting down the left wing, and when the American wing was hunted down, he dribbled a gorgeous grubber back inside for Ashton to fall on beyond the tryline. Again, Farrell was on target with his conversion.
Right on the stroke of half time, the mountain got that little steeper, as Farrell struck his third successful penalty to punish Dave Foley’s dragging down of a maul. That left Munster adrift at 23-3 and presumably facing a stinging word or two from head coach Foley.
That talking down looked to have found its mark as Munster burst out of the blocks when Simon Zebo cut Saracens open, running 30 metres into their 22 after busting the tackle of Petrus Du Plessis.
Munster hammered at the Sarries tryline, but Mako Vunipola came up with a superb turnover penalty, shrugging off the desperate rucking effort of O’Connell.
The Ireland captain’s out-of-sorts showing continued with a knock-on soon after, one which led to a lengthy spell of Saracens territory in the Munster half. Billy Vunipola produced one big break, while the maul and then the scrum went close.
Munster clung on and clung on until James Cronin was penalised at the scrum and Farrell kicked another penalty for a 26-3 lead. Munster’s discipline was falling apart at this stage, and scrum-half Williams got on Poite’s bad side on a number of occasions.
Farrell had his first miss off the tee when Williams came offside, but yet another handling error from Munster, this time between O’Connell and replacement Eusebio Guiñazú, put Munster immediately back under pressure.
Cronin attempted to rescue the situation, but Poite finally lost patience and sent the loosehead to the sin bin for a ruck infringement. Heading towards the final 13 minutes, Saracens went to the corner looking for another try, although they spilled their line-out.
That allowed Simon Zebo to burst upfield and draw a penalty for Billy Vunipola’s late tackle, although there was a brief interlude as Poite checked on potential foul play after Peter O’Mahony and Jacques Burger clashed.
The French match official saw nothing amiss and Munster kicked to touch, then played a clever line out move to send O’Mahony bursting through midfield and offloading to Hurley to charge to within metres of Sarries’ tryline.
Two short phases to the left followed, before Williams sent Hurley crashing over to the left of the posts to provide a glimpse of hope. Keatley’s conversion drew Munster back to 26-10.
But another late flurry from Saracens finished Munster off.
With Poite rolling on the ground in pain after taking an accidental knock off the ball, Ashton scooted over on the right untouched and got the opportunity to rub salt in Munster’s wounds with his ‘Ash Splash’ celebration.
Farrell popped over the conversion for a handsome 33-10 advantage heading into the closing minutes, one that was richly deserved and impossible to argue with.
Saracens scorers:
Tries: Chris Wyles, Chris Ashton [2]
Conversions: Owen Farrell [3 from 3]
Penalties: Owen Farrell [4 from 5]
Munster scorers:
Tries: Denis Hurley
Conversions: Ian Keatley [1 from 1]
Penalties: Ian Keatley [1 from 1]
SARACENS: Alex Goode; Chris Ashton, Marcelo Bosch (Ben Ransom ’75), Brad Barritt (Charlie Hodgson ’65), Chris Wyles; Owen Farrell, Richard Wigglesworth (Neil de Kock ’65); Mako Vunipola (Richard Barrington ’67), Jamie George (Brett Sharman ’73), Petrus Du Plessis (James Johnston ’67); Jim Hamilton (Maro Itoje ’75), Alistair Hargreaves (capt.); Kelly Brown (Ernst Joubert ’67), Jacques Burger, Billy Vunipola.
MUNSTER: Felix Jones; Andrew Conway, Pat Howard (Keith Earls ’48), Denis Hurley, Simon Zebo (Ronan O’Mahony ’75); Ian Keatley (JJ Hanrahan ’75), Duncan Williams; James Cronin, Duncan Casey (Eusebio Guiñazú ’62), BJ Botha (Stephen Archer ’59); Dave Foley (Billy Holland ’75), Paul O’Connell; Peter O’Mahony (capt.), Tommy O’Donnell (John Ryan ’67, O’Donnell back ’73), CJ Stander (Dave O’Callaghan ’28).
Referee: Romain Poite.
