O'Gara holds nerve to put Munster on the board
Munster 30 Perpignan 21
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Your support makes all the difference.Munster overcame some nervous moments to get their Heineken Cup campaign on track with victory over Perpignan in Limerick. The Irish side, losing finalists for in the last two seasons, were in a must-win situation having lost their Pool Two opener to Gloucester at Kingsholm last week but Perpignan did not make life easy for them at Thomond Park.
Munster scored the first points of the match when Ronan O'Gara slotted home a third-minute penalty, but the lead did not last for long.
In the ninth minute, Munster's defence was easily stretched, a large gap appearing for centre Nicolas Couttet in front of the posts to steal over the Irish line for a try. Benoit Bellot converted and Perpignan were 7-5 up.
It was time for Munster to step up a gear and they duly delivered on the quarter-hour. Their sustained pressure in front of the Perpignan line finally told when scrum-half Peter Stringer flew the ball out to Jason Holland who broke one tackle before putting in wing John Kelly for the try, which O'Gara converted.
The home side looked in control when they crossed the line again on 22 minutes for a try from Alan Quinlan, converted by O'Gara. But some sloppy passing in their opponents' half saw full-back Manny Edmonds intercept and race 60 metres to bring Perpignan right back into contention, Bellot's conversion taking the score to 17-14.
Both kickers missed penalty opportunities as play became edgy and the closing minutes of the first half were strewn with errors.
There was hope for Munster as they went in at the interval as Perpignan prop Renaud Peillard was sin-binned in first-half injury-time. Munster's numerical advantage did not tell with O'Gara's 48th-minute penalty the only points to show for Peillard's absence at the start of the second half.
The Irishmen were given another chance, however, when John Daniell replaced his team-mate in the sin-bin. And this time, Munster quickly made it count, prop John Hayes going over in the 55th minute and O'Gara converting to open up a 27-14 lead.
Bellot again missed the chance to close the gap with a failed penalty but O'Gara was on target at the other end. Just as the home side looked home and dry, Perpignan got back in the game when Nicolas Laharrague raced upfield to score a try in the 72nd minute. Edmonds converted.
Munster then endured a nerve-wracking last eight minutes to earn their first points of the competition.
Munster: D Crotty; J Kelly, M Mullins, J Holland, M Lawlor; R O'Gara, P Stringer; M Horan, F Sheahan, J Hayes, M Galwey, M O'Driscoll, J Williams (capt), A Foley, A Quinlan.
Perpignan: M Edmonds; P Bomati, N Couttet, C Manas, F Cermeno; B Bellot, J Basset; R Peillard, A Moreno, N Mas, R Alvarez Kairelis, J Daniell, L Mallier, P Murphy, B Goutta.
Referee: T Spreadbury (England).
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