Munster embarrass toothless Lions

MATCH REPORT: Munster taught the Lions a harsh lesson in European rugby, with a 33-3 win in their United Rugby Championship Round 12 outing on Friday.

At a wet and windy Musgrave Park, in Cork, the five tries to nil and the 30-point margin are both flattering to a Lions team that has slipped into many of their old, naive habits.

On current form, the Lions are an embarrassment to South Africa’s professional franchises in the URC.

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Paddy Patterson is elusive 😎#BKTURC #URC | #MUNvLIO | @MunsterRugby pic.twitter.com/3CSNYoEQej

— BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) January 6, 2023

Liam Coombes slalomed over for a brilliant late bonus-point try.

Just days after confirming his move to Edinburgh, Ben Healy converted Scott Buckley’s maul try and captain Jack O’Donoghue also scored to give Munster a 12-3 half-time lead.

Jordan Hendrikse’s early penalty was the Lions’ only score, as all five points went to the hosts thanks to second-half tries from Paddy Patterson, Coombes and Buckley.

The Lions went to Cork having won their last four fixtures outside of South Africa and Hendrikse’s right boot opened the scoring in the fifth minute.

Munster had an early reshuffle with hooker Diarmuid Barron going off injured, but his replacement Buckley crossed from a well-controlled ninth-minute line-out drive.

Leading 5-3, Munster survived an intense bout of scrum pressure – with Buckley twice popping up five metres out – as the Lions failed to force a likely try.

A powerful burst by URC player-of-the-match John Hodnett helped Munster to break down the physical Lions defence, with O’Donoghue able to squeeze over from a 28th-minute ruck.

As the Lions tried to hit back, Darrien Landsberg lost a crucial line-out forward and then Jean Kleyn stole one just before the interval.

Munster emerged empty-handed from a strong spell on the restart, Alex Kendellen held up over the line and O’Donoghue denied by big prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye for the concession of a turnover penalty.

Sharp handling wore down the Lions defence soon after, scrum-half Patterson grasping his chance to snipe clean through from a ruck and score under the posts, while Healy converted for a 19-3 lead.

On for the injured Hendrikse, Gianni Lombard missed touch from a penalty and an Edwill Van Der Merwe break also petered out, with Kendellen replying with a turnover penalty.

While the Lions scrum continued to earn penalties, their line-out was unreliable with Gavin Coombes claiming another steal.

Despite a crooked throw from Buckley, Coombes bagged the bonus point with a smashing solo effort before Buckley powered over from a late maul, with Healy finishing with four conversions.

Player of the Match

The Lions had some bright moments, particularly from their powerful scrum, while Emmanuel Tshituka was typically abrasive and Morné van den Berg busy around the fringes. Kleyn and Kendellen tidied up a lot of scrappy ball for Munster, but Hodnett stood out the most for his ability to break the defensive line and his graft around the pitch.

Play of the Match

It was a tough match for handling given the rain and wind, but Munster showed the greater accuracy when in sight of the line. Wing Coombes delighted the Cork crowd with an excellent individual try, retrieving a dinked Lombard kick and carving through from outside the visitors’ 22, beating four defenders including a last-ditch tackle from Lions skipper Marius Louw.

The scorers

For Munster
Tries: Buckley 2, O’Donoghue, Patterson, Coombes
Cons: Healy 4

For the Lions
Pen: Hendrikse

Teams

Munster: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Shane Daly, 13 Malakai Fekitoa, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Liam Coombes, 10 Ben Healy, 9 Paddy Patterson, 8 Alex Kendellen, 7 John Hodnett, 6 Jack O’Donoghue (captain), 5 Gavin Coombes, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Roman Salanoa, 2 Diarmuid Barron, 1 Josh Wycherley.
Replacements: 16 Scott Buckley, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Cian Hurley, 20 Jack O’Sullivan, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Dan Goggin, 23 Patrick Campbell.

Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Stean Pienaar, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Marius Louw (captain), 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Morné van den Berg, 8 Emmanuel Tshituka, 7 Emile van Heerden, 6 Jarod Cairns, 5 Darrien Landsberg, 4 Ruan Venter, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 Pieter Botha, 1 Jean-Pierre Smith.
Replacements: 16 Michael van Vuuren, 17 Morgan Naudé, 18 Ruan Smith, 19 Willem Alberts, 20 Sibusiso Sangweni, 21 Andre Warner, 22 Gianni Lombard, 23 Manuel Rass.

Referee: Hollie Davidson (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Andrew Cole (Ireland), Sam Holt (Ireland)
TMO: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)