Munster v Bulls: Five takeaways as ‘rookie inclusion’ becomes ’16-point game-winning masterstroke’
Ex-Ireland U20s out-half Charlie O'Shea starred for Munster as did Jeandre Rudolph, inset, for the Bulls
Following a 26-22 win for Munster against the Bulls in their URC clash at Thomond Park on Saturday, Planet Rugby picks out five takeaways from the round two action.
The top line
What a timely success for Munster following a difficult start to the new season that featured an opening round defeat, plenty of injury concerns and the resignation of the club CEO.
After an eventful week, it all came right on the night and the riposte had a headline maker in 20-year-old rookie Charlie O’Shea.
Making his first start, he scored 16 points – two tries and three conversions – and produced the assist for another, a wonderful 70-minute contribution that came out of the blue given his team’s inconsistencies and a low level of expectancy surrounding them.
Buoyed by their sharp start to the season at Zebre, the Bulls were first to strike in this fixture, pouncing off a 15th minute maul through Ruan Vermaak, but that opener was soon matched by O’Shea’s precision 19th minute cross-kick to the unmarked Diarmuid Kilgallen.
This reply energised the hosts and with the home crowd roaring its approval, they took the lead in the 31st minute when O’Shea charged down a Curwin Bosch kick and won the race versus Zak Burger to the ball that had bobbled over the try line.
The advantage didn’t linger, as Thaakir Abrahams’ break scrambled the defence and Francois Klopper provided the 36th-minute pick-and-drive converted try finish for 14-all.
It was another Jeandre Rudolph penalty-winning breakdown intervention that allowed Bosch to kick the South Africans into a 44th-minute lead, but this swing didn’t demotivate Munster.
O’Shea’s second try on 55 minutes, following a carry to the line by John Hodnett, got them back into a lead that was added to by Alex Kendellen’s follow-up 14 minutes later.
Up 26-17, the finish became a tense situation with Rudolph’s 73rd-minute try cutting the margin to four points, but Munster deservedly held on.
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Rookie’s dream first start
Munster boss Clayton McMillan made wholesale changes following last weekend’s opening round loss and the inclusion of O’Shea, the first-year academy out-half, for his first start proved a masterstroke.
The 20-year-old had debuted off the bench in the final minutes of the collective fade-out against Glasgow, but the rookie’s impact was beyond anyone’s wildest dreams.
He settled encouragingly to the task, and his grabbing of a clearance kick over the touchline and keeping it in play was a sign of his early composure, and what followed was immense. His bomb of a cross-kick on penalty advantage created Kilgallen’s score.
Then came his own two tries. The first was a splendid piece of opportunism, charging down the Bulls kicker and then winning the race to dive on the ball over the line. And the second was well-timed. Munster mistakes had allowed the Bulls several escapes, but O’Shea punished them in the corner 15 minutes in the second half with a lovely shuffle and dive.
He continued to lead by example, executing a splendid 61st-minute touch finder, and his final act was the conversion of Kendellen’s try, which was followed by a standing ovation as he made his way off. After all the concern about inadequate cover for the injured Jack Crowley, a new hero had unexpectedly been found.
Autumnal Ireland spooks the Bulls
The Bulls swaggered into the new season in the nice surroundings of balmy Italy last weekend, but an autumnal Ireland proved not to be to their liking as they failed to reach the pitch in the performance that was needed to see off their enthusiastic hosts.
It was just four months ago when the South Africans hammered Munster 45-14 on the Highveld in the quarter-finals, but that polish was absent at Thomond Park on a night where the Bulls never seemed happy with the conditions.
They gave up nine penalties to Munster’s five, including one at a first-half scrum, an area of the game that is usually their forte, and their level of turnovers was just too much.
They had a class act in No.8 Rudolph, but the defensively shaky manner in which they conceded the first two tries – a cross-kick and a charged-down kick – highlighted that the reaction time of too many players wasn’t good enough.
It said a lot that despite having six minutes to rescue themselves after cutting the deficit to four points, no good chance followed to snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat.
Battling No.8s
There is nothing like a good head-to-head duel, and the clash of the respective No.8s was a decent watch. For some time, Brian Gleeson has been spoken about as the next great thing in the Munster pack, but injuries have blighted the fulfilment of this fine promise. Until now, perhaps.
With his body now more seemingly accustomed to the bangs and knocks of the pro ranks, the 22-year-old was a prime reason why Munster got their win. When it came to bally carrying, there was no teammate to match his frequency of industry, and it was a pity that he needed to go off for a HIA after a 65th-minute collision.
Whereas Gleeson certainly has youth on his side to forge what it is hoped will be a distinguished career, it’s a different situation for the 32-year-old Rudolph. Currie Cup has long been his playground, but last year’s switch to the Bulls has provided the platform for him to shine on an elevated stage.
He is a different type of player to Gleeson – it’s Marcell Coetzee who remains the Bulls’ go-to for ball carrying. But Rudolph was incredibly difficult for Munster to shift when he latched onto their breakdown ball, and he exhibited an impressive show of pace with the touchline dash he made for his try near the end.
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More flowers, please
Munster’s attack got some flowers before fading last weekend, but this was another step forward as regards basic execution. The score was 19-17 in their favour when they packed down for a scrum in the middle of the pitch on the 22, and what followed was the sort of threat they have generally lacked for quite a while.
The impressive Craig Casey found Dan Kelly, another who played well, with a long pass and the midfielder’s immediate transfer got rookie Gordon Wood to a ruck about seven metres out where the presentation was crisp, allowing Casey to hit the support line running Kendellen to score.
That was excellent, no-nonsense play. Not so good, however, was Munster’s worsening injury profile with Michael Milne and try-scorer Kilgallen early departures.
It didn’t help either having to select an ex-England prop as their back-up hooker. They got just over an hour from the debut-making South African Marnus van der Merwe, but what followed at the lineout with Kieran Brookes on the throw was an example that cover can only stretch so far. Better teams than the Bulls would have made Munster pay.