Rugby: Quins overcome Munster passion
Harlequins 48 Munster 4
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Your support makes all the difference.There is some doubt as to where the return match of this Pool D European Cup game will be played, Limerick or Cork; there is no doubt that Harlequins will have a tough time wherever they play. On the ball Munster were more than a nuisance; off it they were downright rough.
The Harlequins captain Keith Wood had to be helped off shortly before the interval after the Munster captain Mick Galwey took a swing and connected with Wood's left eye.
"I did not see the punch," Wood said, after confirming that he will be fit for next week's match against Bourgoin. "I have a bruised eyeball and I could not focus all that well. Mick's a very good friend of mine, but an unprovoked punch is a sending-off offence. He did apologise, but I still had to leave the field. I am sitting here now totally unfulfilled and frustrated. It's very annoying."
The French referee Patrick Thomas should have sent off Galwey but the lock was merely shown a yellow card.
It was an entertaining game, especially watching Munster scavenging and pulling in Quins after they had slipped into a comfortable looking 20- 3 lead.
There was a prolonged dog fight between Munster's Peter Clohessy and Quins' Italian import Massimo Cuttitta which was riveting viewing and the return should prove compulsive.
The first half was passionate if patchy with Quins running in three tries to Munster's two but after the break the Irishmen struck twice through Galwey and John Lacey and suddenly it was all square.
The Quins' full-back Jamie Williams scored a couple of tries, each time set up by Will Carling, and Rob Liley, who had replaced first choice kicker Thierry Lacroix after 13 minutes, banged over the odd conversion and penalty, having scored a try himself.
When Huw Harries touched down in the second minute of second-half injury time it looked all over but Munster though had the last word when Conor Burke scored Munster's fifth try.
Harlequins: Tries Walshe, Belligoi, Liley, Williams 2, Walshe; Conversions Carling, Liley 2; Penalties Lacroix 2, Liley 2. Munster: Tries Horgan, Quinlan, Galwey, Lacey, Burke; Conversions O'Gara 3; Penalties O'Gara 3.
Harlequins: J Williams; D O'Leary, W Carling, J Ngauamo, L Belligoi; T Lacroix (R Liley, 13), N Walshe (H Harris, 50); M Cuttitta, K Wood (capt; T Billups, 38), J Leonard, G O Llewellyn, G D Llewellyn (R Jenkins, 50), G Allison, L Cabannes, B Davison.
Munster: D Crotty (Garryowen); J Lacey (Shannon), C Burke (Sunday's Well), R Ellison (Shannon), A Horgan; R O'Gara, B O'Meara; I Murray (Cork Constitution), M McDermott (Shannon), P Clohessy (Young Munster), M Galwey (Shannon; capt), S Leahy (Garryowen), E Halvey (Shannon), A Quinlan (Shannon), G Tuohy (Sunday's Well). Replacements: S McCahill (Sunday's Well) for Ellison, 45-55; A McSweeney (UCC) for Murray, 62; S McIvor (Garryowen) for O'Meara, 75; U O'Callaghan (Cork Constitution) for Leahy, 77.
Referee: P Thomas (France).
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