Munster crash out of URC after penalty shootout loss to Sharks
Munster 24
Sharks win 6-4 on penalties
THERE WERE scenes of mad celebrations at Kings Park on Saturday night when the Sharks prevailed over Munster in a United Rugby Championship quarter-final thanks to a successful penalty shoot-out following 20 minutes of extra time.
It was heartbreak for a Munster side that once more showed the character that is the hallmark of one of Europe's great teams.
Rugby is not accustomed to soccer-style shootouts and there was an unlikely hero for the Sharks in a fairly unknown replacement scrumhalf, Bradley Davids, who held his nerve after the Munster kicker, Rory Scannell, had earlier missed a kick.
The Sharks are through to a semi-final against the Bulls, and they are there by the skin of their teeth after the match finished at 24-24, and the extra time of 20 minutes produced no score.
Munster were returning to a ground where seven months ago, they got a 41-24 mauling, a result that cost coach Graham Rowntree his job.
The Shark Tank is the one South African venue where Munster have never won a match, although they came close two years ago when they drew 22-22 en route to eventually winning the title in Cape Town.
Munster are at their most unpredictable when they are pinning their colours to a mast. This was the case with a collective of more than 600 caps about to retire in the form of warriors Peter O'Mahony, Conor Murray and Stephen Archer.
Munster have proved they are a team never afraid of delivering on foreign soil — they won a succession of away playoffs to win the title in Cape Town, against the Stormers.
On paper, the Sharks were favourites. They boasted eight double World Cup-winning Springboks, mostly in a pack containing Siya Kolisi, Eben Etzebeth, Bongi Mbonambi, Ox Nche and Vincent Koch.
They also had a former Munster lock in Jason Jenkins, plus fellow Springboks in Jaden and Jordan Hendrikse, Lukhanyo Am, Makazole Mapimpi, Andre Esterhuizen and Aphelele Fassi in the backline.
By the same token, Munster coach Ian Costello had picked the same starting team for three games in a row. The last time Munster had managed that feat was in 2018.
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The visitors scored the first points of the game when the Sharks kicked badly into the space and the counter-attacking Irishmen swept upfield. Jack Crowley kicked astutely to the corner for winger Calvin Nash to scorch into the corner and superbly ground the ball in the ninth minute.
Crowley missed a sitter of a penalty shortly after in an opening quarter that was all Munster red and very little black of the home side.
The best attacking moment the Sharks could muster in the first half was a hopeful and unsuccessful long-range penalty effort by Jaden Hendrikse.
The 28,000 Kings Park crowd was on the point of despair but five minutes into the second half right wing Ethan Hooker stepped several opponents to score. Hendrikse's conversion levelled the scores at 7-7.
Munster fought straight back and replacement prop Josh Wycherley charged over. The conversion by Crowley made it 14-10 with just over a quarter of the match to play.
The Munster men accelerated into a 21-10 lead when left wing Diarmuid Kilgallen raced up on a speculative kick that had Sharks fullback Aphelele Fassi slip on his backside in the heavy dew, and Kilgallen capitalised in gathering and scoring.
A prolonged period of set scum pressure from the Sharks in the Munster 22 paid dividends when a ball worked quickly out wide from an advancing scrum saw fullback Aphelele Fassi saunter over.
The score was 21-17 with just over 10 minutes to go. The Sharks took the lead for the first time with six minutes remaining when a penalty kicked to the corner saw replacement hooker Fez Mbatha smash over.
The Kings Park crowd raised the rafters, but they were rendered silent when Conor Murray — that wonderful warrior for Munster and Ireland — came off the bench and landed a cool penalty to level the score at 24-24 and take the game into extra time.
Neither side could score in the first 10 minutes, although the Sharks applied most of the pressure. The arm wrestle continued in the second half to send the game to a penalty shoot-out.
The Sharks' kickers kept their nerve, and it was the unfortunate Rory Scannell who missed first.
Sharks scorers:
Tries: Tries: Ethan Hooker, Aphelele Fassi, Fez Mbatha
Conversions :Jaden Hendrikse [3]
Penalty: Jaden Hendrikse
Munster scorers:
Tries: Calvin Nash, Josh Wycherley, Diarmuid Kilgallen
Conversions :Jack Crowley [3]
Penalty: Conor Murray.
Munster: Thaakir Abrahams [Mike Haley, '65], Calvin Nash, Tom Farrell [Rory Scannbell, '65], Alex Nankivell , Duirmuid Kilgallen; Jack Crowley, Craig Casey [Conor Murray, '65]; Michael Milne, Niall Scannell [Diarmuid Barron, '50] , Stephen Archer [Josh Wycherley, '48], Jean Kleyn, Tadheg Beirne (captain), Peter O'Mahony, John Hodnett [Alex Kendellen, '65], Gavin Coombes.
Sharks: Aphelele Fassi, Ethan Hooker, Lukhanyo Am [Francois Venter, '75], Andre Esterhuizen, Makazole Mapimpi; Jordan Hendrikse, Jaden Hendrikse; Ox Nche [Ntuthuko Mchunu, '68], Bongi Mbonambi [Fez Mbatha, '62], Vincent Koch, Jason Jenkins [Emile van Heerden, '13], Eben Etzebeth, James Venter, Vincent Tshituka, Siya Kolisi [Phepsi Buthelezi, '55].
Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland).
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