The Lions went down 24-17 to Munster in an incredibly hard fought encounter at Thomond Park in Limerick on Saturday night, but after securing their place in the United Rugby Championship (URC) playoffs a night earlier, they made sure they would be in next season’s Champions Cup thanks to a losing bonus point.
It will however be a bittersweet night for the Lions as they put in a good enough performance to win the match, but their inability to finish off a slew of chances cost them dearly as Munster held on desperately to lift themselves into the playoffs.
The Lions end up finishing the pool phase seventh on the log, and they face a daunting first URC quarterfinal against defending champions Leinster in Dublin in two weeks’ time.
In the match the Lions got off to a strong start, but after butchering a couple of early chances it was Munster who opened the scoring.
With their first foray into the Lions 22m the hosts attacked from a lineout and bashed away on the line before lock Evan O’Connell just forced his was over for the try, with flyhalf JJ Hanrahan adding the extras for a 7-0 lead in the seventh minute.
It was then Munster’s turn to be on top, with some good attack in the Lions half, only for fullback Quan Horn to pull off a superb intercept and race away to level the scores in the 15th minute.
The home side retook the lead in the 23rd minute through a Hanrahan penalty, but then seemed to implode as right wing Andrew Smith and inside centre Sean O’Brien both got yellow carded for deliberate knock-ons within a four minute window, as they slipped down to 13-men in the 31st minute.
Lions back ahead
The Lions were initially unable to make it count due to a few mistakes, but eventually they counter attacked from the halfway and spread the ball one way and back the next, working the space for right wing Kelly Mpeku to walk over, with flyhalf Chris Smith slotting the conversion for a 14-10 lead in the 36th minute.
Still with Munster down to 13-men the Lions then kicked possession away, which allowed the hosts to attack into the visitors 22m and get close before earning a penalty and got one man back.
They then kicked to the corner, attacked from the lineout and scrumhalf Craig Casey dived over from close range to score, with the conversion giving them a 17-14 lead at the break.
The second half started with both teams having chances, but neither could take advantage, with the Lions particularly guilty.
It was with them on attack deep in Munster’s 22m, that they then conceded a couple of penalties that allowed the hosts to clear and kick into the visitors 22m.
From the lineout Munster were again successful, getting close and this time lock Thomas Ahern powered over to push them more than a converted score ahead in the 55th minute.
Five minutes later the Lions cut the deficit to seven with a penalty to Smith, setting up a grandstand finish in the final quarter.
In the final 10 minutes the Lions came close twice, with them held up over the line and Angelo Davids was unable to gather a good kick from replacement scrumhalf Haashim Pead into the Munster in goal area, as the hosts held on for the win.
Scorers
Munster: Tries – Craig Casey, Evan O’Connell, Thomas Ahern; Conversions – JJ Hanrahan (3); Penalty – Hanrahan
Lions: Tries – Quan Horn, Kelly Mpeku; Conversions – Chris Smith (2); Penalty – Smith
