Munster bounce back to beat Ospreys
REPORT: Munster have put last weekend’s shock defeat to Zebre behind them by securing a 23-0 bonus-point win over Ospreys at a rain and wind-swept Musgrave Park.
Munster with their wind at their backs in the opening 40, went into the break 18-0 in front thanks to tries from Shay McCarthy, Tom Farrell and Calvin Nash with Jack Crowley kicking a penalty.
In the second half, Munster got their bonus-point try thanks to Jack O’Donoghue who crossed at the midway point. Munster then defended brilliantly in the final 10 minutes with a man down to keep the Welsh side out and secure a 23-0 win.
The home side got off to the quickest of starts when Jack Crowley’s kick-off was fumbled by the visitors. Shay McCarthy was first on the scene to collect the spilled ball and crash over for the first try after just 10 seconds.
Crowley’s conversion from the touchline just went wide as Munster took an early 5-0 lead.
Crowley extended Munster’s lead approaching the 10-minute mark when the flyhalf won a superb breakdown penalty before opting for the posts and extending Munster’s lead by three points.
Munster were hit with setbacks when both Oli Jager and Peter O’Mahony departed with injuries.
However, Munster pushed further ahead when Tom Farrell was able to crash over from close range after a maul effort from the hosts was stopped just short. Crowley’s conversion was unsuccessful in the difficult conditions.
Just on the stroke of half-time, Calvin Nash crossed for Munster’s third try in the corner to leave Munster leading 18-0 at the break.
The second half saw Munster facing into a very strong wind and naturally, the Ospreys had a fairer share of possession and territory.
After some stern Munster defence to repel a number of Ospreys attacks, Graham Rowntree’s side secured the bonus-point win when Nash made a scything break through the Ospreys defence before offloading to O’Donoghue to score. Crowley’s kick went narrowly wide with the home side taking a 23-0 lead into the final 15 minutes.
Ospreys began to pile on the pressure in the closing minutes which saw Stephen Archer sent to the bin after repeated infringements from the home side. However, Munster kept the Welsh side out thanks to some brave defending to secure a hard-fought and deserved bonus-point win.
The scorers:
For Munster:
Tries: McCarthy, Farrell, Nash, O’Donoghue
Pen: Crowley
For Ospreys: None
Yellow card: Stephen Archer (Munster, 75′)
Teams:
Munster: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Bryan Fitzgerald, 11 Shay McCarthy, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Craig Casey, 8 Jack O’Donoghue, 7 John Hodnett, 6 Peter O’Mahony, 5 Tadhg Beirne (captain), 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Oli Jager, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Jeremy Loughman.
Replacements: 16 Diarmuid Barron, 17 John Ryan, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Fineen Wycherley, 20 Gavin Coombes, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Tony Butler, 23 Jack Daly.
Ospreys: 15 Max Nagy, 14 Iestyn Hopkins, 13 Owen Watkin, 12 Phil Cokanasiga, 11 Ryan Conbeer, 10 Dan Edwards, 9 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 8 Morgan Morris, 7 Jac Morgan (captain), 6 James Ratti, 5 Adam Beard, 4 Huw Sutton, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Dewi Lake, 1 Steffan Thomas.
Replacements: 16 Sam Parry, 17 Garyn Phillips, 18 Ben Warren, 19 Lewis Jones, 20 Harri Deaves, 21 Luke Davies, 22 Jack Walsh, 23 Keiran Williams.
Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Keane Davison (Ireland), Chris Lough (Ireland)
TMO: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
