Munster hold off charging Ospreys
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Munster will face Glasgow Warriors in the Pro12 Final after securing a tough 21-18 semifinal victory over Ospreys.
Simon Zebo's late first-half score gave the hosts an 11-3 advantage at the interval, after Dan Biggar and Ian Keatley had exchanged penalties.
But the game opened up after the break with Denis Hurley and Paddy Butler for Munster, and Rhys Webb and Jeff Hassler all touching down inside a frenetic ten minutes.
With Keatley misfiring – 15 points going begging from the tee in total for Munster – Ospreys stayed in touch, but elation turned to dismay as Josh Matavesi crossed with the clock in the red, only for the TMO to reveal a clear Webb knock-on in the build up.
Ospreys shot out of the blocks and began with aplomb, Biggar showing their intentions from the off with a missed drop-goal attempt inside a minute.
Ospreys battered the Munster tryline, but when Eli Walker broke for the corner he was pinged for holding on, and Munster were able to clear.
And the away side were soon defending hard themselves, Stephen Archer brutally charging through three tackles before losing control of the ball as he crossed the tryline.
But it was Ospreys who opened the scoring when Biggar landed a straight forward penalty on 13 minutes, the hosts pinged for not rolling away from an Ospreys attacking line-out.
Keatley levelled the scores three minutes later, and then put Munster in front on 22 minutes with another simple penalty after his cross-kick was collected by Ospreys' defenders.
The flyhalf missed an opportunity from range to put the Munstermen further ahead when Webb was penalised for obstructing Duncan Williams, on for the injured Conor Murray, as he attempted to collect his own kick.
But as it looked as though the game would go into half-time tryless, Zebo charged through on 39 minutes thanks to a wonderful attacking move from the Munster backline.
From a scrum on halfway CJ Stander was able to offload to Butler, who surged through before finding the wing who finished emphatically in the corner.
And although Keatley's conversion was wide of the mark, Munster began the second half as they ended the first, building the phases before Hurley got the better of Walker in the corner to touch down.
Munster looked ominous with the ball in hand, but Webb's sensational 46th minute score gave Ospreys a way back into the game, as he gambled at the back of the scrum and intercepted Stander's loose pass.
Biggar's conversion attempt was wide, and the hosts responded to the setback in style with a try of their own, with furious work at the breakdown earning them valuable yards before Williams sent Butler over two minutes later.
Ospreys were not to be outdone, and a rollercoaster five minutes was complete when the returning Hassler collected a loose ball before stepping inside and sprinting through the heart of the field before crossing the whitewash under the posts.
Matavesi came agonisingly close to scoring after a 63rd minute break from the midfield, and Biggar made it a three-point game from range with Munster off their feet.
But with eight minutes remaining, Munster elected to kick for goal when Ospreys holding on at the breakdown, and Keatley again missed – his miserable afternoon from the tee ending with just two successful kicks from five.
JJ Hanrahan was thrown into the fray by Anthony Foley, and missed from the tee himself moments later, but the real drama was still to come as Matavesi broke through with the final play of the game to seemingly clinch the game for Ospreys.
But referee Nigel Owens rightly went upstairs, and Webb was adjudged to have knocked-on at the breakdown to break Ospreys' hearts and send Thomond Park into raptures.
Man of the match: Simon Zebo was impressive and Rhys Webb was a constant threat for Ospreys but the stand-out was Munster flank Paddy Butler who put in a huge shift.
The scorers:
For Munster:
Tries: Zebo, Hurley, Butler
Pens: Keatley 2
For Ospreys:
Tries: Webb, Hassler
Con: Biggar
Pens: Biggar 2
Teams:
Munster: 15 Felix Jones, 14 Keith Earls, 13 Andrew Smith, 12 Denis Hurley , 11 Simon Zebo, 10 Ian Keatley, 9 Conor Murray, 8 CJ Stander, 7 Paddy Butler, 6 Peter O'Mahony (captain), 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Donnacha Ryan, 3 Stephen Archer, 2 Eusebio Guinazu, 1 Dave Kilcoyne.
Replacements: 16 Duncan Casey, 17 John Ryan, 18 BJ Botha, 19 Billy Holland, 20 Jack O'Donoghue, 21 Duncan Williams, 22 JJ Hanrahan, 23 Ronan O'Mahony.
Ospreys: 15 Dan Evans, 14 Jeff Hassler, 13 Ben John, 12 Josh Matavesi, 11 Eli Walker, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Dan Baker, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (captain), 4 Tyler Ardron, 3 Dmitri Arhip, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Nicky Smith.
Replacements: 16 Sam Parry, 17 Marc Thomas, 18 Aaron Jarvis, 19 Rory Thornton, 20 James King, 21 Tom Habberfield, 22 Sam Davies, 23 Jonathan Spratt.
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant Referees: Leighton Hodges (Wales), Ian Davies (Wales)
TMO: Gareth Simmonds (Wales)
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