AFTER A SOMEWHAT sluggish opening 10 minutes where the two teams settled into the new season, Munster and Connacht shook off the summer cobwebs as they rumbled through an explosive round one interpro derby at Thomond Park on Saturday. Connacht were a joy to watch, full of energy and invention in attack while bringing a notable physicality to their contact work, before some costly defensive lapses resulted in Pete Wilkins’ men . Munster, for their part, took a little longer to get a handle on the contest, and the video review of their first-half performance will contain some uncomfortable moments.
However, once they found their rhythm there was much to like. In the Munster midfield, centre Alex Nankivell led their charge, dragging his team into the game with his hard running lines and sharp handling. Beside him, debutant Tom Farrell looked hungry for work against his old team, adding some beautiful touches with ball-in-hand.
Craig Casey steered his team excellently in the second period, Gavin Coombes enjoyed some big, dominant moments after a mixed start, and replacement out-half Tony Butler slotted two nerveless pressure conversions from the sideline. As a starting point for the long season ahead, the 35-33 win had enough to encourage Graham Rowntree while his copybook will also contain plenty of notes to keep his players busy on the training pitch this week. The end result was particularly pleasing given Munster’s lead-in to the new campaign.
While Connacht opted for thr.