Stormers' 'bomb squad' floors Munster in second half

MATCH REPORT: The Stormers scored 21 unanswered points in the second half to secure their first win at Thomond Park against Munster by 27-21 in the United Rugby Championship.

They came back from a 6-21 half-time deficit to emerge victorious and extend their unbeaten run in the URC, ending Munster’s unbeaten streak in the process.

The Capetonians’ scrum was a well-oiled machine, although their line-out was a bit shaky until Dobson deployed his own bomb squad.

His replacement forwards came on in the 45th minute, and from there on Munster had no answer.

*To recap all the action, CLICK HERE!

The Stormers suffered an early blow for an off-the-ball infringement against Connor Evans two minutes into the match, who got sent to the sin-bin.

The visitors, however, drew first blood through a long-range penalty kick by Jurie Matthee in the fifth minute.

Munster responded two minutes later through Tadgh Beirne, who sliced through a gap in the midfield, which Jack Crowley converted.

Matthee closed the gap to one point after the visitors won a scrum penalty in the 10th minute.

A series of penalties against the Stormers provided Munster with a couple of attacking opportunities in the Capetonians’ red zone.

The Stormers received a general team warning, and moments later, Marcel Theunissen was yellow-carded for offside.

Munster cashed in soon after with their second try by John Dodnett to extend their lead to eight points following Crowley’s conversion.

Munster scored their third try in the 28th minute from their own half from a set-piece through Crowley after the ball went through multiple sets of hands.

The Stormers wasted a few scoring opportunities, including one towards the end of the first half that saw Munster lead at half-time by 21-6.

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The Stormers thought they were back in the game with a try by Paul de Villiers, but the flanker was denied due to blocking by Oli Kebble in the line-out.

The Capetonians eventually scored the first points of the second half through Adre Smith after a series of pick and drives as Matthee added the extras in the 58th minute.

Things went from bad to worse for Munster when the TMO called for a check by Gavin Coombes for a potential trip in the build-up to the Stormers’ try.

Coombes was shown a yellow card in the 58th minute.

Stormers debutant Dylan Maart scored the try in the 68th minute off a Matthee crossfield kick to bring his team back into striking distance as the playmaker brought it back to a one-point game following the conversion with 10 minutes to go.

Captain Ruhan Nel scored a crucial intercept try from a Crowley pass to dot down under the posts in the 71st minute, which Matthee converted to reclaim the lead.

Munster hit back through a try by Tom Farrell following a crossfield kick by Craig Casey in the 74th minute. Crowley added the extras to put his team one point ahead, but then a TMO check was called.

The try was disallowed, but they went back to a penalty to Munster for not rolling away, but the hosts made a mess of the opportunity.

The Stormers formed one final maul following a series of penalties before clearing the ball off the park for a historic win in Limerick.

Scorers

For Munster:
Tries: Beirne, Hodnett, Crowley
Cons: Crowley 3

For the Stormers:
Tries: Smith, Maart, Nel
Cons: Matthee 3
Pens: Matthee 2

Yellow cards: Connor Evans (Stormers, 2′ – Cynical foul: tackle off the ball), Marcel Theunissen (Stormers, 19′ – Repeated infringements: offside), Gavin Coombes (Munster, 58′ – Cynical foul: tripping a player)

Teams

Munster: 15 Shane Daly, 14 Diarmuid Kilgallen, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Alex Nankivell, 11 Thaakir Abrahams, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Craig Casey, 8 Gavin Coombes, 7 Jack O’Donoghue, 6 Tadhg Beirne (captain), 5 Fineen Wycherley, 4 Tom Ahern, 3 John Ryan, 2 Diarmuid Barron, 1 Jeremy Loughman
Replacements: 16 Niall Scannell, 17 Michael Milne, 18 Ronan Foxe, 19 Edwin Edogbo, 20 John Hodnett, 21 Ethan Coughlan, 22 Tony Butler, 23 Dan Kelly

Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Dylan Maart, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Ruhan Nel, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Jurie Matthee, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Marcel Theunissen, 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 Connor Evans, 4 Salmaan Moerat (captain), 3 Neethling Fouché, 2 André-Hugo Venter, 1 Vernon Matongo.
Replacements: 16 JJ Kotzé, 17 Oli Kebble, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Adré Smith, 20 JD Schickerling, 21 Ruan Ackermann, 22 Dewaldt Duvenage, 23 Clinton Swart.

Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant referees: Andrew Cole (Ireland) and Andrew Fogarty (Ireland)
TMO: Matteo Liperini (Italy)