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Munster was celebrating a famous European comeback in France on Saturday night with Johann van Graan insisting that he believed his team would win at the Stade Marcel Michelin even as they were behind Clermont 28-9 after a disastrous first quarter.
French heavyweights Clermont have turned their home stadium into a Champions Cup stronghold over the years and Munster had settled for losing a bonus point on his previous three visits. There was certainly an ominous feeling on this latest trip to the south of France, as Clermont opened the scoring with a try after just 26 seconds, Munster lost wing Shane Daly to a yellow card when they conceded a penalty try, and the French team accumulated their bonus. -Try point after 24 minutes to open a 28-9 lead.
However, Munster showed their stamina, an excellent first-half win-back Mike Haley try plus three penalties and a JJ Hanrahan conversion leaving them 28-16 behind at halftime.
The second half was all Munster as forwards, with academy mainstay Josh Wycherley making his first European outing, dominating the set piece, while Hanrahan added three more penalties before the hour.
A Camille Lopez penalty in the hour was Clermont’s first points in over half an hour and opened up a 31-25 lead, but late attempts by CJ Stander and replacement hooker Kevin O’Byrne, both converted by Hanrahan in a perfect night from the kicks. tee sealed a famous first win at Stade Marcel Michelin when the locals’ discipline abandoned them, losing two men in the sin bin in the second half.
The victory stretched Munster’s 100% start to the season to nine games and gives them a great chance to qualify for the European quarter-finals with two games to go, but it could easily have been a different story after 24 minutes.
However, Van Graan asked to disagree. Asked what the best he expected when his team trailed by 19 points, Munster’s head coach said: “Definitely a win, we came here to win. We didn’t come to get an extra point.
“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.”
Munster’s great start to 2020-21 and the groundwork laid by incoming assistant coaches Stephen Larkham and Graham Rowntree on blocking were factors that contributed to van Graan’s belief in a successful outcome at Clermont.
“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.”
Van Graan also paid tribute to 21-year-old loose-headed mainstay Josh Wycherley, who after a difficult start won scrum penalties against renowned French tighthead Rabah Slimani and another later against his replacement Sipili Falatea.
“That’s what dreams are made of. 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 all a team effort, 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.”
Mike Haley’s try at 28 minutes was not only executed brilliantly, but also kicked off the remarkable turnaround after a nightmarish start in Auvergne that saw them concede a try after just 26 seconds.
Clermont had his try bonus point after 24 minutes but didn’t score another point for 36 minutes as Munster rallied thanks to JJ Hanrahan’s boot, Haley’s try and second-half scores by CJ Stander and Kevin O ‘Byrne.
It was the replacement hooker’s try in the 77th minute that finally pushed Munster forward, but it was the climax of a comeback that saw them lead the second half against all odds.
Another historic European night for Munster as they recovered a 28-9 deficit to win for the first time at Fortress Marcel Michelin, an impressive statement of intent for Johann van Graan’s evolving team.
There have been more than a few special moments at the Heineken Champions Cup, including two trophy lifts, but not even the greats of 2006 and 2008 did this.
CJ Stander took the second half try that gave Munster the belief that there was a surprise on the scorecards, but the number 8 was immense throughout this contest, strong on carry, robust on defense and fully in command as he and his fellow forwards overcame a shaky start for the team to outperform their illustrious counterparts.
Matthew Carley had a lot to do in the first half as he defeated Munster’s Shane Daly in six minutes, but he also earned praise for punishing Damien Penaud when Daly’s opposite wing waved his hand high demanding the yellow card. However, there was a double whammy for the visitors, as the English referee correctly awarded Clermont a penalty try.
Carley also rewarded Munster for a dominant second-half performance on the set piece that saw two Clermont players in the trash as the home team lost their discipline.
Clermont 17 Munster 10.
There are no apparent injuries for Munster despite the painful nature of this encounter. The medical update released early next week may be more revealing.
He returns to the Guinness Pro14 when Munster, still undefeated in nine games this season, host archrivals Leinster at Thomond Park on Midsummer’s night, when one of his 100 percent records will have to give way.
K Matsushima; D Penaud, JP Barraque, G Moala, A Raka; C Lopez – captain, S Bézy (M Parra, 71); P Ravai (E Falgoux, 53), E Fourcade (A Pélissié, 71), R Slimani (S Falatea, 53); P Jedrasiak (E Annandale, 78), P Yato; J Cancoriet (T Veredamu, 68), C Lanen (T Lanen, 49), F Lee.
J Cancoriet 56-66.
T Nanai-Williams.
M Haley; K Earls, C Farrell, D de Allende, S Daly; JJ Hanrahan (R Scannell, 80), C Murray (C Casey, 63); J Wycherley (L O’Connor, 76), R Marshall (K O’Byrne, 71), S Archer (J Ryan, 49); J Kleyn (F Wycherley, 55), T Beirne; G Coombes (J O’Donoghue, 63), P O’Mahony – captain (B Holland, 71), CJ Stander.
S Daly 6-16 minutes.
Matthew Carley (England).
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