Munster v Zebre Parma: Five takeaways as hosts ‘struggle to click’ but Edwin Edogbo moves on from ‘keyboard warriors’
Munster's Edwin Edogbo and, inset, Zebre's Bautista Stavile
Following a tough slog of a 21-7 United Rugby Championship win for Munster over bottom side Zebre Parma at Thomond Park, here are our five takeaways.
The top line
Munster were left relying on their bench to rescue them from stalemate against Zebre. The contest was deadlocked at 7-all for 32 minutes before two late tries from replacement players finally settled the outcome in favour of the frustrated hosts.
Having never lost four in a row at Thomond Park in the professional era, the onus was on Clayton McMillan’s team to come out firing against the bottom of the table visitors and register a nourishing URC victory.
They started well, with a 50:22 from Tom Farrell soon igniting the pressure that resulted in an early yellow card for Giulio Bertaccini and a converted Shane Daly try some minutes later.
That should have been the cue for them to kick on but with heavy rain falling, it quickly became a frightful grind. A Jack O’Donoghue fumble with the line beckoning was frustrating, ending the sin-binning without a further score.
Instead, it was Zebre who struck next, Bautista Stavile finding a line on penalty advantage to get over the 32nd minute and tie the scores. It was an unexpected twist, and it left Munster tizzy, a situation not helped by seeing a 46th-minute try from Paddy Paterson ruled out for a knock-on.
They soon turned to their bench, which included recent new Ireland Test cap Edwin Edogbo, and the energy it produced eventually proved deceptive.
Sub Alex Kendellen burrowed over from a pick and drive on 64 minutes, and Lee Barron did likewise from a 71st-minute maul. That was enough to seal the bonus-less win that they can’t be satisfied with.
State of flux
Not even the staunchest Munster fan in an attendance of around 12,500 can deny that their struggling team is in a state of flux. This was just their fifth win in 11 matches since they swashbuckling ambushed Leinster at Croke Park in October – but even the victories at the minute aren’t of the kind to be joyously celebrating.
Home match versus the likes of the habitual cellar dwellers, Dragons and Zebre, have traditionally played out with high scores and bonus points registered, but it just isn’t clicking for a team that will lose its attack coach, Mike Prendergast, at the end of the season, reportedly to Bath in the Prem.
The two-point January win over the Dragons in Cork came minus a four-try bonus, and it was the same on Saturday night in Limerick – just the three tries in a match where you were grateful for the win, never mind the elusive bonus.
It wasn’t that they didn’t put width on the ball and didn’t try to create. They did, with Calvin Nash and the try-scoring Daly often featuring, but the lack of overall penetration and way too many turnovers sapped their progress and left them in an arm-wrestle where Zebre can justifiably argue that the 14-point margin at the finish flattered the hosts.
In terms of players on top of their game, midfielder Farrell was the only one to fully stand out, and this lack of consistency is an issue that Munster must fix with a daunting two-match trip to South Africa next on their horizon.
Heart-warming reception
You wouldn’t have expected anything else from the loyal Munster fans, but the cheer that greeted the 50th-minute arrival of replacement Edogbo was heart-warming. Just a fortnight ago, the IRFU’s social media post celebrating the youngster’s Test debut became a lightning rod for the nut-job keyboard warriors to spout racist abuse.
The lock didn’t make the Ireland match day squad last week against England, so this was his first return to action and it was super to see that what was said hasn’t affected what he does on the pitch.
After replacing Jean Kleyn, he quickly got down to business and his presence was soon felt at a penalty-winning scrum when he packed down behind tighthead Michael Ala’alatoa.
His best moment happened in the couple of carries he produced near the line in the build-up to the crucial lead-taking Kendellen score. While the match ended with him losing the ball in contact, his return was nothing but positive after the grubbiness of the disgusting abuse that materialised post-Italy.
Hat-tip to Zebre
As curious as it was to see Munster fail to click, you can’t help but admire the commitment shown by Zebre. In the past, matches during the Six Nations were always something for them to be frightened of.
Minus their Test players, their squad depth would be exposed, but change is afoot in Italian rugby. Yes, you can nit-pick and highlight how their bench wasn’t a match for what Munster had. They wound up soaking way too much pressure and eventually cracking without having anything in attack to threaten a shock win.
However, the starting XV they put on the park was excellent in giving them a foothold, especially the try-scoring Stavile, and it bodes well for their long-term competitiveness. They certainly didn’t look like a team occupying 16th and last place on the table.
The Gleeson effect
It was last month when Munster announced that Brian Gleeson had committed to a new two-year deal, and Saturday night witnessed a rare 80 minutes from the highlight-rated prospect.
The recently turned 22-year-old hasn’t had the best of luck graduating to first-time rugby. Look at how a broken elbow prevented him from availing of an Ireland call-up for the Autumn Nations.
However, he is now back fit and looking to get as many minutes to build up his resilience. Munster need breakdown monsters, and the back-rower showed in a 24th-minute penalty turnover win that he can become a major player.
He was also the Munster forward who made the most carries. They were only for marginal gains, but repeatedly hitting people hard in the collision was something that helped to eventually grind down the Italians.
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