Unfortunately we were finally given the beating we’ve been just about avoiding all season. Pro 12 form means nothing when you come up against teams of this calibre… Penney in fairness was simply nursing along a wounded animal the last few years… Foley is now either gonna be backed to rebuild a team of has to go.
I’m guessing he’ll get the sack,it seems that the squad don’t have much confidence in him,he comes across as very arrogant
Harsh to blame the coach for the spiritless display by the side today.
No confidence in him from the fans either, including myself. Anyone that says, “It’s his first season, and its mid-season,” Doesn’t understand that having him was a big step backwards.
I want him gone, because he just hasn’t got it as a tactician. Too focused on strength when he knows the pack doesn’t have it against tougher sides.
Don’t lose the run of yourself calling for the sacking of Axel 6 months into the job. This was the group of death and while the performances haven’t been good you have to take into account the injuries sustained and the fact that Sarries and Clermont have budgets that can blow Munster out of the water. Irish rugby as a whole needs to examine where it is going because if the provinces are to compete at the highest levels then investment is needed and rules regarding imports need to be relaxed a bit, maybe this year was a one off with the amount of players unavailable but all the provinces seasons have been derailed by injuries and there isn’t the required quality of backups available. Case in point, players of the ability of Duncan William have no business playing at this level…
Three of last years semi finalists were in this group so one of the big hitters was gone take a blow! But the other side of the argument is that blow came all too easily to Munster. There was a sense of panic in Munster’s performance today and it was like the top two inches just weren’t present.
We have too few teams to relax the foreign player rules. Let’s not put club before country like greedy French and English owners.
That’s not the point, Johnny. You’re forgetting this is almost the exact same team that played under Penney last year, and they fared better, especially playing teams like Toulouse and Toulon and at least making a game of it, proving they can still compete with teams that are financially superior. But this year, under Foley, they’ve been blown away because Foley isn’t a better tactician than Penney.
Here’s an example. Munster threw away a 9 point lead at half time against Glasgow and ended up losing. Would they have done so under Penney, considering they beat Glasgow away last year? Not likely.
Yes today was poor, as was Clermont at home but in general the performances have been about the same level, by which I mean wildly inconsistent. And it’s not exactly the same team as last year. Between injuries and players leaving Munster have been short Earls, Ryan, Varley, Downey, Coughlan, Laulala plus a load of other short term injuries plus the new marque signing Bleyendaal. I’m not saying this season has been good just that there are multiple factors to consider rather than kicking Axel.
Also pretty sure Munster lost to Glasgow in the semi last year resulting in our seeding in the group of death….
Yes they did, but they beat them during the season.
Foley out, Zebo out, Keatley out and a few others also. Most importantly though is Foley as soon as possible.
Have to agree with johnny fitz. I’m not at all happy with Axel, nor was I when I first heard he got the job, but he won’t get the sack at the end of the season. Personally, I think it’s his backroom staff which are almost more important..the likes of Flannery and Micko have no business being in the roles they’re in, do they even have coaching qualifications?
As has been said, we simply don’t have the depth in our squad to deal with injuries. In the past we brought in proper quality players (Howlett, JDV, Halsted, Tipoki etc) but the money simply isn’t there anymore to make those signings. We really do need investment, first and foremost to keep our Irish stars, and secondly to bring in those quality imports which will also help develop the players that are already there.
I would happily take munster success over ireland success any day. I don’t watch ireland week in week out. The irfu are wrapping our players in cotton wool and they are soft then when they have some stiff competition. Playing zebre dragons treviso and scarlets is a waste of feckin time if we want to be the best in Europe. I’m sick to the teeth of munster inconsistency at this stage, let the best players play with their clubs and let when international duty rolls around they will be picked on form and fitness!
100% agree I’d take Munster over Ireland.
Ireland won’t miss ‘fans’ like you mick ! Serious whinging from the cry baby band wagon
After the email leak I think foley lost the respect off the team. Also giving old comrades flannery and o’Driscoll a job was an idiotic idea. Zero experience. The underage set up also needs to be looked at. Compared to Leinster and ulster we are way behind.
Have to agree, there’s very little coming through the Munster academy at present.
