Axel was less than impressed with players disobeying his penalty orders
Anthony Foley left Thomond Park with a smile on his face after Munster beat Ulster 21-20 but has scolded his players about their performance levels and decision-making.
Munster led by nine points going into the closing stages but were left sweating as Nick Williams scored a late try. Fortunately for the home side, Ian Humphreys missed what would have been the winning conversion. Axel’s charges now go into their Champions Cup double-header with Clermont on the back of a seven-match winning streak.
Foley was not pleased with his players for giving away penalties in areas he knew the referee ‘would be very hot on’. He watched on in frustration as Humphreys slotted over for penalties to make it 12-0.
Munster then fashioned a chance for Robin Copeland to finish off and gain momentum that saw them into the final quarter of the match. At 21-12 up Foley points out that his players opted to go for the posts ‘instead of staying in the corner and keeping pressure on Ulster’. The gambit failed as Ian Keatley, who is struggling for kicking form, struck the post. ‘I was making sure we understood what call we wanted for the line-out in the corner and when I turned around we’re having a shot at goal,’ Foley reveals. ‘You can guarantee it won’t happen again.’
Foley adds, ‘Instead, they get out of there, go up the other end. We get a man put in the sin-bin, they get three points and suddenly we’re hanging on for dear life at the end. They miss a conversion and we win the game. It isn’t an ideal way to win the game but we’ll take it, run away and have a little smile on your face.
‘You have to understand, too, that some of the stuff we did out there was good. Some of the other stuff, if we go into Clermont with that we will get it handed back to us.’
As for Keatley’s kicking woes, Foley described his three misses as “frustrating”. He remarked, ‘It seems to be a theme at Thomond Park. They seem to kick better away from home. Keats won’t be happy with that but he got one from the touchline and another from inside the halfway line.’
Hat-tip to Limerick Rugby
