Larkin'S Late Strike Seals Munster Suffering

Munster 15 - 16 Ulster Rugby Musgrave Park   Att: 4,000 Referee: Nigel Owens Friday 10th October 2003, 19:30

Ulster coach Alan Solomons will be grateful to Adam Larkin for seeing his side to victory over the Celtic champions...

An Adam Larkin penalty with the last kick of the game sent Munster crashing to their fourth defeat in a row in this Celtic League tie in Cork. Munster had looked like stopping the rot when Jeremy Staunton had kicked them into contention with three second-half penalties to turn around a 13-6 half-time deficit and edge the home side in front with time running out. But Ulster went on the attack one last time and set up Larkin for his pressure kick in the eighth minute of injury time. Munster had lost captain Jim Williams to a calf injury before kick-off, but took a 6-0 lead through Staunton’s penalties and saw Ulster lose prop Ronan McCormack to the sin-bin for a deliberate offside. But Larkin quickly reduced the deficit with a penalty and Ulster skipper Andy Ward set up centre Seamus Mallon for a try close to the posts which Larkin converted to turn the game on its head. Larkin sent over a penalty deep into first-half injury time and Ulster were 13-6 ahead at half-time. The Ulster fly-half lost his touch after the break with three missed penalties as Staunton kept Munster in the game. He looked to have given them victory as the tie moved into injury time, slotting over a penalty from wide on the left but it still left Larkin with the time to give the visitors victory.

Munster V Ulster Rugby   P D C T Pos Player Player Pos T C D P   Shaun Payne 15 Bryn Cunningham Martin McPhail 14 Scott Young Mike Mullins 13 Shane Stewart Jason Jones-Hughes 12 Seamus Mallon 1 Mossie Lawlor 11 Tyrone Howe 5 Jeremy Staunton 10 Adam Larkin 1 3 Eoin Reddan 9 Kieran Campbell Simon Kerr 1 Ronan McCormack Jerry Flannery 2 Paul Shields Martin Cahill 3 Rod Moore Trevor Hogan 4 Matt Mustchin David Pusey 5 Matt McCullough Stephen Keogh 6 Andy Ward Colm McMahon 7 Neil Best David Wallace 8 Tony McWhirter Replacements Frank Roche 16 Reece Spee Jody Danagher 17 Ryan Constable Donal Sheehan 18 James Topping Eddie Halvey 19 Bryan Young Frank Murphy 20 Rowan Frost Conrad O'Sullivan 21 Nigel Brady Dominic Crotty 22 Roger Wilson Penalty Tries 0 0

All Pictures: ©  http://www.inpho.ie/, Huw Evans Agency,  Graham Stuart