Munster 19-12 Edinburgh: Edinburgh fail to capitalise on their chances against might of Munster

EDINBURGH fought hard but ultimately lost out against a streetwise Munster outfit on a freezing cold night in Cork. The Scots competed very well and were the better team for large parts of the game but could not cross the whitewash when it mattered.

This was a great chance to complete a rare home and away double over the European heavyweights from Ireland but they fell just short. Edinburgh did, however, take a losing bonus point from the game against this star-studded home outfit who are now unbeaten at Musgrove Park in their last 15 outings. This could be crucial come the end of season shakedown when the play-off positions are being decided.

Edinburgh started the game nervously and were soon put on the back foot when Munster centre Lifeimi Mafi broke from his own 22. He was eventually cut down and his pass to winger Doug Howlett came to nothing.

During the opening period the visitors' set-pieces were more than solid against their much-vaunted opponents. Murrayfield locks Jim Hamilton and Scott MacLeod ruled the touch lines and as a result the Munster lineout struggled throughout. This meant Munster could not put any concerted pressure on Edinburgh. When they threatened to, the visitors defended well and forced the Irish into mistakes.

Edinburgh soon settled into a rhythm and started moving the ball crisply through the hands. One beautifully executed line-out ball off the top from Hamilton saw passed wide to wing Mark Robertson whose pass to the next man went straight into touch. Had this found the intended target they would have caused the Irish defence problems. Edinburgh though maintained this field position in the province's half due to hooker Fogarty's crooked throw and now attacked the home side's line. The Munster red line held firm, though, despite multiple Edinburgh phases and David Blair was forced to fall back into the pocket and dropped a goal.

Hamilton got a bit of treatment at the bottom of a Munster maul and this seemed to galvanise the previously quiet Cork crowd. Edinburgh managed to clear their lines but the home side were soon back on the attack. After a series of close-range drives veteran prop Marcus Horan forced his way over for the try. Deasy missed the easy conversion. Edinburgh were soon back in the Munster half and Blair hit the target with a penalty only for Scott Deasy to return the compliment just after he had missed a more straightforward effort. The Scots now upped the tempo and Nick de Luca , who was prominent all evening in attack and defence, cut open the home defence with a slashing break. He found flanker Roddy Grant on his shoulder but the attack petered out when Munster broke the attack up but were called offside. Blair converted the penalty to push Edinburgh 9-8 ahead. They then did very well to hold out just before half-time when Munster sought to retake the lead, hooker Fogarty spilling the ball forward in a heavy tackle.

Munster started the second half with the same intent they finished the first but were again hamstrung by poor handling. Deasy however had the first shot at the posts in the second half which he didn't take. Edinburgh's first venture into the Munster half was more successful. From an attacking mauled line-out home flanker Alan Quinlan was yellow carded by referee Tim Hayes, after dragging the maul down. Blair kicked a wonderful penalty from the touchline to give Edinburgh a four-point lead. Deasy however returned the favour minutes later

The home side then made the decisive move in the match when Deasy cut through the Edinburgh defence with the next Munster attack. Deasy chipped delightfully over full back Ben Cairns and the ball rolled into the in goal area. Robertson seemed to have it covered but the ball bounced away from him and Deasy touched down for the try. He failed to covert his own try but Munster were now four points to the good.

With less than ten minutes to go Edinburgh really had to score next but it was Deasy who extended Munster's lead with a penalty when the visitors were caught offside defending a series of ominous-looking attacks.

The Scots were not content with settling for a losing bonus point, though, and mounted attacks in the Munster half looking for the equalising score. The Irish lived dangerously and had another man sin-binned but just held off Edinburgh.

Scorers: Edinburgh: Drop Goal: D Blair. Pens: D Blair 3; Munster: Try: Horan,Deasy. Pens: Deasy 3.

Munster: D Hurley; D Howlett, L Mafi, J de Villiers, I Dowling; P Warwick, P Stringer; M Horan, D Fogarty, T Buckley; D Ryan, M O'Driscoll capt; A Quinlan, N Ronan, J Coughlan. Subs Used: Holland, O'Donnell, Deasy, Brugnaut, Gleeson, Sherry.

Edinburgh: B Cairns, M Robertson, N De Luca, J Houston, T Visser, D Blair, G Laidlaw (capt), K Traynor, A Kelly, G Cross, J Hamilton, S MacLeod, A MacDonald, R Grant, D Callam. Subs Used: Jacobsen, Hamilton, McKenzie, Grant, Webster.

Referee: T Hayes (Wal). Attendance: 8,000