Munster eliminate Edinburgh

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Munster beat Edinburgh 20-16 in Limerick to advance to the semi-finals of the Pro14.

In a high-quality contest, Munster came out on top in the battle of the two resilient defensive systems.

Looking to make early gains, both sides were guilty of over-eagerness and the game was disjointed as a result. It took an excellent touch finder from JJ Hanrahan to get Munster into Edinburgh’s 22.

Edinburgh hooker Stuart McNally’s horrible overthrow at the defensive lineout saw his opposite number Rhys Marshall pounce on the loose ball and storm all the way to the tryline, ensuring that Munster landed the first blow.

The visitors almost hit back immediately when Duhan van der Merwe went on a searing run through the middle and released Mark Bennett on his inside. But Conor Murray came in to make a try-saving tackle before Munster’s scramble defence shut down the remaining threat.

A couple of penalties by scrumhalf Sam Hidalgo-Clyne cut the deficit to one and that was how it stayed until the break.

Munster fullback Simon Zebo produced a piece of individual magic to set up a try for Keith Earls in the early stages of the second half. Unable to take a high pass cleanly, Zebo tipped it backwards, turned to regather, chipped the ball through, ran onto a bouncing ball and unleashed a sharp skip-pass for Earls to score. Hanrahan added the conversion and penalty to extend to the lead to 17-6.

That moment sparked Munster to life as they upped the tempo and intensity. But Edinburgh showed great tenacity to keep Munster at bay, while also scoring 10 unanswered points to stay within range on the scoreboard.

With Edinburgh threatening once more, the first of back-to-back penalties got Munster out of the danger zone and the second saw Hanrahan line up and convert a pressure kick to make it a four-point game.

Well into stoppage time, Edinburgh got a penalty and kicked to the line to set up a grandstand finish. But Munster’s captain courageous Peter O’Mahony rose high and slapped the ball back to their side and into the hands of Murray, who carried it into touch to bring an end to the contest.

Munster – Tries: Rhys Marshall, Keith Earls. Conversions: JJ Hanrahan (2). Penalty: Hanrahan (2).
Edinburgh – Try: Nathan Fowles. Conversion: Jaco van der Walt. Penalties: Sam Hidalgo-Clyne (3).

Munster – 15 Simon Zebo, 14 Andrew Conway, 13 Sammy Arnold, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Keith Earls, 10 JJ Hanrahan, 9 Conor Murray, 8 CJ Stander, 7 Jack O’Donoghue, 6 Peter O’Mahony (c), 5 Billy Holland, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Stephen Archer, 2 Rhys Marshall, 1 James Cronin.
Subs: Mike Sherry, Dave Kilcoyne, Ciaran Parker, Gerbrandt Grobler, Robin Copeland, James Hart, Ian Keatley, Darren Sweetnam.

Edinburgh – 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Dougie Fife, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Chris Dean, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Jaco van der Walt, 9 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 8 Bill Mata, 7 Jamie Ritchie, 6 Magnus Bradbury, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Ben Toolis, 3 Simon Berghan, 2 Stuart McInally (c), 1 Jordan Lay
Subs: 16 Neil Cochrane, 17 Allan Dell, 18 WP Nel, 19 Lewis Carmichael, 20 Cornell du Preez, 21 Nathan Fowles, 22 Duncan Weir, 23 James Johnstone.

Photo: Sam Barnes/Getty Images

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Mariette Adams