Munster 23 - Edinburgh 13
First Half
The scoreboard ticked early on as the home side gave Chris Paterson an easy penalty which gave the visitors the first points on the board 3-0 Edinburgh shortly gave away their lead after also concieving a penalty, presenting Ronan O'Gara with a straightforward kick to level to score Munster 3-3 Edinburgh
Edinburgh were then put under pressure from a strong Munster scrum close to their line, but David Blairs held his nerve clearing the ball with his left boot.
Munster continued to test Edinburgh's defence eventually exploiting space left open by Edinburgh Tony Buckley crossed the line for a try for right next to the corner flag. A good effort to stop him from touching the ball down by Greig Laidlaw and Tim Visser was not enough to stop them conceding the try. O'Gara was unable to kick the extra's but the hone side went into the lead with Munster 8-3 Edinburgh.
Edinburgh fought back with David Blair and Lee Jones both getting close to the Munster line. Munster gave away another simple penalty which Paterson put over with ease, closing the gap and giving Edinburgh a bit of confidence Munster 8-6 Edinburgh.
The visitors spent the a lot of time defending their try line as Munster pushed forward, they hung in there which paid off with a leveling try with five minutes remaining in the first half. A break from Visser created an overlap on the right, passing to Ross Rennie who ferried possession onto Jones setting up a breakdown. The forwards put in the rest of the work before Geoff Cross crossed the line for the Scots just to the right of the posts, handing Paterson with an easy kick to add the extras. Munster 8-13 Edinburgh
Edinburgh found themselves back by the Munster try line and with the chance to increase their lead further but despite a good effort from Visser who was unable to control the ball. This was followed by another chance as the visitors were handed a penalty just behind the half-way line, a good kick by Greig Laidlaw but it landed just under the cross bar.
As the clock ticked down to the end of the first half Munster made a comeback as
Lifeimi Mafi twists out of a tackle feeding the ball to Doug Howlett. The winger had just enough to beat Laidlaw to the ball and touch it down. O'Gara was unable to add the extras leaving the teams Munster 13-13 Edinburgh as the half time whistle blew.
Second Half
The Edinburgh defence proved to be good in the first half, but they found themselves defending more than attacking. Munster got off to the better start in the second half as O'Gara gave Munster a three-point from a penalty awarded when Edinburgh brought down a scrum. Munster 16-13 Edinburgh
They kept up the pressure as the dominated the second half and targeted the weak opposition maul. The maul was well defended by Edinburgh and Munster gave away a penalty for holding on.
Edinburgh found they were unable to get many opportunities with the ball and although they defence held up they weren't able to get hold of the ball. David Blair kicked for touch giving the visitors a line out close to the Munster try line, but nothing came of this opportunity.
Munster win the ball back and went straight for the Edinburgh try line but Laidlaw managed to touch the ball down before Munster had the chance to complete a score.
Visster, Fraser McKenzie and Lewis Niven all made yards towards the Munster line but slips ups meant nothing came from their efforts.
A missed tackled provides a turning point in the game as Howlett and Mafi pair up again before Howlett crosses the line for the second time. This time O'Gara manages to add the extras giving Munster a ten-point lead Munster 23-13 Edinburgh with just over ten minutes left on the clock.
It all seems to be over for the visitors who give away a penalty just in front of the half-way line, O'Gara kicks for touch before Munster lose their own line out.
Edinburgh push towards the Munster try line but are met by a tough defence who turn the ball over.
With just three minutes left on the clock Munster close in on the Edinburgh try line but Blair gets the ball and kicks it into touch.
Munster win their line out and instead of kicking the ball out to end the game they push forward to try and get a fourth try, their efforts are fruitless and the game ends Munster 23-13 Edinburgh.
Full Time
Man of the Match: Doug Howlett
Munster (13) 23
Tries: Buckly, Howlett (2)
Conversions: O'Gara
Penalties: O'Gara (2)
Edinburgh (13) 13
Tries: Cross
Conversions: Paterson
Penalties: Paterson (2)
Thoughts:
Munster who made wholesale changes from the squad that lost in Treviso managed to hold on through the short spell of threat given off by Edinburgh. The game which was a close call at half-time showed the team who was able to power on for a full 80minutes compared to a team who showed tiredness towards the end of the second half. Edinburgh made some lousy mistakes which Munster took advantage of. A good win for top of the table after a shock loss last week.
Munster: J Murphy; D Howlett, L Mafi, P Warwick, D Hurley; R O'Gara, P Stringer; W du Preez, D Varley, T Buckley, D Ryan, M O'Driscoll, D Leamy (captain), J Coughlan, T O'Donnell
Edinburgh: C Paterson; L Jones, B Cairns, J King, T Visser; D Blair, G Laidlaw (captain); K Traynor, A Kelly, G Cross, S MacLeod, S Turnbull, F McKenzie, N Talei, R Rennie
Referee: Nigel Owens
