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Sean Farrell reports from Exeter
WHEN FLIGHT FR504 landed – thankfully safely – in Bristol with a thud at 7.45 on Saturday morning, we should have known there was a day of nerves, uncertainty and uncompromising forces ahead.
Further south, in Devon, the same Storm Callum elements which buffeted and cajoled planes seeking runways would also have a major bearing on Exeter v Munster.
Lineouts were skewed, long passes became a foolish exercise. Box-kicks were held up in the teeth of the wind and pushed back towards kickers, prompting chaos among the chasers.
Joey Carbery gave all on-lookers a good measure of the swirl when he opted to kick a first-half penalty on what would normally look a dangerously low trajectory.
“I don’t think guys realise how tough it was out there,” said head coach Johann van Graan after the teams had battled out a 10-10 draw. But it was clear from the beginning, from a thunderous CJ Stander hit or the Dave Ewers crunch which soon responded, that these sides had to trust in physicality when the weather was also intent on making its presence felt.
All told the tackle count was 186 to 185 at the final whistle, but the evidence of the brutal collisions was on show throughout the second half. Never moreso than when Ewers and Sam Skinner were left laying motionless in front of the Munster posts after Stander had forced his way over for the game’s crucial second try.
Ewers passed his HIA and later returned to the field. Skinner did not, and Munster’s injury list in the week leading up to Gloucester will include Sam Arnold – taken to hospital as a precaution with a knock to his throat – John Ryan’s ankle and Keith Earls’ tight hamstring. But there will be sore bodies all around UL when they get back to work tomorrow.
Source: Dan Sheridan/INPHO
Pre-match, given the Chiefs’ domestic form and their back-to-back battle royale with Leinster last December, most felt that a losing bonus point would amount to a terrific result for Munster. A draw is far more than twice as valuable to them because points from home games are so crucial when it comes to escaping a Heineken Champions Cup pool and Exeter have been denied two or three this weekend.
When it came down to it, it was the international class in Munster’s ranks that took victory away from the Chiefs. Tadhg Beirne emerged man of the match having played a huge role at the lineout and in making the hardest of yards through contact. He took a great deal of focus off CJ Stander and came through with 16 carries for 17 metres when every inch felt vital.
Stander himself put 20 metres to his name off 18 carries, and his incessant work-rate took him through 14 tackles – joint-highest for Munster alongside Rory Scannell.
Alongside the Corkman, Carbery was on hand for 12 tackles, and he made a mockery of his apparent slight frame to make some crucial hits and good reads throughout to ward danger off before it emerged. There were brief flashes of his brilliance in attack too as he rose above the elements to zip passes and create rare breaks.