Penney proud of Munster effort
Despite falling to a 19-20 defeat to Ulster in Belfast on Friday night, Munster head coach Rob Penney was not overly downbeat, choosing to focus on the positives from a game which could have gone either way.
Ulster’s celebrations were short-lived however with the tragic news of Nevin Spence’s death along with his father and brother plunging the rugby community into grief on Saturday.
Spence played for Ulster Ravens against Munster A on Friday afternoon with southern province taking the spoils thanks to a last gasp JJ Hanrahan effort.
It was the Ulstermen who prevailed in the PRO12 meeting at Ravenhall later that evening however, thanks to a Jared Payne try and five Paddy Jackson penalties.
Ian Keatley converted Keith Earl’s first-half try as well as striking two penalties and a brace of drop goals but it wasn’t enough as Penney’s charges came up just short but the Kiwi coach appreciated the effort his side put in.
"I was proud of the boys,” Penney said after the game. “They worked their hearts out.
“We didn’t play perfect rugby by any means. But I can't fault their endeavour. Obviously the result in a tight match can go either way.
“It wasn’t on our side of the ledger today. Some good things happened and we can grow from this."
Munster looked in good shape after quarter of an hour with two Keatley penalties and a drop goal pushing them 9-0 ahead. Two Jackson penalties were followed by Earls’ converted try. The Ulster flyhalf tagged on another late three-pointer to leave Munster 16-9 ahead at the break.
That lead had evaporated thirteen minutes into the second half but Penney insists he is not overly concerned about losing an early lead in a game of such fine margins.
“Nine points can be absorbed pretty quickly nowadays. The kickers are so accurate you only have to give away a couple of penalties and all of a sudden things change.
“We just ran out of fuel I think a little bit and with that some of our decision making was probably not quite as accurate as we needed it to be.
“But we were close and it could easily have been the other way around.”
Friday’s encounter pitted Penney against a familiar foe in the shape of fellow New Zealander Mark Anscombe.
The coaches had locked horns on six previous occasions but Friday’s match marked Anscombe’s first triumph over Penney. The Munster boss praised the Ulster performance but believes his team also did enough to prove they are a threat this season.
"I know Mark well. They played the type of footy that I thought they would and got the result.
“They did a good job on Munster last year at Thomond Park so they would have been preparing for a good battle.
“I hope our boys earned a bit of respect out of their performance tonight.”
