Lions Upset Munster With A Brilliant Comeback

 

The Emirates Lions hosted the fourth-placed Munster at Airlines Emirates Park on Saturday in their biggest test in the 2021/2022 United Rugby Championship. In what was expected to be the toughest match yet for the Lions it seemed that Munster who dominated play for most of the match, was going to be too much to chew for the Lions. However, the Lions who trailed on the scoreboard till the 72nd minute dug deep and managed to come back late in the second half to beat Munster 23-21.

The first half saw the Lions defending in their half and quarter most of the time with Munster applying all the pressure with well-structured rugby. They dominated the possession and forward play especially at the breakdowns creating the platform for well-worked tries. The Lions did manage to play some attacking rugby in the Munster territory when they were able to get there however, the Munster defence held up every time apart from a great converted try scored and a successful penalty kick late in the half to get the Lions onto the scoreboard late in the half which ended 21-10 in favour of Munster.

The second half saw the Lions again struggling to play into Munster's territory due to the resolute Munster defence who managed to turn the ball on the Lions' attack and then in turn attacked from within the Lions' half. The Lions' defence however held up very well on a number of occasions absorbing the Munster pressure. The Lions managed to score a successful penalty kick and another converted good try in close succession in the 64th and 66th minutes to get them within 1 point of Munster. A successful penalty kick in minute 72 put them in the lead to beat Munster.

07:28 Munster's prop John Ryan scores a try after repeated attacking phase play in the Lions' quarter. Converted by Jack Crowley (7-0).

13:42 Munster's prop Josh Wycherley scores a try after repeated attacking phase play in the Lions' quarter. Converted by Jack Crowley (14-0).

20:00 The Lions spent most of the first 20 minutes defending in their half and quarter with Munster constantly applying pressure with well-structured rugby using dominant forward play to score tries. The Lions did manage to play into Munster's quarter and attacked their try line with a driving maul but Munster managed to turn the ball over.

33:06 The Lions scores their first try when Edwill van der Merwe raced down the sideline skipping through tackles to score a brilliant try. Converted by Jordan Hendrikse (14-7).

35:03 Penalty given against Munster in their quarter for obstructive play. Successfully kicked by Jordan Hendrikse (14-10).

40:00 Munster lock Fineen Wycherley scores a try after a good break and strong running from within the Lions' quarter. Converted by Jack Crowley (21-10).

40:00 The Lions managed to play more in the Munster territory and scored a brilliant try and a successful penalty kick to get them on the scoreboard. Munster however scored an easy try right at the end of the half to keep them in the lead and the pressure on the Lions to play catch up rugby going into the second half.

60:00 The Lions again spent most of the time trying to play out of their half with a solid Munster defence turning the ball every time the Lions managed to play into Munster's territory. The Lions are intent on playing the ball wide quickly to their speedsters on the wings who managed to find some gaps in the Munster defence.

64:33 Penalty given against Munster in their quarter. Successfully kicked by Jordan Hendrikse (21-13).

66:52 Lions centre Wandisile Simelane scores a try by beating the Munster defence down the sideline. Converted by Jordan Hendrikse (21-20).

72:32 Penalty given against Munster in their quarter against a lazy runner obstructing the Lions' play. Successfully kicked by Jordan Hendrikse (21-23).

Scorers:
Emirates Lions: Tries: Edwill van der Merwe, Wandisile Simelane. Conversions: Jordan Hendrikse (2). Penalties: Jordan Hendrikse (3)
Munster: Tries: John Ryan, Josh Wycherley, Fineen Wycherley. Conversions: Jack Crowley (3).

Teams:

Emirates Lions: 15. Quan Horn, 14. Stean Pienaar, 13. Wandisile Simelane, 12. Burger Odendaal (c), 11. Edwill van der Merwe, 10. Jordan Hendrikse, 9. Morne van den Berg, 8. Francke Horn, 7. Vincent Tshituka, 6. Sibusiso Sangweni, 5. Reinhard Nothnagel, 4. Ruben Schoeman, 3. Carlu Sadie, 2. Jaco Visagie, 1. Sti Sithole. Replacements: 16. PJ Botha, 17. JP Smith, 18. Ruan Dreyer, 19. Ruan Venter, 20. Emmanuel Tshituka, 21. Nico Steyn, 22. Manuel Rass, 23. Tiaan Swanepoel.

Munster: 15. Mike Haley, 14. Calvin Nash, 13. Chris Farrell, 12. Damian de Allende, 11. Shane Daly, 10. Jack Crowley, 9. Neil Cronin, 8. Alex Kendellen, 7. John Hodnett, 6. Jack O’Donoghue (captain), 5. Fineen Wycherley, 4. Jean Kleyn, 3. John Ryan, 2. Niall Scannell, 1. Josh Wycherley. Replacements: 16. Scott Buckley, 17. Mark Donnelly, 18. Keynan Knox, 19. Eoin O’Connor, 20. Chris Cloete, 21. Paddy Patterson, 22. Ben Healy, 23. Liam Coombes
Article by Francois du Toit