Connacht??? Great academy, great young players and more importantly the chances to get a lot of game time. Munster are lagging all three on this front.
I think Munster are on par with Connacht. Don’t cry for me, I’m already dead.
Up until I saw that comment I thought everybody had forgotten about ‘the leak’……….. Except the players !!
That performance today was a joke!
Embrrassing.bringin on hanrahan for the last 5 minutes was an insult after the shocking performance from hurley
Munster desperately need a world class centre and a decent back up scrum half
World class TH would be top of my list at this point, doesn’t matter who is on the field or what tactics you employ when you scrum fails so badly….
The whole team needs a complete overhaul. Only O Mahony, Murray, Earls and O Connell can be guaranteed starters 6 or 8 months from now. It was a shameful, spineless and utterly clueless showing today. Munster’s blackest day for many years.
Pom has been dog shite all season for munster. Stander is the only fella putting it in week in week out.
As well as a front 5 to do a job on the top teams, a bloody kicker and backs with a bit of penetration.
Got it in one. Two many mediocre players.
Great to see that Keith Earls is back in action;)
Good player when fully fit and a good guy.
Gutless, shameful, humiliating defeat for Munster rugby football. No heart, spirit or character. They certainly didn’t stand up and fight. Saracens were the team with the bin man and docker spirit. Foley is a hopeless coach, way more inept than Matt O’Connor.
What was already going to be a mammoth task was compounded by the loss of probably the 2 players of the season in Murray and CJ, so winning was always going to be major struggle but the performance today was very poor. Munster essentially sleepwalked through most of the game, the scrum was a liability and the set pieces were sloppy. General play and handling was littered with mistakes. Trying to play a scrum half centric gameplan with William in Murray’s role was mindless. Even more annoying was the fact that the Munster back 3 looked to have the measure of Sarries when they saw the ball which was all too rarely… Also how the scrum has struggled so badly once again you have to wonder is BJ finished with Munster considering the wages he is on and that he takes one of the NIQ places? Has been a great servant but not seeing it on the field anymore….
Gosh!
I didn’t see it because BT sport is soo cringe worthy that I have cancelled all payments to that organisation.
Sounds like Munster got whacked!
I wonder how the provinces imploding will effect Ireland in the 6 nations??
It never bothered wales that there teams struggled on Europe.
The national side is about picking the best from each province. As long as there is a good core, we will be fine. The province’s fortunes, depend on the players and coaches, surrounding that core. They are not good enough at the moment(Connacht, with limited resources, are the exception)
Who will Foley blame?
The referee, the rules, injuries, a Union, the opposition?
Irish Water
If you didn’t see that coming your eyes were shut. Botha’s done, Poc at the end, Keatley no O’Gara, several players missing. Talk of Foley moving on nonsense. There’s a league to be won and a team to rebuild. Start with a 10 or we’re buggered.
Problem is they had the 10 and let him go
Munster scored their only try when their captain showed them, after his sideline scrap, the kind of bottle you need to have to win games. Williams isn’t able for that level at all. Foleys deliberate blanking of Hanrahan is ridiculous and his team psychology is clearly ineffective. Poite should be banned from reffing any match with Munster involved as his bias against us is ludicrous. Our team badly need to man up. But apart from that they are a great team to be a supporter of and I always will no matter how poorly they play.
Hard to watch… As I streamed it as I also wouldn’t pay BT
Heart and history will only go so far. Munster rugby needs a major overhaul if it is to move on and challenge for honours. Great history but it is history. Certain players need to be replaced. And investment is needed. Alot of work to do!
Anthony Foley is now learning, the hard way, that the game at European level (just like it long has at International level) has moved on from his game that he played at Munster. A record, three European match losses in a row and only the second-ever Munster exit at the pool stages is the price that Munster Rugby have to pay for selecting a head coach (Anthony Foley) who possesses the same rigid secularity as his hero, Declan Kidney.
Foley just isn’t good enough, and Munster really need new blood, especially at out half! Hanrahan is a major loss for the future! The Munster board need to regroup and rebuild.
