Healy (second left) is congratulated after his last gasp kick.
Last minute hero
Heroic Healy nails last minute penalty to guide 14-man Munster home
Peter O’Mahony was red carded but Munster came from 24-10 down to score two tries in the final 15 minutes. Ben Healy’s monstrous kick from half-way won it at the death.
HISTORY HAS BEEN filled with great comebacks, Lazarus, Elvis at Las Vegas, Liverpool in Istanbul. Now this.
Munster looked buried and then we discovered the corpse still had a pulse. Trailing by 14 points with 15 minutes remaining, it looked like they were going nowhere. Yet they won.
More improbably, they did it with 14 men after Peter O’Mahony was sent off for a second yellow card. They survived that, survived the fact that Leigh Halfpenny couldn’t miss – his nine successful penalties puts him in the Scarlets record books – and survived the fact they hadn’t played well all day.
Suddenly they found form. Two tries in the last 15 minutes only tells half the story. There was more. It came down to this. The clock was in the red, 90 seconds beyond the allotted time. The ball was on half-way. The scores were level. Up stepped Ben Healy.
Of the final 15 points that Munster scored, he got 10 of them, two penalties, two conversions.
And the last of those kicks came on 81 minutes and 30 seconds from the half-way line. It was Ronan O’Gara-esque. Munster have a new hero.
The winning kick from Ben Healy. Ryan Hiscott / INPHO
Ryan Hiscott / INPHO / INPHO
You weren’t thinking of Munster heroes earlier on in this match as Scarlets got off to a fine start, Munster’s indiscipline surfacing early when two Munster players were penalised for an illegal entry to the ruck, resulting in Dan Jones having the chance to kick to the corner.
Line-out won, they tried to turn possession into points. However, Munster defended impressively at first, Chris Farrell putting in a couple of thumping tackles before ref Sam Grove-White spotted another infringement which gave Halfpenny a chance to break the deadlock.
He took it, the Scarlets had a 17th minute lead and the tone for the half was set.
From the restart, things were initially looking promising from a Munster perspective, as Farrell provided Andrew Conway with the chance to gallop into a bit of space. But just when Munster were edging towards the Scarlets 22, Mike Haley’s attempted grubber was blocked by Jonathan Davies who hacked upfield.
While Damian De Allende won the chase to the ball, in the process of gathering it, he carried it into the dead-ball area. So five-metre scrum to Scarlets, who had a chance to unleash their backs again. At this point Farrell showed his enthusiasm for the battle, but was a little too keen to get involved, coughing up a penalty for offside. Again, Halfpenny went for the posts and again his kick was on the money. 6-0 Scarlets.
Darren Sweetnam takes on Tom Rogers. Ryan Hiscott / INPHO
Ryan Hiscott / INPHO / INPHO
There and then, Munster needed a bit of composure but that wasn’t evident when Peter O’Mahony was yellow carded for an illegal entry at the ruck on 23 minutes, leaving Munster with 14 men for the next 10 minutes.
Unprepared to look a gift horse in the mouth, Scarlets kept the pressure on, Jones taking advantage of the O’Mahony infringement to kick deep into Munster territory, whereupon their pack did their stuff, winning the subsequent line-out, then winning a penalty, allowing Halfpenny the chance to get his third penalty of the day.
He didn’t need to be asked twice.
So suddenly, Munster were in bit of bother.
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And then out of nowhere, they got on the scoreboard – Jack O’Donoghue finishing off a brilliant counter-attacking move, started by Haley, at full back, who slipped a superb pass to Conway around the half-way line.
At this point, you could not have sensed much danger for Scarlets, but Conway has an eye for an opportunity and he exploited it, carrying to the 22, whereupon he timed his pass to De Allende perfectly. To be fair, the South African centre was equally sensible with his subsequent delivery, waiting until O’Donoghue was on his shoulder before he popped a pass inside which the flanker gathered to score.
As JJ Hanrahan added the extras, the scoreboard changed dramatically. Now, two points behind, with just four minutes left of their captain in the sin-bin, Munster began to sense that the tide was turning.
