Connacht 22 Munster 9 (FT) - as it happened

Connacht 22 Munster 9 (Full-time)

Here was the try that sealed Connacht’s win and added some gloss to the scoreboard.

In the end, Connacht’s bench and the 6-2 split has a massive impact. A scrum penalty with the replacement frontrow on gave them the lead late on. Then Oliver in the 23 shirt won a crucial jackal penalty to add to it, before Carty’s 50:22 and Aungier’s carry wrapped up what turned out to be a comfortable win.

Full-time: Connacht 22 Munster 9

Hanrahan gets the ball off the park with the clock in the red and that is that.

79 mins: Hanrahan adds the extras 15m in from touch. It took nearly 79 minutes, but this game finally has a try.

TRY CONNACHT

Jack Aungier wraps up the victory. They’re lucky at the lineout, an overthrow ends up back on their side. Two phases later, there’s the replacement tighthead taking the ball from 5m out and barging his way over. Game. Set. Match.

77 mins: That could well be the final nail in Munster’s coffin. There’s no one at home marking the touchline, Carty spots this and executes a pinpoint 50:22.

Meanwhile there is bad news for Connacht and Ireland. Mack Hansen looks to have a bad had injury and is surrounded by medics. One to keep an eye on.

While that’s going on, Hanrahan lines up another penalty from halfway...and he’s finally missed one. He had the distance, but he’s pulled it just outside the left upright.

74 mins: Another Connacht penalty! They’re well and truly on top now. This time Murray spills it forward under pressure at the back of a ruck. Munster then dive in off their feet trying to win the ball back and give away the penalty.

Earlier on in the piece, Ralston was lucky to get away with a high tackle. They’ve shown it twice on replays but the TMO hasn’t intervened. Tadhg Beirne has a word with Busby about it but doesn’t look like anything is coming. Remember Ralston has already been carded...

72 mins: Hanrahan nails it! Nearly 50m out, he’s put Connacht into a two-score, six point lead. Is that the winning of the game?

71 mins: Connacht are screaming for a penalty and they get it! Conor Oliver off the bench gets in over the ball to win the holding-on call. Huge moment in this game if Hanrahan fancies the kick from close to halfway.

69 mins: Mistake from Munster. Murray throws a pass, Frisch wasn’t ready for it and he knocks on.

67 mins: Hanrahan puts Connacht into the lead! 20m out, just to the left of the posts, he tacks on another three.

67 mins: That’s a big scrum from Connacht. John Ryan is in all sorts of trouble and pops up under pressure as the Connacht eight pile through. Easy penalty decision and Hanrahan will have another shot at goal.

66 mins: Another injury. Connacht’s attack is blown to a halt with Blade laying stricken on the turn. He tried to break on the edge of the ruck and took a big hit from Buckley. As Loughman tried to come in to contest the breakdown he accidentally knees Blade in the back of the head. That looks to have been what caused the damage.

Unsurprisingly, he makes way and Michael McDonald comes on at scrumhalf.

64 mins: Heffernan gives away a free-kick at the scrum for pre-engaging. Butler launches a high bomb off it and, not for the first time today, Bolton gathers brilliantly. Connacht then win a penalty as Kendellen goes in off his feet.

60 mins: Munster are definitely in the ascendancy at the breakdown. Buckley gets in over the ball this time with a good jackal. However, his good work is nullified by Hodnett being offside in midfield. It means Munster are marched back to where their defensive line started, gifting Hanrahan a chance to level.

He slots the kick from straight in front just outside the 22.

No mistakes from Butler, straight in front of the posts. Munster are back in front.

57 mins: It’s very scrappy ball at the lineout. Connacht are screaming for a knock-on but Busby lets play continue. Eventually the Galwaymen are pinged for not rolling away in front of the posts. It’s an easy kick for Butler but Carty is protesting against the earlier knock. Busby, surprise surprise, ks not impressed.

55 mins: Penalty Munster! First Hodnett, now Beirne, their jackelers are finally turning up as they turn the momentum at the breakdown their way. Butler kicks play into the 22.

52 mins: Munster get a relieving penalty. That was much-needed as Connacht continued to build through the phases. Hodnett was the man getting in over the ball.

50 mins: Another penalty for Connacht. Bolton takes a high ball brilliantly in the air, lands and speeds off into contact. A red jersey gets caught killing the ball and Carty can kick the penalty close to the 22. Meanwhile, Ralston’s yellow card has expired and he’s back on.

45 mins: Loughman and Ahern are penalised for playing the 9. Hanrahan calls for the tee in a bid to level things up. He makes no mistake 30m out from a central position.

To make matters worse for Munster, Butler launches the restart out on the full.

43 minutes: A breakdown penalty allows Munster to kick into the Connacht half. They get the lineout maul rolling and continue to make ground. Murray cleverley breaks down the short side with wing Ralston still in the bin, continuing the momentum.

The attack eventually comes to an end when Butler cleans Bealham out well beyond the ball. Penalty Connacht.

41 mins: Right then. Here come the players. 58 minutes for a first half scoreline of 6-3, you can’t get much worse than that as a spectacle. Maybe I’ll eat my words in an hour’s time, but here’s hoping.

Hanrahan kicks off the second half, Munster let the ball bounce inside their own 22 and it nearly costs them as Carty almosts beats Kendellen to the bouncing pill. Eventually they recover and manage to clear their lines.

A dire, wet half of rugby. Injuries are the story of the day for Munster. Oli Jager and Jack O’Donoghue have both been stretchered off with head and knee injuries respectively.

