Graham Rowntree praised the character of his Munster side, after they came from behind on four separate occasions to produce a bonus-point 35-33 win against Connacht at Thomond Park.
The sides shared 10 tries in a thrilling opening day fixture in the BKT United Rugby Championship, with Shane Daly's try and conversion by Tony Butler on 70 minutes seeing the home side eke out a dramatic victory.
The hosts trailed 12-0 after a quarter of an hour and 19-14 at half time against an impressive Connacht side, and while Munster got the first try of the second half, Connacht kept the game on serve with tries for David Hawkshaw and Cathal Forde.
Forde’s try on 63 minutes had left Connacht 33-28 ahead heading into the final quarter of an hour, but after Daly dived over in the corner, 22-year-old Butler held his nerve to nudge Munster into the decisive lead.
"Relief. We had to win that," Rowntree remarked on a nail-biting 80 minutes.
"The resolve we showed to stick in that game... Crikey, they [Connacht] were good. I just said to Pete [Connacht head coach Pete Wilkins] there, how physical they were in their carry, their ruck, their shapes in attack out the back and they get to the edge of the field. Crikey, they were good. We had to be good then.
"Look at the tries they scored early on, Craig Casey getting done off the side of the scrum, you don't see that very often. But relief, I'm chuffed with how we stuck in the game."
After a sluggish start, quick tries for Alex Nankivell and Mike Haley had put Munster into a 14-12 lead despite Connacht being the better side.
Ben Murphy’s second try of the game gave the away side a deserved 19-14 lead at the break, but Rowntree was proud of how his team never panicked.
"Half time was calm. You know, there's elements of that first 20 minutes where the last little pass didn't go to hand.
"Mike Haley could have just put [Thaakir] Abrahams down the wing there, next thing we know we're back defending a scrum, give a daft lineout penalty away.
Munster coach Graham Rowntree pays tribute to both sides after the URC win over Connacht, but admits his team have "plenty to work on". #MUNvCON pic.twitter.com/F40Bib7ZK8
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) September 21, 2024
"We're just snatching at things a bit, but we wrestle control again at the end there and Tony Butler, a real clutch kick from the edge of the field. He got a good workout defensively.
"Plenty to work on, but delighted with the win."
It was an impressive performance from Connacht, but a crushing defeat after they had scored five tries and 33 points, with new signings Ben Murphy and Josh Ioane linking up well in the half-backs, and Mack Hansen (below) constantly looking dangerous with the ball in hand.
In the end, two match points were a small reward.
"Very much mixed feelings," Connacht coach Wilkins told RTÉ Sport at Thomond Park.
"Huge disappointment because I thought we put ourselves in a position to win the game and get what would have been a famous result for us, as well as getting ourselves off to a flier.
"At the same time, to have not taken that and to see the lead slip away is particularly difficult.
"I think over the next 48 hours we'll reflect, five tries, two competition points, and a really, really promising performance. I think we'll see the positives of that and it's important we build on it next week against the Sharks."
Among plenty of positives for Connacht were the performances of their Murphys; scrum-half Ben (below), who scored two tries on his debut after joining from Leinster, while back row Josh excelled on his return to the side, having spent last season away completing his medical studies.
And Wilkins admits they missed Josh’s abrasive nature last season.
"We did (miss him), and it's one of the comments we made in the first week of pre-season when we got him back. It was only seeing him back in training and hitting people in defensive drills and carrying hard, and more practice, where we could see how much we missed him last year.
"He picked up where he left off last season, he was outstanding. He started at six and filled into the second row, and we were grateful to have him back.
"Ben was terrific. His passing and kicking game is up there with anyone that we've been involved with in terms of the core skills of a nine. He's so fit, he helps us play at pace, and he defended bravely.
"He'll be great for us this year and I'm so glad he got off to a good start."
Here's coach Pete Wilkins on "brave" Connacht after their loss to Munster in the URC, and Ben Murphy comes in for plenty of praise after his tryscoring debut for the province. pic.twitter.com/RT55DFYZ5I
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) September 21, 2024
Meanwhile Rowntree says Billy Burns will have a scan on the shoulder injury he picked up in the second half of his debut.
The former Ulster out-half looked in severe pain when he walked off holding his shoulder, with Rowntree confirming it to be an injury to his AC joint, which will require further assessment.
Should Burns face time on the sidelines, Butler could be in line for extra gametime. The Ennis out-half came on with 27 minutes to play and kicked two conversions, the second of which sealed the Munster win.
"Clutch kicks. I'd hate to do that for a living. I'm proud of him. He just had a nice chat there, he knows he has a lot of work to do in that channel defensively.
"We'll see how Billy is on Monday morning, he'll have a scan tomorrow and have a look at it. So we'll see from Monday who is available," the Munster coach added.
