Rugby story by Dominic Taylor, Mon, 23 Jan 2006 00:24:00 GMT


A dramatic 31-9 win against Sale ensured that Munster finished on top of Pool One on a foggy night. This win extended Munster's winning streak to 24 at Thomond Park. But the only downside was that if Bath had won yesterday, then Munster would have had to play an away quarterfinal, which is not always an easy prospect. The Leinster win over Bath however, ensured a home tie for Munster.

For the home side, Anthony Foley, Ian Dowling and Barry Murphy all scored tries as they went up 24-9 into the break. Sale looked shell shocked at the break and nobody can blame them for not trying. The second half threatened to go scoreless, but David Wallace added a fourth try to ensure that the home team got a bonus point.

Sale, who top the English Premiership tables had already ensured qualification, but this win gives them a very good chance of having a home quarter final. However, everything depends of tonight's result from the Bath game. Munster fly half Ronan O'Gara got in four conversions as against three penalties from Sale's Charlie Hodgson.

Munster captain Anthony Foley was understandably elated at the win, "The adrenaline was pumping and that's what keeps you going at times. It's such a great feeling to have achieved what we have," he said. "Sometimes you get told you can't do certain things and it's good to achieve those things. We knew we'd left ourselves with a lot of work to do after the first group game."

Philippe Saint Andre, Sale's Rugby director admitted that they made many mistakes, "You need experience to play in these big Heineken Cup games. People have said we are favorites but I always believed we were outsiders," he said.

Match Details
Referee: Joel Jutge (France)

Munster: Payne; Kelly, Murphy, Halstead, Dowling; O'Gara, Stringer; Horan, Flannery, Hayes; O'Callaghan, O'Connell; Leamy, Wallace, Foley.
Substitutes: Lawlor for Dowling (80), O'Leary for Stringer (80), Fogarty for Flannery (80), O'Driscoll for O'Connell (80), Pucciariello for Foley (40).

Sale: Robinson; Cueto, Taylor, Seveali'i, Ripol; Hodgson, Martens; Sheridan, Titterrell, Turner; Fernandez Lobbe, Jones; White, Lund, Chabal.
Substitutes: Taione for Seveali'i (27), Wigglesworth for Martens (48), Titterrell for Bruno (61), Coutts for Stewart (65), Schofield for Lobbe (61), Mayor for C. Jones (71).

More Sporting Stuff