Munster turned their attention to European club rugby’s second tier competition this afternoon as they travelled to Stade Municipal for their Amlin Challenge Cup encounter against Brive.
Rants and raves to sportonline@rte.ie
Full-time: Brive 37-42 Munster
79 min Perry crosses the line for Brive in a dramatic conclusion to the contest, while Belie makes no mistake with the conversion.
78 min A terrific tackle by Ryan rescues Munster.
77 min Brive inexplicably elect to kick to the corner with just three minutes remaining. The ensuing lineout will help Munster run the clock down.
74 min Gutsy Brive believe they can come back from the brink but the challenge they face may be too great at this late stage of the match.
71 min Palisson latches on to a shoddy pass from Ronan and makes the most of the intercept as he crashes over the line. Belie converts as Brive attempt to muster a comeback.
69 min O’Gara seems certain to have secured victory for Munster and an Amlin Challenge Cup semi-final back at Thomond Park.
65 min O’Gara’s kicking masterclass continues as he kicks another penalty.
60 min Munster’s Jones climbs high to catch a cross-field ball under considerable pressure. He comes off worse in a clash of heads but is deemed fit to carry on.
58 min Belie fails with a penalty from distance.
54 min O’Gara adds another penalty to his haul as Munster extend their lead to 13 points.
51 min Stringer scores an opportunist try for Munster. Tuitupou’s kick finds a Brive back who sprays a pass wide, but his intended target slip and an alert Stringer chips the ball forward and scores one of the easiest tries he’s ever scored. The ever-reliable O’Gara converts.
48 min Munster break through Howlett and he finds Earls who powers over the whitewash for his second try of the afternoon. O’Gara nails a fiendishly difficult conversion from the left touchline.
43 min Brive begin the second half as they finished the first. A desperate high tackle from O'Callaghan sees Munster concede a penalty and Belie coolly converts.
Half-time: Brive 20-19 Munster
37 min Belie has recovered from an inauspicious start as he kicks another penalty as the French side take the lead.
30 min Belie’s deft chip exposes a flat Munster defence as he tears forward, but his élan isn’t rewarded as Palisson clumsily knocks the ball on.
24 min The first scrum of the game finally arrives after 24 exciting minutes. Brive get the put-in.
22 min Howlett sprints clear for a remarkable breakaway try after being found by Jones. O’Gara adds the conversion.
20 min The referee calls for the first water break of the match as temperatures reach 30C at Stade Municipal.
18 min A Brive lineout eventually finds Estebanez and he strolls through a lethargic Munster defence. Belie does the necessary with the conversion.
17 min Fast ball tears Munster apart as Retief Uys crosses the line for his side’s first try of the match. Belie adds a conversion as the hosts narrow the deficit to just two points.
15 min Brive achieve a couple of turnovers in as many minutes as momentum swings their way. Mafi is penalised for a late, high tackle on Palisson and is sinbinned. Brive kick for touch.
14 min A let-off for Munster as Belie spurns a second penalty.
10 min Offside is given against Munster hooker Varley and Belie gets his side off the mark with the penalty that followed.
7 min The Munster defence are coping with their opponents with the minimum fuss and turn over the ball to launch another attack.
5 min Mafi, Jones and finally Earls combine in an expansive move up the left as Munster add another sensational try. O’Gara’s difficult conversion attempt rebounds of the left post.
2 min O’Gara sprays the ball wide through the hands rather than kicking as the ball is recycled several times. A beautiful offload by Tuitupou finds Howlett who drives over for a try. O’Gara adds the conversion as Munster make a perfect start.
Kick-off
Pre-match
Ronan O’Gara captains the side in the absence of Paul O’Connell.
Munster must cope with soaring temperatures and a firm pitch this afternoon.
Teams
Brive: 15 Scott Spedding, 14 Guillaume Namy, 13 Jamie Noon, 12 Fabrice Estebanez, 11 Alexis Palisson, 10 Mathieu Belie, 9 Augustin Figuerola, 8 Julien Le Devedec, 7 Antoine Claassen, 6 Gerhard Vosloo, 5 Retief Uys, 4 Thibault Dubarry, 3 Pablo Cardinali, 2 Benoit Cabello, 1 Davit Kinchagishvili.
Replacements: 16 Jean-Philippe Bonrepaux, 17 Vasil Kakovin, 18 Pat Barnard, 19 Arnaud Mela, 20 Simon Azoulai, 21 Fabien Domingo, 22 Shaun Perry, 23 Régis Lespinas.
Munster: 15 Felix Jones, 14 Doug Howlett, 13 Lifeimi Mafi, 12 Sam Tuitupou, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 9 Conor Murray, 8 James Coughlan, 7 David Wallace, 6 Denis Leamy, 5 Mick O'Driscoll, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 Tony Buckley, 2 Damien Varley, 1 Wian du Preez
Replacements: 16 Mike Sherry, 17 Marcus Horan, 18 John Hayes, 19 Donnacha Ryan, 20 Niall Ronan, 21 Peter Stringer, 22 Paul Warwick, 23 Johne Murphy.