Jack O'Donoghue touches down for his try. Ryan Hiscott / INPHO
Ryan Hiscott / INPHO / INPHO
Sure enough, they won a scrum penalty off the next Scarlets attack – Farrell deputising in the pack for O’Mahony and the roar could be heard all around this empty stadium.
Bad news followed good, though – Craig Casey conceding a penalty when he failed to release – Halfpenny punishing him by scoring his fourth of the day – Scarlets 12-7 Munster, 36 minutes on the clock.
Onto the second half which began with Halfpenny and Hanrahan kicking a penalty apiece inside the first 10 minutes of the half to leave the score delicately poised at 15-10 to the hosts.
Yet the pattern had already been set. Referee, Sam Grove-White, wasn’t shy about blowing his whistle and Munster failed to manage the situation. Further infringements, on 51 and 55 minutes, led to two more kicks from Halfpenny.
There were 11 points in it now, Munster coming under increasing pressure and in need of a lifeline from somewhere. Just then Fineen Wycherley produced a huge moment, winning a turnover in the 61st minute, just as Scarlets were beginning to turn the screw.
But four minutes later Halfpenny scored his eighth penalty of the day to make it 24-10. Again, you thought that was that. Sixteen points in it, 15 minutes remaining. How could Munster win from here?
Here is how. They showed a willingness to keep going, getting a try when it was least expected but most needed, Farrell scoring it when he collected Craig Casey’s pass, shaped to go left before stepping inside, showing the necessary strength to hold off Steff Hughes’ attempted tackle.
The TMO was asked to deliberate and eventually, after much consideration, the try was allowed.
But an infringement was spotted – O’Mahony diving down with his shoulder on Jake Ball. Having already been yellow carded in the first half, this second offence resulted in a red.
Worse again, there was also yet another penalty opportunity for Halfpenny from half-way. Needless to say he took it – and rather than this being a one-score game, Munster trailed 27-17.
Not for long, though, as replacement Ben Healy nailed a penalty to make it 27-20.
Missing their captain, down a man, down seven points, and with time running out – surely a result was beyond them?
Well, no.
First, De Allende burst through the Scarlets defence to win a penalty. Three minutes were left on the clock.
Munster went to the corner.
Kevin O’Byrne took responsibility, producing the perfect throw, then assisting the drive to help the Munster pack edge forward. Eventually, O’Byrne sneaked over.
So now there were just two points in it.
Up stepped Healy to kick a tricky conversion and level the scores.
The momentum was now all with Munster.
They won a penalty off a restart, then won another penalty on half-way when James Davies was pinged for not releasing.
Up stepped Healy. You know by now what happened. Munster has a new star.
Scarlet scorers:
Penalties: Halfpenny 9 from 9
Munster scorers:
Tries: O’Donoghue, Farrell, O’Byrne
Conversions: Hanrahan 1 from 1, Healy 2 from 2
PenaltiesHanrahan 1 from 2, Healy 2 from 2
Scarlets: Leigh Halfpenny; Tom Rogers, Jonathan Davies, Steff Hughes, Steff Evans; Dan Jones, Gareth Davies; Wyn Jones, Ken Owens (capt), Werner Kruger, Jake Ball, Sam Lousi, Blade Thomson, Josh Macleod, Sione Kalamafoni
Replacements: Ryan Elias, Phil Price, Javan Sebastian, Lewis Rawlins, James Davies, Kieran Hardy, Patchell, Tyler Morgan.
Munster: Mike Haley; Andrew Conway, Chris Farrell, Damian de Allende, Darren Sweetnam (Rory Scannell ’62); JJ Hanrahan (Ben Healy, ’52), Craig Casey (Neil Cronin, ’73); James Cronin (Jeremy Loughman, ’52), Rhys Marshall (Kevin O’Byrne, ’46), John Ryan (Stephen Archer, ’62); Jean Kleyn (Fineen Wycherley, ’52), Tadhg Beirne; Peter O’Mahony (C), Jack O’Donoghue (Gavin Coombes, ’62), CJ Stander.
