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Johann van Graan said he never lost faith in his Munster team’s ability to win at the Stade Marcel Michelin on Saturday night, even as the French team scored their fourth attempt to go 19 points ahead midway through the first. half.
The South African proved he was right with a sensational comeback from his team, which denied Clermont a second extra point in what will be considered one of the best European performances in the province.
Van Graan singled out 21-year-old loose-headed mainstay Josh Wycherley for particular praise after his 77-minute shift.
And, having endorsed several young players in recent months, he says the victory was a reward for the team’s efforts since he came out of the confinement.
“Definitely a win, we came here to win. We didn’t come to get a bonus point,” he said when asked what he thought Munster could take out of the game at 28-9.
“The message at halftime was that if we believe in our plan and stick with our process, we will win this game.
“And I asked the 23 guys to stick with what we do. We talked a lot about this game during the week and all the credit to the players, they believed in the last seconds of the game.
“What we have done for the last six or seven months, all the work we did during the lockout. All the fitness we have done, the small adjustments to our plan.
“When you look at the attempts they scored, we gave them some easy attempts. The first one at the kickoff, then the yellow card that resulted in a penalty attempt … we left quite a few chances in the first-half.
“We knew if we kept running we would get line skips and that attempt from Mikey (Haley) was a good example.
“A lot of faith and, look, an excellent victory on our part.”
In his first European start, Wycherley was instrumental to the victory and his performance summed up Munster’s night as he went from battling seasoned French prop Rabah Slimani in the first half to earning a critical 77-minute penalty in his final act.
“That’s what dreams are made of,” he said of the young pillar.
“Starting your first European game in Clermont against (Rabah) Slimani, one of the best scrummagers in the world and getting that performance is exceptional.
“It’s quite an effort for the team, but when I called Josh on Thursday night and said, ‘It’s starting, are you ready?’ He said, ‘Coach, I’m ready to go.
“I’ve said it several times in the last few months, it’s about supporting our team and that’s what we did.”
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