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Rugby

19th Feb 2017

Ridiculous tackling statistics show that Munster were never going to give in

This team just continues to impress

Sean McMahon

This is incredible.

This is really like the Munster of old.

You can’t imagine this time last year that Munster would be able to come back from a disappointing first half display where they shipped two soft tries and conceded an alarming number of line breaks.

Bizarrely though, Munster found themselves only two points down at half-time thanks to tries from Jack O’Donoghue and Francis Saili.

The first half display will have frustrated Rassie Erasmus and the rest of the coaching ticket, Munster seemed hell-bent on handing possession back to the Ospreys which occurred through a number of unforced errors and kicking possession straight back to the home side.

The possession and territorial stats reflected this as Munster only had 31% possession and 34% territorial advantage in the opening 40 minutes.

It was an improved performance in the second half and the southern province eventually grasped victory from the jaws of defeat thanks to a Dave Kilcoyne try just minutes from the full-time whistle.

Darren Sweetnam played a key role in this try which yielded the praise of Ireland legend, Brian O’Driscoll.

However it was Munster dogged defensive efforts which ultimately won them the game.

Although they conceded two tries and their line speed was poor for a time in the first half, the Munster players racked up incredible numbers to keep the waves of Ospreys attacks at bay.

Here are some of the top performers.

  • Jack O’Donoghue -25
  • Billy Holland – 21
  • Dave O’Callaghan – 20
  • Tommy O’Donnell – 19
  • Rory Scannell – 15

That’s 100 tackles between just 5 players.

Ridiculous.

This is a huge testament to the players because to still come out with the win in the dying minutes after you have put in such a grueling defensive shift for most of the game is the perfect example of this team’s resolve and will to never give up.

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