Munster take top spot

 

Anthony Foley's men scored two tries in a dominant opening 40 minutes courtesy of Jack O'Donoghue and Eusebio Guinazu, while Keith Earls rounded off a man-of-the-match performance with a clever finish in the second half before CJ Stander secured the bonus point win.

 

Rossouw de Klerk crossed the whitewash for the visitors as they looked to pull back into the match, but a depleted Warriors side was not strong enough to withstand periods of incessant Munster pressure in defeat.

 

The hosts flew out of the blocks at Irish Independent Park, turning the ball over from kick-off to launch a sustained period of attack.

 

Their original attempts were easily thwarted, but they the game's first try almost came when good work on the left from Denis Hurley and prop John Ryan threatened to put Duncan Williams away, only for the scrumhalf to spill the ball under pressure.

 

Glasgow struggled to clear their lines for any length of time, and the hosts' early dominance was epitomised by Earls.

 

The Ireland centre twice carved through gaps in the Warriors defence, the first of those sparking an overlap that perhaps should have been made to count, and the second requiring the last-ditch intervention of Connor Braid to prevent the flying Williams from running in for the score.

 

Despite their control, it took until just before the half hour mark for Munster's dominance to be reflected on the scoreboard.

 

Ronan O'Mahony began the attack by cutting infield from a quick lineout, but it was Ian Keatley who exploited a small hole in the Glasgow defence to send O'Donoghue in unchallenged and ensure he scored in three consecutive Pro12 matches – Keatley was wide with the conversion.

 

The Warriors were looking to extend their lead at the summit of Pro12 – and record a fourth successive win over their Irish opponents – but they were struggling to live with Munster's intensity and ambition.

 

Awarded a kickable penalty in midfield, Keatley went for touch instead of the posts, a decision that was immediately justified when Guinazu barrelled over from the ensuing maul. The flyhalf made the conversion to stretch Munster's lead to 12-0 as the first half came to an end.

 

Glasgow needed to respond after the break if they were to continue a run that has seen them lose just one match since November, and Matawalu thought he had provided the perfect impetus when he crossed the whitewash on 44 minutes, only to be brought back for a knock as he raced onto a loose kick.

 

Flyhalf Braid, in for Scotland call-up Peter Horne, missed a straightforward penalty seven minutes later, but he made amends almost immediately after, stroking the ball over the reduce Glasgow's arrears.

 

And the game was well and truly thrown into the balance when tight-head de Klerk ran a line worthy of a fullback to score under the posts, Braid's conversion making the score 12-10 heading into the final quarter.

 

The Munster response was swift and efficient, and resulted in a deserved try for Earls.

 

Keatley prodded a teasing ball in behind the onrushing Glasgow defence, and Earls produced an audacious dink into his own hands to dive in at the corner for a stunning score, Keatley again off target with the extras.

 

With both sides now in full flow, the next score was always likely to be pivotal – and it was the hosts who got it, another efficient rolling maul ending in an unconverted try for Stander that secured the win and saw Munster leapfrog their opponents at the Pro12 summit.

 

 

Tries: O'Donoghue, Guinazu, Earls, Stander

Con: Keatley

 

Try: De Klerk

Con: Braid

Pen: Braid

 

 

Munster: 15 JJ Hanrahan, 14 Andrew Conway, 13 Keith Earls, 12 Denis Hurley (captain), 11 Ronan O'Mahony, 10 Ian Keatley, 9 Duncan Williams, 8 CJ Stander, 7 Sean Dougall, 6 Jack O'Donoghue, 5 Billy Holland, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 BJ Botha, 2 Eusebio Guinazu, 1 John Ryan.

Replacements: 16 Niall Scannell, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Dave O'Callaghan, 20 Paddy Butler, 21 Neil Cronin, 22 Andrew Smith, 23 Ivan Dineen.

 

Glasgow: 15 Peter Murchie, 14 Niko Matawalu, 13 Richie Vernon, 12 Fraser Lyle, 11 DTH van der Merwe, 10 Connor Braid, 9 Murray McConnell, 8 Josh Strauss, 7 Will Bordill, 6 Adam Ashe, 5 Al Kellock (captain), 4 James Eddie, 3 Rossouw de Klerk, 2 Pat MacArthur, 1 Alex Allan.

Replacements: 16 Dougie Hall, 17 Jerry Yanuyanutawa, 18 D'arcy Rae, 19 Alex Toolis, 20 Tommy Spinks, 21 Glenn Bryce, 22 Lee Jones, 23 Rory Hughes.

 

Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)

Assistant referees: Mark Patton (Ireland), John Carvill (Ireland)

TMO: Dermot Moloney (Ireland)