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Munster maintain winning start with victory over Ulster

By PA
Conor Murray winces following Munster's loss to Racing 92

Conor Murray celebrated his British and Irish Lions selection with a try in Munster’s 38-10 Guinness PRO14 Rainbow Cup thumping of Ulster at Thomond Park.

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Rory Scannell and Mike Haley also touched down to make it 19-3 at half-time, the latter score coming after Ulster’s Will Addison was sent off for a high tackle.

Ulster captain Iain Henderson snapped back with an early second-half score, but a dominant Munster made it back-to-back victories as Scannell, JJ Hanrahan and Andrew Conway made it a six-try success.

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    Tadhg Beirne, the second of Munster’s 2021 Lions, was slow to roll away, allowing Michael Lowry to kick the visitors ahead from a second-minute penalty.

    Ulster showed early dynamism in midfield, with Addison and Stuart McCloskey both making yards, but Munster conjured up the game’s opening try.

    After getting involved with Addison to spark a short-lived brawl, Rory Scannell then popped up with a clever dummy to score in the 10th minute. A monster carry by Gavin Coombes had set up the seven-pointer.

    A swift outside break had the returning Dan Goggin inches away before Murray flopped over from a 26th-minute ruck. Hanrahan missed the difficult conversion from the left.

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    Ulster openside Marcus Rea’s relieving penalty denied Coombes at close range, and although Hanrahan missed a subsequent penalty, Munster’s pace and penetration earned them further opportunities.

    Approaching the interval, a TMO review ended with Addison seeing red for a late and high hit which made contact with Shane Daly’s head. Poor Ulster tackling then allowed Haley to speed over from replacement Damian De Allende’s short pass.

    Five Ulster replacements at the break saw them build immediate pressure, with 2021 Lion Henderson muscling over following a series of pick-and-goes. Lowry’s converted cut the gap to 19-10.

    However, that was as close as Dan McFarland’s men could get to their in-form rivals. Centre Scannell intercepted a Lowry pass for a 45-metre run-in for the bonus point with 54 minutes on the clock.

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    Scannell turned provider five minutes later, sending Hanrahan scampering over for a slick try from the edge of the Ulster 22. The fly-half also converted to complete his 13-point haul.

    Munster’s smothering defence thwarted Ulster from a series of opportunities, including mauls. Even when skipper Peter O’Mahony was sin-binned for repeated penalties, a clever Scannell kick found an unmarked Conway for a closing 78th-minute try.

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    M
    MS 1 hour ago
    Why Blair Kinghorn should be nailed on as the Lions starting 15

    I can see arguments for both Kinghorn, and Keenan starting for the Lions. But I’m less convinced by some of the claims (clearly partisan) supporters are using to argue the merits of one over the other.


    For example, a number of Ireland supporters have suggested Kinghorn is ‘defensively weak’. That’s patently false - or at least on the evidence of this 6N, he’s certainly no weaker there than Keenan is, who is presumably the comparative standard they’re using. Keenan was both shrugged off in contact, and beaten on the edge for pace, a number of times during this competition.


    Equally, Scotland supporters arguing Kinghorn is the more capable ‘rugby player’ seem to have overlooked the (frankly sizeable) body of evidence demonstrating that Keenan is an excellent ball in hand distributor and decision maker. So that doesn’t hold up under scrutiny either.


    I don’t think there’s all that much to choose between them, and either would be a strong choice. I think it would be really interesting from a pure rugby perspective to see Keenan playing a ‘Scotland-esque’ style of high tempo attacking rugby. Either coming into the line more routinely as first receiver, or being swung as a pendulum and getting the ball on the edge against a stretched defence.


    That’s assuming Andy Farrell goes that route, of course. He may well just opt for his Ireland system instead, and populate it with the likes of Henshaw, Ringrose, Lowe and Keenan. I’m sure that would win the series. Quite what effect it might have on a Lions audience who were expecting something other than ‘Ireland on tour, but wearing red’ would remain to be seen.


    As for the debate at FB, the only ‘eye test’ difference I feel exists is in the pace of rugby Kinghorn (Toulouse? Scotland?) tends to play. His passing/offload game feels crisper and higher tempo than Keenan’s - and as we saw in Paris, his pace and eye for a gap from deep are superior.


    But again, that will only prove a decisive factor if Andy Farrell wants to play that way. If all he wants from his FB is to sit deep, field high balls, and mop up then there’s little between these two equally excellent players.

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