Foley and his whole management team are rookies so it’s essentially the blind leading the blind! I’m all for home grown talent in our management structures but there should have been some experience retained to ensure continuity. It’s also a good idea for some future managers to take the O’ Gara route and a broader experience base from which to work.
The ‘Munster Board’ is responsible for the set up of Munster Rugby and maybe that board needs overhauling along with the club. As much as Foley, Flannery and O’Driscoll were great players all three should have gone overseas to coach and bring back some innovative coaching ideas. All three should apply for coaching positions in NZ or S.Africa. O’Gara did the right thing. Penney was a huge loss but was possibly driven out by the obvious nepotism that besets Munster Rugby. Munster having one set of half-backs and nothing creative in midfield is just plain ridiculous. Fresh staff = fresh ideas. Time to clean house while there’s something left of the reputation..
Unfortunately the good times are over for munster and there doesent look like there are players coming through. “Forwards win games backs by how much”
Maybe people will finally start to realise that the new European Cup format has put ALL Pro 12 side’s at a huge disadvantage, and will only suit the english and french!
How exactly has it put us at a huge disadvantage?
PRL use 1/7th of their qualified teams (Saracens) to knock out 1/3rd of Ireland’s teams (Munster). Saracens and Munster eliminating each other will mean that Ireland loses a far larger proportion of its qualifiers in the group stages
Poite had a shocker again v Munster
You’re lost.
http://www.the42.ie/soccer/
Not sure how I’m lost mick
Urgently require a tight head. Botha had a shocker. Infringing in rucks as well as scrums. Honestly don’t know where Munster go from here. I’m gutted after paying €23 to watch the match I can only imagine how let down the supporters that traveled are.
Has to be the worst campaign in 15 years. We robbed a poor Sale team away. Only Clermont falling asleep gave us a bonus point away. Sarries should have easily had one today. Foley has taken a team that was close to winning the last 2 euro semi-finals and destroyed them. His back room appointments were a joke his treatment of JJ a disgrace and his insistence on picking Duncan came home to roost in a big way. Last but not least our latest signing Tomas O’Leary for crying out loud…. Peter Stringer is definitely having the last laugh !!!
Very disappointing result but I don’t think things are as bad as they seem. First of all they had a horrendously tough pool; Clermont and Saracens were 2013 and 2014 finalists respectively. As well as that the schedule in terms of playing both teams at home first wasn’t ideal. If Munster had played Clermont away first they would have been able to tweak things and perform better in the home fixture.
I thought Munster actually looked good with ball in hand in today’s game. They just made too many handling errors (did POC hurt his hand or something, cos he was responsible for about 3 of them?) and weren’t able to get sustained possession in they Saracens half. Munster will be back, and if they can do well in the Pro12 they’ll have a better pool next time.
Take off the blinkers will ya
Munster came away with 10 points from how many visits to the opposition 22? Two or three maybe? They just needed more territory and possession – which the pack weren’t quite able to provide. It’s fine margins at this level. The game didn’t quite break for them, but I honestly believe that they aren’t too far away and can learn and come back stronger. These are the days that make it sweeter when they get to the top again. They have to feel the pain and use it in the future as motivation. I’d say Sale are going to get some smacking anyway
One question ……… When was the last time Munster really dominant ares a top European team ?
It’s as simple as this they were out played, our thought, out muscled and out of ideas today!!
None of the top teams respect Munster anymore and why should they. Munster never got up to the speed of the game today and never looked likely to do so.
In the big games that matter the pack gets bullied, the backs are under used with no space to exploit and there’s no consistent kicker.
Foley looked like a man who had run out of road today.
Time to stop the rot !!!
It been said many times hes way in over his head . Munster have been punchin above there weight for a season and a half. No big signings , no plan B, totally one dimensional, foley was a crazy appointment rog was 100% right to not join his team . Munster have a very very long road ahead. Who’s the attacking coach very bad whoever he is. Stop munster with chop tackles behind gainline and you’ll go long way to beating them. No backs, no penetration in backline plain to see. How many munster backs will start 6 nations?? 1is my guess (murray) the rest are miles away.
That’s ‘dance’ that Zebp does is fooling nobody but himself !!