Referee: Sam Grove-White (SRU)
Bernard Jackman, Murray Kinsella and Gavan Casey discuss the provinces’ 2020/21 starts, the South African-infused Pro16, and the schools-versus-clubs dynamic in Ireland
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Heroic Healy nails last minute penalty to guide 14-man Munster home
LAST UPDATE | 3 Oct 2020
Scarlets 27
Munster 30
HISTORY HAS BEEN filled with great comebacks, Lazarus, Elvis at Las Vegas, Liverpool in Istanbul. Now this.
Munster looked buried and then we discovered the corpse still had a pulse. Trailing by 14 points with 15 minutes remaining, it looked like they were going nowhere. Yet they won.
More improbably, they did it with 14 men after Peter O’Mahony was sent off for a second yellow card. They survived that, survived the fact that Leigh Halfpenny couldn’t miss – his nine successful penalties puts him in the Scarlets record books – and survived the fact they hadn’t played well all day.
Suddenly they found form. Two tries in the last 15 minutes only tells half the story. There was more. It came down to this. The clock was in the red, 90 seconds beyond the allotted time. The ball was on half-way. The scores were level. Up stepped Ben Healy.
Of the final 15 points that Munster scored, he got 10 of them, two penalties, two conversions.
And the last of those kicks came on 81 minutes and 30 seconds from the half-way line. It was Ronan O’Gara-esque. Munster have a new hero.
You weren’t thinking of Munster heroes earlier on in this match as Scarlets got off to a fine start, Munster’s indiscipline surfacing early when two Munster players were penalised for an illegal entry to the ruck, resulting in Dan Jones having the chance to kick to the corner.
Line-out won, they tried to turn possession into points. However, Munster defended impressively at first, Chris Farrell putting in a couple of thumping tackles before ref Sam Grove-White spotted another infringement which gave Halfpenny a chance to break the deadlock.
He took it, the Scarlets had a 17th minute lead and the tone for the half was set.
From the restart, things were initially looking promising from a Munster perspective, as Farrell provided Andrew Conway with the chance to gallop into a bit of space. But just when Munster were edging towards the Scarlets 22, Mike Haley’s attempted grubber was blocked by Jonathan Davies who hacked upfield.
While Damian De Allende won the chase to the ball, in the process of gathering it, he carried it into the dead-ball area. So five-metre scrum to Scarlets, who had a chance to unleash their backs again. At this point Farrell showed his enthusiasm for the battle, but was a little too keen to get involved, coughing up a penalty for offside. Again, Halfpenny went for the posts and again his kick was on the money. 6-0 Scarlets.
There and then, Munster needed a bit of composure but that wasn’t evident when Peter O’Mahony was yellow carded for an illegal entry at the ruck on 23 minutes, leaving Munster with 14 men for the next 10 minutes.
Unprepared to look a gift horse in the mouth, Scarlets kept the pressure on, Jones taking advantage of the O’Mahony infringement to kick deep into Munster territory, whereupon their pack did their stuff, winning the subsequent line-out, then winning a penalty, allowing Halfpenny the chance to get his third penalty of the day.
He didn’t need to be asked twice.
So suddenly, Munster were in bit of bother.
And then out of nowhere, they got on the scoreboard – Jack O’Donoghue finishing off a brilliant counter-attacking move, started by Haley, at full back, who slipped a superb pass to Conway around the half-way line.
At this point, you could not have sensed much danger for Scarlets, but Conway has an eye for an opportunity and he exploited it, carrying to the 22, whereupon he timed his pass to De Allende perfectly. To be fair, the South African centre was equally sensible with his subsequent delivery, waiting until O’Donoghue was on his shoulder before he popped a pass inside which the flanker gathered to score.
As JJ Hanrahan added the extras, the scoreboard changed dramatically. Now, two points behind, with just four minutes left of their captain in the sin-bin, Munster began to sense that the tide was turning.
Sure enough, they won a scrum penalty off the next Scarlets attack – Farrell deputising in the pack for O’Mahony and the roar could be heard all around this empty stadium.
