Johannesburg - The Lions came unstuck on Friday night against Munster as they battled the conditions in the southwest of Ireland as much as a ruthless home team in a United Rugby Championship clash.
It was the type of conditions that no self-respecting South African would admit to enjoying, with rain pelting in at an angle at a cold and wet Musgrave Park in Cork. The artificial pitch had an almost ethereal gleam, reflecting silver in the floodlights.
It would have been a fearful sight for any of the SA franchise, and during the match, the Red Army certainly had mastery of the conditions. They handled the pill more confidently throughout the match, hooker Scott Buckley and flank Jack O’Donoghue crossing the whitewash to hand the hosts a well-deserved 12-3 lead at half-time.
Munster were relentless, driving the ball forward, earning the hard yards and taking advantage around the fringes as they rumbled towards the Lions’ tryline. Having threatened to expose this space throughout the first half, scrumhalf Paddy Patterson finally timed a darting run behind the breakdown to open the scoring in the second half.
The hosts also oscillated their speed of play with wily precision, slowing the game down for their pack to rumble forward and sucking in defenders, before increasing their pace to take advantage of the breaches created in the Lions’ line.
Paddy Patterson is elusive 😎#BKTURC #URC | #MUNvLIO | @MunsterRugby pic.twitter.com/3CSNYoEQej
— BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) January 6, 2023
The Joburgers, for their part, were mostly diligent in their defence but could not halt the slow and steady onslaught that moved like a wading landside inevitably and onwards into their 22. The visitors could also not use their limited chances, with either their handling or lack of respect for their possession, ending their efforts.
Although they enjoyed ascendency at scrumtime, their line-outs were far too vulnerable in offence to take advantage of that fact, and they fumbled the ball on a handful of occasions at their throw-in. It was certainly frustrating as they continuously knocked on the ball, their hands failing to adapt to harsh and alien conditions.
🦌 @MunsterRugby’s run rampant with 5️⃣ tries 🤩#BKTURC #URC | #MUNvLIO pic.twitter.com/aFiZAsAgDm
— BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) January 6, 2023
The Munster defence was also sublime, putting pressure on the Lions, driving them back and pinning them in their half. It forced the Lions to make tactical errors, especially in the second half, revealing a streak of naivety.
Having ground down their opposition, Munster secured a bonus-point victory when wing Liam Coombes broke through the Lions’ defensive line to streak towards a well-deserved try. Munster ended the match with a powerful maul that fractured an exhausted Lions’ effort for Buckley to claim a brace of tries.
The result aside, the attrition rate will also be a concern as Jordan Hendrikse – who scored their only points of the match with a penalty in the fifth minute - and Henco van Wyk limped off the pitch, while Ruan Venter was also hoicked from the field early during the second 40.
Long-term injuries to Hendrikse and Van Wyk will be a significant blow to the Lions as they pivot their focus to qualifying for the next round of the EPCR Challenge Cup in the next fortnight, starting with Stade Francais next Saturday.
Moreover, their concerns in the URC will be compounded by this poor display – they are now firmly rooted to the bottom half of the tournament’s standings having now lost three matches on the trot.
@FreemanZAR