Munster move to fourth as they scrap past a tough Cardiff challenge

CARDIFF 15 

Munster scratched out a narrow victory over Cardiff to maintain their winning run in the United Rugby Championship at Thomond Park on Saturday night to reclaim fourth place in the table with five games to go.

Second-half tries from skipper Tadhg Beirne and man of the match Jack Crowley saw Munster home after a scrappy first half gave way to end-to-end rugby after the break, Cardiff hitting back with two tries of their own in a seesaw post-interval period. Ultimately Crowley’s goal-kicking proved the difference, but it was a less than stellar team performance on home soil a week out from a tough Champions Cup knockout tie at Northampton Saints next Sunday.

Munster had been forced into a late change to their matchday squad when RG Snyman was withdrawn due to illness, Tom Ahern promoted from the replacements to the second row for his sixth consecutive competitive start in the second row as Jack Daly came onto the bench.

Whether the absent World Cup winner Snyman could have rescued a dismal first half, we will never know but it took 38 minutes of an error-strewn opening period before Jack Crowley troubled the scoreboard, his penalty from 40 metres out the only points before half-time as Munster took a 3-0 lead into the interval.

Not even the return of Six Nations participants on both sides could lift a desperately poor spectacle as knock-ons abounded, the most costly denying John Hodnett a 20th-minute score chalked off after a TMO check that spotted a Sean O’Brien offload from the deck clipping Mike Haley’s fingers in the build-up.

It was the only try-scoring opportunity of a first half played largely between the 22-metre lines with Munster spurning a chance just before halftime after a deflected Shane Daly kick found touch inside the Cardiff 22 only for the home lineout to go astray.

It left a lot riding on a upturn in performance levels as the second half got underway and Munster supporters got it as the home side started with an intent and penetration previously lacking.

The pressure reaped dividends as Cardiff conceded back-to-back penalties, the second five-metre lineout producing the maul to the line from which matchday captain Tadhg Beirne scored the opening try on 49 minutes.

Crowley nailed the penalty form wide out on the left to push his side into a 10-0 lead and Munster set about looking for a second try. Yet 10 metres from the Cardiff line a Craig Casey pass from a ruck fired towards Beirne was read perfectly by inside centre Ben Thomas and the Welsh back sprinted 90 metres to score under the Munster posts, fly-half Tinus de Beer’s straightforward conversion pegging the home team back to a three-point lead at 10-7 with 55 minutes gone.

Things got worse for Munster when John Ryan, the veteran prop on as a replacement for only a matter of seconds, was yellow-carded for a tip tackle on Cardiff captain and hooker Liam Belcher. The visitors took full advantage, kicking the penalty to the corner and the subsequent lineout drive from five metres out producing a try for back-row replacement Tom Young that put the Welsh region in front at 12-10 just before the hour mark.

De Beer missed the touchline conversion but Munster were stung into action and despite being a man down immediately hit back through Crowley, who jinked his way through traffic to score next to the posts. Crowley, who had moved to inside centre as Joey Carbery replaced Alex Nankivell, converted his own score and Munster were back in front at 17-12.

Munster survived the sin-binning without further concession and managed to stretch their lead to 20-12 on 74 minutes, a deliberate knock-on from Cardiff allowing Crowley to add a penalty.

Cardiff continued to make life difficult though, and a Jacob Beetham penalty with two minutes to go rescued a losing bonus point for the visitors but Munster saw out their five-point advantage to the end to claim a hard-fought victory.

MUNSTER: M Haley (S Zebo, 72); S O’Brien, A Frisch, A Nankivell (J Carbery, 56), S Daly; J Crowley, C Casey (E Coughlan, 75); J Loughman (J Wycherley, 65), N Scannell (E Clarke, 65), S Archer (J Ryan, 57); T Ahern (A Kendellen, 70), T Beirne - captain; P O’Mahony (J Daly, 75), J Hodnett, G Coombes.

Yellow card: J Ryan 59-69 

CARDIFF: C Winnett; O Lane (T Cabango, 56), M Grady, B Thomas (J Beetham, 78), J Adams; T de Beer, E Bevan (M Aubrey, 61); C Domachowski (R Carré, 48), L Belcher – captain (E Lloyd, 65), K Assiratti (W Davies-King, 65); B Donnell, S Davies (R Thornton, 65); A Mann, E Jenkins (T Young, 50), M Martin.

Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy).