Munster extend season and book Champions Cup spot with thrilling win against Benetton
MUNSTER 30 BENETTON 21
Munster made sure of Champions Cup rugby next season as they secured a top-eight finish in style with a bonus-point victory over Benetton at Cork's Virgin Media Park on Friday night.
On a night when Peter O'Mahony, Stephen Archer and Conor Murray played their last home games for their province, Munster made sure their season would extend for at least one more game as they booked an away play-off quarter-final in two weeks with a gritty performance against a powerful Benetton side who themselves were chasing victory to assure their own progress to the knockout rounds.
Tries from Jack Crowley, Lee Barron, Thaakir Abrahams and Josh Wycherley sealed the deal but this was no easy victory, Benetton having taken a 14-10 half-time lead after full-back Rhyno Smith had twice exposed defensive frailties with lighting pace and sharp running lines off first-phase ball.
The Italians also scored in the second half through hooker Bautista Bernasconi but ultimately came up short to drop out of the all-important top eight but Munster live to fight another day, their quarter-final opponents to be confirmed after Saturday's remaining Round 18 fixtures.
Led out by scrum-half Craig Casey on his 100th Munster appearance and followed by Jean Kleyn on his 150th, there was plenty for a sell-out 8,800 crowd to celebrate with Archer, O'Mahony and Murray primed for their final home appearances on their respective 303rd, 196th and 221st caps.
The good vibes continued when Jack Crowley converted Munster's bright start into the opening try after Tom Farrell had made a break to the edge of Benetton's 22. Munster laid siege to the visitors' tryline and looked to be digging in for a lengthy assault before the ball was sent out the back and the fly-half ran a perfect line to score by the side of the posts, Crowley adding the extras to his score off the tee to give the home side a 7-0 lead on 14 minutes.
Yet Benetton also had skin in this game and though they lost wing Paolo Odogwu to injury there was still plenty of firepower left on the field, not least in the shape of full-back Rhyno Smith who scored twice off first-phase ball, both converted by Jacob Umaga, either side of a Crowley penalty to hand the Italians a 14-10 interval lead.
After an intensely physical opening period in which Munster had frequently run into defensive brick walls, the home side needed a spark at the start of the second half and it came at the double with two very different tries in the first 10 minutes after the restart.
The first of them came on 44 minutes as Munster struck through their lineout maul, first forcing a collapse which allowed them to launch from five metres out, their second attempt leading to replacement hooker Lee Barron's first try since joining on loan from Leinster ahead of a permanent move this summer.
Crowley missed the conversion but Munster were in front at 15-14 and the situation quickly got better as full-back Thaakir Abrahams matched his South African counterpart Smith with a wonderful turn of pace down the left wing to score in the 49th minute, Casey taking over kicking duties from half-back partner Crowley to land a touchline conversion.
The scrum-half added a penalty seven minutes later to open up a 25-14 lead as a little tension left the Cork crowd, who by then had stood to applaud a departing O'Mahony and would then afford the same respect to Archer on his exit after 62 minutes.
The game was not yet won though, and Munster found themselves under pressure as Benetton won a penalty inside the 22 in the 69th minute, Umaga kicking to the corner and his pack finishing the job through their powerful lineout drive, replacement hooker Bautista Bernasconi getting the ball down and his fly-half adding the conversion to reduce the home side's lead to 25-21 with 10 minutes left to play.
Anxiety returned to the stands and terraces but not for long, Munster once again profiting from forward power as replacement prop Josh Wycherley pounced out of the maul to deliver the try bonus point with Munster's fourth of the evening, the men in red now 31-21 to the good with time running out for the Italians.
Casey missed the conversion from wide out but when Murray's turn to come off the bench it was Crowley the veteran number nine replaced, the two scrum-halves now half-back partners, the starter further marking his 100th cap with the man of the match award following his all-action performance.
MUNSTER: T Abrahams; C Nash, T Farrell (S O'Brien, 78), A Nankivell, D Kilgallen; J Crowley (C Murray, 71), C Casey; M Milne (J Wycherley, 56), N Scannell (L Barron, 33 - HIA), S Archer (J Ryan, 62); J Kleyn (F Wycherley, 74), T Beirne - captain; P O'Mahony (T Ahern, 53), J Hodnett (A Kendellen, 56), G Coombes.
BENETTON: R Smith; I Mendy, T Menoncello (N Casilio, 57), I Brex (M Fekitoa, 52), P Odogwu (T Albornoz, 11); J Umaga, A Garbisi; T Gallo (M Spagnolo, 67), S Maile (B Bernasconi, 51), S Ferrari (T Pasquali, 67); S Scrafton (N Cannone, 51), F Ruzza – captain; R Favretto (S Negri, 51), M Zuliani, L Cannone Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland) End Information Classification - GREEN: Unrestricted
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