Rediscovering the cruelty of their glory days, Munster smothered the ambitions of the Scarlets and pulled off their third straight victory in the Heineken Cup. It was also their third tight victory but contained no element of luck. They ruled the set-pieces and ruled the territory when it mattered, forcing the Welsh region to take more risks than the tension of the day and the rain of the last half-hour permitted.
If it was familiar in style the characters were also the same as ever. Ronan O'Gara, making his 100th appearance in the Heineken Cup, was in his element. He started by being plonked on his backside by one or two of the Scarlet chargers, but he ended in control. Against Northampton and Castres he had landed late drop goals. Not here. But with a series of rolling kicks he kept his opponents at bay. It was the work of a master, as was the display of Paul O'Connell in the second row.
Munster did not start with such control. They accepted the invitation to play a game of high rhythm, choosing in the opening minutes to run a free-kick. It was not, on this occasion, the best choice since the ball bobbled loose and Liam Williams stretched out one of his bandy legs and booted in down field. Aaron Shingler set off in pursuit, kept his eye on the bounce and scored. Rhys Priestland rapped the post with the conversion, a near miss to add to a couple of hooked penalties.
The outside-half did keep his next attempt straight, Munster having been caught offside following a high kick. The Scarlets were eight points ahead in seven minutes, and little Gareth Davies was causing them all sorts of problems with his running from scrum-half.
Never knowingly or easily thrown into a spin, Munster simplified their game. O'Connell and Damien Varley began to drive the ball up and the high kicks gave way to little dinks behind the Scarlet three-quarters. One such probe was picked up by Simon Zebo and Priestland had to hurry back as O'Gara tried another.
With the ball more under control, Munster worked their way into point-accumulating territory. O'Gara landed a penalty before Munster gave a first glimpse of a grander vision. Dan Newton missed touch with a clearance and Munster ran it straight back, O'Gara combining Denis Hurley, Johne Murphy and finally Niall Ronan. The wing forward steamed down the touchline until dancing inside the last tackle.
O'Gara completed the recovery with a second penalty. Having shipped those early eight points, they were into their stride, and into the lead. After the interval and with a new purpose, the Scarlets should have regained the lead. They broke out of their 22, only for Jonathan Davies to pass in front of Scott Williams, into touch.
If the home side thought they were a single pass away from swinging the game back their way, Munster reverted to some heavy-duty pressure at the set-piece, forcing a different appraisal of the balance of play. Matthew Rees was twice penalised and O'Gara kicked two more penalties.
The Scarlets redoubled their efforts, Stephen Jones now taking over from Priestland as the playmaker. He brought his team to within three points and then orchestrated the phases in the last five minutes. It all came to nothing when his own hands, the safest on the block, dropped the ball.
Munster could start running down the clock, with Tomás O'Leary and O'Gara spinning the ball into touch. And then, at the very death, Munster lost the ball and off went the Scarlets one final time. Jonathan Davies went half through a gap as the clock ticked beyond the 80 minutes. One mistake would end the game; one try would win it. Jones ran forward, paused; Priestland read his intention and ran hard on his shoulder … and dropped the pass.
Inaccuracy ruled the day, and in a time of imprecision Munster will reign. They no longer come at the Heineken Cup as the force of old, but on this form – three close wins in three tight games – they are starting to stir the memories. A few teams across the continent will be feeling a little uneasy at the thought of a Munster revival.
