Montauban (6) 13 Try: Murray Pens: Audy (2) Con: Mitu Munster (10) 39 Tries: O'Leary, Mafi (2), Murphy (2) Pens: O'Gara (2), Cons: O'Gara (3), Warwick
 Ronan O'Gara was in fine kicking form against Montauban |
Munster scored five tries as they trounced Montauban in their final Heineken Cup Pool A match in France. A Tomas O'Leary try helped the cup holders to a 10-6 half-time lead and Lifeimi Mafi added two touchdowns after the break as Munster took control. Replacement Barry Murphy scored two late tries and Ronan O'Gara kicked 12 points and Paul Warwick a conversion. The French outfit's only try came from Scott Murray, Julien Audy kicked two penalties and Petre Mitu a conversion. The match had been postponed by 24 hours on safety grounds following gale force winds at the Stade de Sapiac. That decision proved to be wise as Montauban kicked off with clear, blue skies overhead. Audy nudged the home side in front with two early penalties but O'Leary replied with the first try of the game, bursting from the back of the scrum to scramble over in the right corner in the 21st minute. O'Gara converted, and then added a penalty on 29 minutes after an infringement by Ibrahim Diarra. Mafi extended the Irish province's lead with a try to the right of the posts in the 43rd minute and added another in the 55th minute, O'Gara converting the latter. Murray sliced through the Munster defence to score under the posts and Mitu converted to pull the French side to within nine points. O'Gara's second penalty made it 25-13 and then Murphy's two late tries, plus Warwick's conversion, gave Munster a comfortable winning margin. The bonus-point victory ensured that Tony McGahan's side would have a home tie in the quarter-finals of the competition.
Munster captain Paul O'Connell: "We started really well in the first five minutes but then we were shaky for the following 10. "Montauban put us under a lot of pressure around the ruck area and that's something we'll have to look at. "But we battened down the hatches and played really well. We were tight but also went wide when we needed to spread the ball."
Montauban: J Laharrague, A Figueiredo, J Viard, S Paku, V Delasau, R Lespinas, J Audy; B Balan, B Mach, N Adams, M Rolland [capt], S Murray, Y Caballero, I Diarra, M Clarkin. Replacements: G Shvelidze (for Balan 40), S Florea (for Adams 48), R Frost (for Caballero 65), K Ghezal (for Rolland 45), M Avramovic (for Paku 56).Not used: F Fortassin, P Mitu. Munster: Warwick; Howlett, Earls, Mafi, Dowling, O'Gara, O'Leary; Horan, Flannery, Hayes; O'Callaghan, O'Connell (capt), Quinlan, Wallace, Leamy. Replacements: Pucciariello (for Hayes 65), Ryan (for O'Connell 73), Ronan (for Leamy 73), Stringer (for O'Leary 56), Murphy (for Earls 65), Hurley (for O'Gara 73). Not used: Fogarty Attendance: 8000
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