They could sense it was coming.
For over an hour, Munster and Racing 92 tore into each other but could not register a score.
Up in the press box, copping the odd flurry of swirling rainfall, we refused to countenance a 0-0 draw until the hour mark had come and gone.
The website Quora was probably experiencing a spike in traffic, this evening, as it was the top page when you typed ‘Ever been a 0-0 result in rugby?’. Thankfully, Conor Murray put an end to all that.
The Munster scrum-half combined with his captain, Peter O’Mahony, to block a clearing kick from opposite number Maxime Machenaud. It was the moment that turned the match on its’ head. It was Murray stepping up again when the game was in the melting pot.
Murray still had to follow the block up and pick up the skittling ball on the run before beating the covering Racing defenders to the tryline. Ian Keatley converted at Racing’s back was broken.
Quality from @ConorMurray_9 👏
The @Munsterrugby man charges down a clearance before sprinting away to the try line 👊 pic.twitter.com/cgPfkoZ4Oa
— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) October 21, 2017
Following his side’s 14-7 victory, Munster director of rugby Rassie Erasmus revealed how the plan of charging down Racing’s half backs crystalised during the half-time break. He commented:
“At half-time, the boys in the changing room said, ‘Listen, we’re going to score from a charge-down’. That’s exactly what the guys said.
“We had been so close in the first half, to charging the ball down every single time. We were just missing by our finger-tips. The actual call on defence was that we were going to score with a charge-down. And there they went with a charge-down.”
“Really bizarre,” he added with a grin.
Munster outhalf Ian Keatley told us a little more about the tactic and, it turns out was from the Erasmus’ playbook. He said:
“It’s funny, because Rassie said it to us at half-time – we are literally a foot away from blocking down one of them. We nearly got a block on Dan Carter in the first half, and the same on Machenaud. It was literally the 60th minute when Conor got the block and we said it after – ‘Rassie said that at half-time!’
“It was nice and even nicer that Mur had the pace to finish it off.”
Erasmus, the schneaky fecker, not taking credit where it is most definitely due.
