February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
By Mark Jones
Munster 31, Saracens 30
DUBLIN — Munster qualified for the quarterfinals of rugby’s European Cup in dramatic fashion when an injury-time try by Keith Wood and a pressure conversion from Ronan O’Gara saw them through to a 31-30 victory over Saracens at Thomond Park on Saturday.
This latest success sustained Munster’s unbeaten record over five games and guarantees Ireland’s champion province a home game in the quarterfinals.
But in a nerve-tingling contest of swaying fortunes, Wood and his teammates almost let it slip. Close to the finish, Saracens had pulled clear 30-24 thanks to a try by full-back Mark Mapletoft and for the first time, the 15,000 Limerick crowd had fallen silent.
However, Munster worked their way up the pitch, John Langford won a line-out near the opposition line and Wood crashed over for the try. As the delirium subsided, O’Gara still had to kick the conversion to win the game and he duly obliged, with the ball glancing in off the upright.
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"I was half hoping we wouldn’t get a try at all," grinned O’Gara. "Everyone was shouting for a score and I was thinking, ‘knock it on.’ Actually, when it came down to it, I wasn’t that nervous. I was quite confident of getting it, but you still thinking, ‘You’re the hero or the villain here,’ so the gods were looking down on me."
Munster didn’t need any divine intervention as they kept their European momentum going with another supercharged performance. At one stage they trailed by 17-8, clawed the deficit back to lead 21-17, but then lost the initiative again until Wood grabbed that crucial try.
"I think I had to dive about six inches and I made seven, but I got there," said an exuberant Wood. "Days like this when the ground is full of absolutely manic supporters are rare enough. It was as if we had somebody extra pushing behind us. It was a big occasion for rugby in this region."
Leinster, meanwhile, aren’t guaranteed a place in the last eight, but a thoroughly convincing 44-17 win over Glasgow Caledonians at Donnybrook kept their hopes alive. Leinster now almost certainly have to win away to Leicester on Saturday to qualify for the quarterfinals.
Ulster’s miserable season continued when last year’s European champions slumped to a fifth defeat in a row when they were beaten 49-17 by Wasps.