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Munster’s John Hodnett celebrates his try. Billy Stickland/INPHO
Champions Cup
Munster finish strong as tries from Bleuler and Hodnett topple Saracens at Thomond
Two quick-fire second-half scores turned the game in Limerick.
Munster 17
Saracens 12
FOR A LONG time this looked like being one of those nights for Munster. Saracens came to Thomond Park sensing opportunity and with close to an hour played it was shaping up nicely for the visitors. Mark McCall’s men led 9-3 and had looked comfortable defending whatever Munster threw at them.
The 22,000-strong home crowd was tense. They had watched their team battle hard but repeatedly shoot themselves in the foot, letting their unforced errors rise while struggling to find the killer touch in the Saracens half.
A game in which Munster had never led was slipping out of reach with next weekend’s trip to face Northampton Saints looking increasingly daunting.
Then Munster came alive, with two quickfire scores from Dian Bleuler and John Hodnett in the 59th and 64th minute flipping the game and sending Munster on their way to victory.
Come full time The Fields of Athenry was ringing around the ground and it felt like one of those great European days in Limerick.
The province now sit second on 10 points in Pool 3, one off Northampton ahead of their trip to Franklin’s Gardens next weekend.
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