A brilliant hat-trick from Tom Farrell secured a hard-fought and much-needed victory for Munster in Belfast last night.
The 31-year-old arrived from Connacht in the summer and the Dublin native has proved a smash hit at Thomond Park. Farrell’s last-gasp try snatched a win at the death to cap off a sublime display last night.
Both teams were coming off the back of some rough results in Europe of late. Munster’s Champions Cup campaign hit the skids with a poor defeat in Castres. Ulster, meanwhile, conceded more than 100 points across two sobering losses to Toulouse and Bordeaux in recent weeks
We were expecting a bit of a reaction from both camps in Belfast last night. Both Ulster and Munster went into this game ranked 10th and 11th in the URC standings and, for much of a dreadful first half, you could see why both of these outfits are occupying such lowly positions in the league table and also why they have both struggled in the Champions Cup lately.
Much of the opening 40 minutes was fitful, error-strewn fare and there was almost a collective sigh of relief among the Ravenhill supporters in attendance when replacement centre Jack Murphy booted the ball into the stands to bring an end to a half which won’t have many highlight reel offerings.
The key moment arrived in the 32nd minute when Tom O’Toole, who had crossed for an early try, was sent off by referee Ben Whitehouse for a clearout of Alex Nankivell at the breakdown.
It seemed more careless than malicious but it looked worse every time the Welsh official looked at the replays on the TV screen.
O’Toole, who was having a good shift up until then, was duly shown a red card, leaving Ulster down to 14 men for the rest of the contest.
A few minutes earlier, Tom Farrell had struck back for Munster following a rare moment of cohesion and accuracy from the visitors.
Ulster went in at the break with a slender 7-5 lead and it felt like anyone’s game at that stage.
Yes, the hosts were down a man but Munster weren’t looking like a team which could hammer home that advantage. Save for a few moments, the Reds looked like the same rabble which struggled so badly in Castres last week.
Once again, they compounded errors, spilled passes and giving away needless penalties. Time and again, they invited Ulster back into the game. Thing is, Richie Murphy’s side weren’t offering a lot with ball in hand either as they sought to pound away at the Munster defence with endless one-out runners.
Thankfully, things went up a notch after the break. Jack Crowley is clearly still trying to find his groove after a mixed autumn with Ireland, but the Munster out-half showed his class with a few nice moments last night.
It was his deft cross-kick which proved the catalyst for Farrell’s second try of the night, the Munster centre showing great pace to finish in the corner after great handling from Mike Haley.
The red card, as it often does, seemed to galvanise Ulster. James McNabney, David McCann and Jude Postlethwaite were making big dents in a tiring Munster defence. But it was replacement lock Harry Sheridan who made the breakthrough with a close-range effort.
To add insult to injury, Rory Scannell, who had replaced Nankivell, was sin-binned for obstruction and Ulster had their tails up.
But Munster would strike back with a stunning strike move straight off the training paddock as quick hands from replacement Brian Gleeson, Calvin Nash and Farrell sending Shane Daly away for a brilliant score.
Crowley shanked the touchline conversion as Munster nudged into a slender 15-12 lead with 10 minutes remaining.
A huge Farrell break lifted another Ulster siege but there was a sense that the visitors were hanging on.
Scott Wilson, the young Ulster tighthead, had a barnstorming impact off the bench. A huge surge from the young prop had Munster on the backfoot and, fittingly, the tireless McNabney crossed for what felt like a decisive moment.
John Cooney fired over the extras as 14-man Ulster snatched back the lead. But Farrell had the final say with the brilliant centre racing onto Nash’s offload for the killer score.
It was a huge boost for Munster and provides some much-needed league points after a poor start to the season.
Next up is Leinster in Limerick next Friday. With Farrell on board, the Reds will fancy a crack at the league leaders.
