Final Boks ticked as heroic Munster give Rowntree era liftoff

The first rugby match at Cork GAA headquarters in front of the largest crowd the province had seen for the code was given a performance worthy of the occasion by a young, inexperienced and injury-hit side missing its international stars as South Africa became the last great South Hemisphere power to lose to the men in red.

A strong matchday squad featuring 14 capped Springboks followed the All Blacks and Wallabies into the history books as Munster’s victims and they can have no complaint after a little-fancied home side once again defied expectation to claim a famous scalp.

Head coach Rowntree’s team outscored the international tourists by four tries to one for their first win over the South Africans in four meetings, Cork-born wing duo Shane Daly and Simon Zebo opening the scoring, hooker Diarmuid Barron adding a third off a driving maul before full-back Mike Haley added a fourth in the second half.

Munster had deserved their 21-7 half-time lead, forged in the midst of a downpour that had not undermined the quality of the contest. The Reds’ defensive stand on the stroke of half-time as the South Africans mauled, mauled and mauled again from five metres out without success was every bit as significant as the three tries scored at the opposite end and celebrated with as much gusto by the huge banks of supporters behind each set of posts.

If this was to be the launchpad for the Rowntree era and the reference point for the province’s newest generation of players that the new head coach craved, then the opening 40 minutes delivered in spades as the growing pains of the first seven URC games were left behind.

First blood was drawn inside two minutes, as the home side won the first psychological battle by forcing the first error following an opening period of kick tennis, South African full-back Aphelele Fassi hooking his return from Healy’s serve to hand Munster a lineout in the tourists’ half.

Too often in those opening weeks, promising positions had been wasted by a combination of sloppy execution, poor decision-making and slapdash handling but not on this special night.

The lineout was effective and the men in red struck by moving left to right at speed, Antoine Frisch’s deft offload in midfield on his first Munster start finding full-back Mike Haley whose pass to right wing Daly allowed the Corkman to get his team off to a dream start with the opening try. Ben Healy kicked the conversion and Munster were up and running at 7-0 inside three minutes.

When Fassi made amends for his earlier error in the right-hand corner 10 minutes later in their first foray into the Munster 22, there was sense of normal service resumed as Johan Goosen converted. But Munster stuck to their gameplan and worked their way back into the lead, slowly turning the screw at the breakdown and gaining valuable territory through penalties. They eventually got to South Africa’s five-metre line from where the ball was moved from right to left by the heavy brigade before the backs took over, inside centre Rory Scannell finding Healy, whose long pass to the left wing found Zebo in space to score on 29 minutes. 

Healy again converted for the touchline and he would add another two points before the interval as Munster struck through their maul, Barron’s finish striking another blow to the Springbok hopefuls’ morale.

It got better after the break, Haley chasing on to a bouncing Healy grubber kick through the South African A line that the fly-half converted to open a 21-point lead on 43 minutes at 28-7.

Four tries to one up with most of the second half remaining, it was inevitable that Munster would have some defending to do and South Africa twice had tries struck off, one for a foot in touch, the other for a knock on from replacement back-rower Sikhumbuzo Notshe before he eventually added to the tourists tally from short range, Munster’s substitute prop Liam O’Connor earning his side a yellow card in the process.

That might have prompted an air of desperation around the Pairc with the lead reduced to 28-14 but Munster otherwise dealt comfortably with the situation, though Haley came to his side’s rescue to claim a loose ball in front of the posts with the South African players bearing down on him. It closed out the sin-bin period but there was still work to be done, the Munster pack eliciting another roar from around the cauldon as they thwarted the South Africans again, this time at the scrum with a hard-earned set-piece penalty.

It was pretty much the perfect ending and perhaps the start of something special.

MUNSTER: M Haley; S Daly, A Frisch (M Fekitoa, 63), R Scannell, S Zebo (P Campbell, 54); B Healy, P Patterson (N Cronin, 73); J Wycherley (L O’Connor, 56), D Barron (N Scannell, 56), R Salanoa (K Knox, 56); K McDonald, E Edogbo (C Hurley, 63); J O’Donoghue – captain, J Hodnett (J Wycherley, 61-73), G Coombes (A Kendellen, 56). Yellow card: L O’Connor 61-71 

SOUTH AFRICA A: A Fassi (S Nohamba, 73); S Hartzenberg, H van Wyk, C Hendrick, L Zas; J Goosen (G Lombard, 61), H Jantjies (G Williams, 44); N Mchunu (S Matanzima, 56), J Dweba (A-H Venter, 50), T du Toit – captain (S Sandi, 50); J Jenkins, R Nortje (D du Preez, 44 - blood); P Buthelezi (S Notshe, 56), E Louw, J-L du Preez.

Referee: Karl Dickson (England).