Bad news followed good, though – Craig Casey conceding a penalty when he failed to release – Halfpenny punishing him by scoring his fourth of the day – Scarlets 12-7 Munster, 36 minutes on the clock.
Onto the second half which began with Halfpenny and Hanrahan kicking a penalty apiece inside the first 10 minutes of the half to leave the score delicately poised at 15-10 to the hosts.
Yet the pattern had already been set. Referee, Sam Grove-White, wasn’t shy about blowing his whistle and Munster failed to manage the situation. Further infringements, on 51 and 55 minutes, led to two more kicks from Halfpenny.
There were 11 points in it now, Munster coming under increasing pressure and in need of a lifeline from somewhere. Just then Fineen Wycherley produced a huge moment, winning a turnover in the 61st minute, just as Scarlets were beginning to turn the screw.
But four minutes later Halfpenny scored his eighth penalty of the day to make it 24-10. Again, you thought that was that. Sixteen points in it, 15 minutes remaining. How could Munster win from here?
Here is how. They showed a willingness to keep going, getting a try when it was least expected but most needed, Farrell scoring it when he collected Craig Casey’s pass, shaped to go left before stepping inside, showing the necessary strength to hold off Steff Hughes’ attempted tackle.
The TMO was asked to deliberate and eventually, after much consideration, the try was allowed.
But an infringement was spotted – O’Mahony diving down with his shoulder on Jake Ball. Having already been yellow carded in the first half, this second offence resulted in a red.
Worse again, there was also yet another penalty opportunity for Halfpenny from half-way. Needless to say he took it – and rather than this being a one-score game, Munster trailed 27-17.
Not for long, though, as replacement Ben Healy nailed a penalty to make it 27-20.
Missing their captain, down a man, down seven points, and with time running out – surely a result was beyond them?
Well, no.
First, De Allende burst through the Scarlets defence to win a penalty. Three minutes were left on the clock.
Munster went to the corner.
Kevin O’Byrne took responsibility, producing the perfect throw, then assisting the drive to help the Munster pack edge forward. Eventually, O’Byrne sneaked over.
So now there were just two points in it.
Up stepped Healy to kick a tricky conversion and level the scores.
The momentum was now all with Munster.
They won a penalty off a restart, then won another penalty on half-way when James Davies was pinged for not releasing.
Up stepped Healy. You know by now what happened. Munster has a new star.
Scarlet scorers:
Penalties: Halfpenny 9 from 9
Munster scorers:
Tries: O’Donoghue, Farrell, O’Byrne
Conversions: Hanrahan 1 from 1, Healy 2 from 2
Penalties Hanrahan 1 from 2, Healy 2 from 2
Scarlets: Leigh Halfpenny; Tom Rogers, Jonathan Davies, Steff Hughes, Steff Evans; Dan Jones, Gareth Davies; Wyn Jones, Ken Owens (capt), Werner Kruger, Jake Ball, Sam Lousi, Blade Thomson, Josh Macleod, Sione Kalamafoni
Replacements: Ryan Elias, Phil Price, Javan Sebastian, Lewis Rawlins, James Davies, Kieran Hardy, Patchell, Tyler Morgan.
Munster: Mike Haley; Andrew Conway, Chris Farrell, Damian de Allende, Darren Sweetnam (Rory Scannell ’62); JJ Hanrahan (Ben Healy, ’52), Craig Casey (Neil Cronin, ’73); James Cronin (Jeremy Loughman, ’52), Rhys Marshall (Kevin O’Byrne, ’46), John Ryan (Stephen Archer, ’62); Jean Kleyn (Fineen Wycherley, ’52), Tadhg Beirne; Peter O’Mahony (C), Jack O’Donoghue (Gavin Coombes, ’62), CJ Stander.
Referee: Sam Grove-White (SRU)
Bernard Jackman, Murray Kinsella and Gavan Casey discuss the provinces’ 2020/21 starts, the South African-infused Pro16, and the schools-versus-clubs dynamic in Ireland
The42 Rugby Weekly / SoundCloud
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Ben Healy Last minute hero Munster Scarlets