Munster frustrate Stormers in tense Limerick encounter
MATCH REPORT: The Stormers’ winless run away from home continued when they went down 3-10 to Munster in tough conditions in Limerick on Saturday.
The match was a repeat of last season’s United Rugby Championship Final and this time Edwin Edogbo’s first-half try proved to be the difference in the end.
The Stormers have now lost three in a row on tour and they will end their road trip with a match against Cardiff next week.
The result also completes a bleak weekend for South Africa with the Bulls, Lions and Sharks also suffering defeats in Round Five.
Both sides had their fair share of the ball in the opening minutes but Munster looked a bit better with ball in hand at Thomond Park.
Munster eventually opened the scoring in the 14th minute when Jack Crowley converted a straightforward penalty into three points.
The Capetonians then suffered a double just before half-time. First, their captain Neethling Fouche was yellow carded for his team’s repeated infringements at the line-out and maul and then Munster scored a try when lock Edwin Edogbo crashed over after sustained pressure inside the Stormers’ 22.
Crowley converted the try and it was 10-0 to Munster at the break.
The Stormers came out firing in the second half and they finally got their first points of the game in the 46th minute with a Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu penalty.
The visitors started to stamp their authority in the scrums again and they were camped inside Munster’s 22 for large periods. However, some stern defence stopped them in their tracks.
No.8 Evan Roos was held up over the tryline a couple of times.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu had the opportunity to put the Stormers in a good position on the field with a penalty in the 69th minute. However, the playmaker kicked the ball dead instead of finding touch.
The Capetonians had plenty of possession in the final minutes to try and force a better result, but they just could not find a way past a powerful Munster defence.
Man of the match: Evan Roos was certainly the Stormers’ best player with his numerous strong carries on the field. However, the award goes to Munster flyhalf Jack Crowley who was a calm presence under pressure and got his team out of a few stressful situations with his decision-making.
The scorers:
For Munster:
Try: Edogbo
Con: Crowley
Pen: Crowley
For Stormers:
Pen: Feinberg-Mngomezulu
Yellow card: Neethling Fouche (Stormers, 38′ – cynical play, repeated infringements at the line-out and maul)
Teams:
Munster: 15 Shane Daly, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Antoine Frisch, 12 Alex Nankivell, 11 Shay McCarthy, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Craig Casey, 8 Gavin Coombes, 7 John Hodnett, 6 Peter O’Mahony (captain), 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 Edwin Edogbo, 3 John Ryan, 2 Scott Buckley, 1 Jeremy Loughman.
Replacements: 16 Chris Moore, 17 Josh Wycherley, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Tom Ahern, 20 Jack O’Donoghue, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Rory Scannell, 23 Alex Kendellen.
Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Ben Loader, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Jean-Luc du Plessis, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Willie Engelbrecht, 5 Gary Porter, 4 Ruben van Heerden, 3 Neethling Fouche (captain), 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Sti Sithole.
Replacements: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Ali Vermaak, 18 Brok Harris, 19 Adre Smith, 20 Keke Morabe, 21 Herschel Jantjies, 22 Clayton Blommetjies, 23 Angelo Davids.
Referee: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Stuart Gaffikin (Ireland), Andrew Fogarty (Ireland)
TMO: Wayne Davies (Wales)
