Following Northampton Saints’ stunning 26-23 victory over Munster at Thomond Park, here are our five takeaways from the thrilling Investec Champions Cup clash.
Storm Isha made an early arrival at Thomond Park just before kick-off, but as quick as she arrived, she departed, lightly dampening the pitch. The strong winds remained, thankfully it was not detrimental to what proved to be another entertaining and action-packed Investec Champions Cup night at Thomond Park.
arrived in Limerick as the form team in , winning all three of their previous matches, claiming bonus points from two, and if they thought today’s encounter was going to be a walk in the park against an injury-stricken
side, that was quickly put to bed in the opening minutes. Peter O’Mahony thundered into a ruck, won a turnover, and as the whistle blew to award the penalty, the 20,000 strong crowd roared into life; it was a clear indication that it was going to be a long night for the visitors.
Despite the early pressure from the hosts, it was the visitors who got on the board first as Alex Mitchell sniped through to score the opening try. Munster wrestled their way back into the game through Jack Crowley’s boot, and after Saints went down to 14 men, Munster struck.
Munster got back in front when Antoine Frisch made the most of a threatening position with a delightful angle.
After Saints’ red card, more on that shortly, Munster gained the ascendancy, and O’Mahony hammered down the ball over the line to give Munster a 15-7 lead at the break.
This game was not without some controversy as Northampton Saints hooker Curtis Langdon was given his marching orders after he kneed Munster’s Thomas Ahern in the face at a ruck.
Ahern whacked his face on Langdon’s knee on the way down from making a tackle before copping a second when the Saints front-rower lunged forward and connected with the Munster lock once he hit the deck.
The decision has proven to be incredibly polarising depending on which side’s supporters you ask, but in this case, we feel that referee Tual Trainini and his TMO Eric Gauzins came to the correct decision.
This is certainly one of those cases where the more you watch the incident, the more it looks like a red card. Perhaps that may be the effect of the replays being in slow-motion; this one should have been replayed in real-time, too. Regardless, momentum doesn’t look to result in Langdon’s knee going forward and it certainly doesn’t help the Saints forward’s case that he grabs Ahern’s back and looks down before his leg drives forward.
In cases like this, fans and players will argue about intent, but in reality, intent means nothing, as referee Trainini explained when issuing the card: “First contact was accidental; second, we can’t say it was intentional, but it was reckless.
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We cannot prove or disprove intent; only Langdon knows for sure, but it was certainly reckless and deserved a red card.
The conditions this evening were not conducive for even the most experienced playmakers looking to inspire their side. However, we were treated to two of the rising stars in the number 10 jumpers a ground that has a history of the man in the iconic jersey deciding matches.
While much of the match was decided up front, the impact of the two fly-halves cannot be understated.
Munster’s Crowley kicked superbly out of hand but understandably struggled off the tee in the conditions.
He threw a great pass to assist Frisch. For much of the game he kicked well enough to pin Saints back in their half.
However, this time around, he was outplayed by a man who is chasing an England debut this Six Nations, Fin Smith. While Courtney Lawes was crowned man of the match after another sublime outing, Smith was a strong contender and a clear runner-up. He slotted a stunning drop goal to cut Munster’s lead to four points, which Crowley cancelled out soon after; he was on hand to knock over a clutch penalty, kicked his side just five metres out where Sam Graham would go on to score the match-winning try and added the extras.
It was a mouth-watering head-to-head battle that was jampacked with swings and roundabouts for both young playmakers and the first edition of what could be a long rivalry at the international level. They both have plenty of competition for the Test jersey, but they are certainly both ready for the challenge.
With the rain returning in the second half in pelting fashion, the forwards were always going to have a , and two men rose to the challenge and stuck their hands up: two one-club legends.
O’Mahony sparked the debate around his contract situation at Munster again as his current deal nears an end.
He was excellent in the lineout as per usual, a warrior in defence and powerful with ball in hand. He was given a rousing ovation when he departed the pitch after producing another standout performance, capping off a memorable week for the veteran.
In the opposing jumper, Lawes was outstanding for the Saints, producing in the clutch yet again. The 34-year-old has seemingly grown an extra arm and leg since announcing his retirement from Test rugby and was pivotal to Northampton’s victory as it was he who won the penalty that led to the match-winning try, and his job was not done yet as he held up a Munster ball carrier to deny the hosts a crucial attack.
Outside of the veteran blindside flankers, Munster number eight Gavin Coombes responded to his Ireland snub in the best way possible – putting in a mammoth shift on both sides of the ball and scored a try. His fellow back-rower, John Hodnett, was similarly excellent.
Munster will be disappointed that they let the victory slip from their hands, but Graham Rowntree’s side will be pleased that they did just enough to progress to the last-16 thanks to their losing bonus point.
However, the match did not help with the ever-growing injury list, with Ahern going off after that nasty head knock while Simon Zebo looked uncomfortable when he left the pitch, too.
As for Saints, the victory in Limerick is yet another statement of intent in what has been a stunning season. They top the Premiership table and have gone four from four in the Investec Champions Cup.
They left Glasgow with a victory, a difficult place to do just that at, before edging Toulon and claiming a bonus point in the win. They made it a hat-trick of wins by thumping Bayonne last week before seemingly securing the top spot in the pool with the gritting and brave win at Thomond Park.
Northampton has always been an incredibly entertaining side with the ball in hand, but this season, they have added a stern defence, which makes them a real threat going forward.
