Niall Scannell praises Munster's character after hard-fought win over Ulster
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Niall Scannell praised his side’s character as Munster edged a tight URC derby encounter at Ulster on Friday night.
Munster, 11th in the URC table and coming off a 16-14 European loss at Castres seven days earlier, claimed a bonus-point 22-19 victory at Kingspan Stadium with Tom Farrell sealing victory with a last-minute try, his third of the evening, converted by Jack Crowley having trailed 19-15.
Munster had to defend for long periods as the two sides exchanged tries throughout the second half despite Ulster being reduced to 14 men after 31 minutes when Tom O’Toole was sent off and starting hooker Scannell said: “The general feeling is probably relief.
“We made it very tough for ourselves but I think when we look back they put us under a lot of pressure. They forced us to give away a few penalties under pressure and it was very hard to get possession back, particularly in the second half when they had those bouts on our five-metre line.
“We obviously lacked possession as well so you’re not in control of what’s happening as much but at the same time amazing character from the lads, the impact we had off the bench.
“I think we’re starting to see that bad of injuries we had starting to clear and we’re getting a bit depth back and it’s great because coming up to places like this you need that and we saw how important our bench was tonight.
“We didn’t make it easy for ourselves for the full 80 minutes but I’d say I’ve come up here close to 10 times and this is only my third time winning. It’s very hard to win here. I was just trying to pass that on to the younger lads to enjoy this one because it is very hard.
“The general feeling was this was going to be a very tough game but where we are in the league we knew we needed a result so we just really had to dig in and we did that but we possibly could have made it a bit easier for ourselves.”
Scannell also singled out man of the match and hat-trick hero Farrell for particular praise.
”He got a good reception all right. Every time he touched the ball he was just a go-forward machine but he’s a hugely popular addition to the squad.
"He’s been unbelievable and I think you can see when he gets on the front foot, his skill set and particularly his handling game, just feeding fellas around him.”
And speaking to Premier Sports shortly after full time, Shane Daly also hailed the display of Farrell.
“We let them into the game,” began Daly.
“It wasn't the best way to deal with 14 men, didn't exit properly, composure and character in the squad that can't be questioned.
“I played against him (Farrell) for Connacht, and I couldn't believe Connacht let him go or how good he was when he came down to us, it was an absolute steal for us to get him.
“He's been our best player this season, and an unbelievable fella too. It will be a nice bus back home too. The bench too, picked the team strategically that way we knew it would come down to last quarter, and it is good we have the depth even with all the injuries.
“It has been a challenging season, management, injuries, poor results, we've been tested as people too. You will always figure things out when you have good people around you."