Sunday Snippets
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Sunday Snippets
Munster reign at Aviva: Munster fans were handed a timely reminder of what their side are capable of last night as they beat arch rivals Leinster 34-23 at the Aviva Stadium. A game which many predicted to be a tight, tense affair, the visitors to the Irish capital let loose in the opening 40 minutes, with three tries all but sealing the game for Anthony Foley's men before the interval. The opening try of the encounter went to James Cronin, before fellow forward Robin Copeland crashed over to hand Munster a 21-6 lead. The killer blow though arguably came just minutes before the break. Just as Leinster looked to threaten, Ian Keatley intercepted a telegraphed inside ball and ran all of 60 metres for the crucial score. Despite a valiant effort in the second half from the hosts and four yellow cards to boot, they came up short, and now see Munster leapfrog them in the Guinness Pro12 table.
Thriller in Joburg: For the second consecutive season, Ellis Park in Johannesburg played host to one of the test matches of the calendar year yesterday, as the Springboks ended their three year hoodoo by defeating Steve Hansen's All Blacks 27-25. A breathtaking encounter from start to finish, Heyneke Meyer's men opted to meet the World Champions head on at their own game, playing with a fluidity and pace teams can only dream of. With Handre Pollard going over for two scores and Francois Hougaard dotting down, the hosts went into the interval leading 21-13. After a thrilling first 40, the game entered somewhat of a lull for the opening period of the second half, before it sprung back into life in the closing stages courtesy of a brilliant New Zealand fightback. Tries from Dane Coles and Ben Smith sent the world's no.1 team into the final minutes with a 1 point lead. However, a TMO decision ruled that Liam Messam had come in too high on Schalk Burger and Pat Lambie held his nerve to send the Ellis Park faithful and millions of other South Africans into ecstasy.
Ryan Sheady