Both sides haven’t been able to hold onto the ball for long, due to the wet conditions forcing errors. At this stage, it will be a case of whichever side gives away the fewer penalties will win the game.

Half-time: Connacht 3 Munster 6

43 mins: After a lengthy Munster passage in possession following the penalty, Blade gets in over the ball to win the decision. Connacht kick the ball off the park and that’s that for the first half. It took 58 minutes to get through!

YELLOW CARD: Ralston is sent to the bin. It was a shocking clearout, straight onto O’Donoghue’s knee. He could well be lucky it’s only yellow. What saved him from red was his shoulder wasn’t tucked.

Kendellen has come on in place of the stricken O’Donoghue.

40 mins: For the third time today. Buckley’s lineout throw goes awry. Connacht will have one last attack of the half. Busby blows his whistle. Jack O’Donoghue looks to have suffered a serious knee injury and play stops. Add another body to Munster’s ridiculously long injury list.

Byron Ralston could be in trouble here. His clearout was in via the side and straight into O’Donoghue’s knee.

39 mins: Wow. Loughman spills under no pressure whatsoever. Hodnett then slides by the ball on the deck. Hansen misses his attempted hack through and then Prendergast slides on the ball into touch. It is wet and messy.

38 mins: Connacht are furious. Prendergast looks to have gotten in over the ball at the breakdown but referee Busby says his knee was on the floor. Butler kicks the resulting penalty into the 22.

35 mins: It’s been that type of game. Nash runs into his teammate’s space, denying Ahern a chance to gallop down the wing, before passing the ball straight into touch.

34 mins: Hansen’s kicking out of hand has been poor today. Not for the first time, a badly sliced clearance gifts Munster the ball deep inside the Connacht half. However, once again Buckley’s lineout throw goes awry and Connacht gather and clear.

31 mins: Connacht give away a soft offside penalty. Tadhg Beirne straight away points to the sticks. Butler should put Munster into the lead.

Another easy kick from just to the right of the posts. No mistake from Butler.

28 mins: ANOTHER CHARGE DOWN! Tom Ahern races in to block Carty’s attempted clearance and Connacht are very fortunate the ball didn’t bounce into a red jersey over the line. As it is, Munster win it on the deck and start hammering away at the line. They earn a scrum as a scramble for the ball on the deck means it is unplayable.

26 mins: A good few minutes from Butler. Off the back of a scrum, he sticks the head up and launches a 50:22 that rolls into touch close to the Connacht line. Brilliant kick, but where was the backfield cover?

Connacht get away with it, however. Buckley’s throw into the lineout is crooked.

22 mins: Bealham gives away a penalty in front of his own posts. He was competing for the ball off his feet. Butler has a chance that should see the scores levelled.

Easy kick and no problems for the young man.

21 mins: Hansen is charged with clearing off the back of the scrum but it’s a horrendous slice. Just like that, Munster have a lineout 10m out from the Connacht line.

19 mins: Munster go on the attack after Connacht spill the kick-off following Hanrahan’s quick. Frisch makes a good break to build momentum but then Scannell loses the ball just before contact with Ralston lining up a big shot. Another scrum coming up. Given the conditions, we’ll be saying that a lot today.

16 mins: John Ryan infringes at the ruck inside the Munster 22. JJ Hanrahan summons the kicking tee... There are the game’s first points. Easy 3 from in front of the sticks.

15 mins: Trouble for Munster. Tony Butler kicks from deep but the wind and the bounce ensure the ball keeps on rolling, going all the way over the dead ball line.

It’s a Connacht scrum all the way back up towards Munster’s 22.

13 mins: It’s incredibly messy ball with the wind and the rain playing havoc. First of all Joe Joyce beats Beirne to the lineout ball. Heffernan gathers for Connacht but his attempted pass off the deck goes to the floor. He’s lucky that Munster infringe diving in for the ball, Connacht kick into the 22.

After a lengthy delay, Jager is stretchered off. Play will restart with a Munster scrum close to halfway.

11 mins: Further injury trouble. Oli Jager looks to be in a bad way after taking a shot to the head. Bealham and Joyce put in a double tackle on Jager and he has been hit in the head at some point in the collision. He won’t continue.

Forde is gone. It actually looks like he’s getting treatment on a shoulder issue and he has been forced off the park. Jack Carty has come on in his stead, it looks like Hanrahan has shifted to centre.

9 mins: A brilliant series of offloads sees Hansen and Forde threaten. The Irish wing tries to free Aki down the short side but Frisch reads it well and intercepts the offload. He tries to clear quickly but is half charged down. Munster get away with it as the ball goes out of play instead of towards the goal-line.

Poor Cathal Forde wore that kick straight in the face and is getting a bit of medical attention.

8 mins: Half a chance for Munster. It all starts with a first-phase strike that sees Scannell break the line. Zebo then follows suit, an offload would lead to a score but he just can’t free his arms. Murray eventually gets the ball off him but can’t stop his attempted pass from spilling forward.

Connacht break quickly through Prendergast and almost immediately work their way up to the Munster 22.

6 mins: A dangerous clearout from Frisch and Butler allows Hanrahan to quick Connacht into the Munster 22 for the first time. After taking the lineout and setting up a maul, Connacht lose it quickly as Loughman wins a holding-on penalty.

NOT SO FAST!

Coombes might have rolled over the dead ball line before dotting down. The TMO is getting involved...

NO TRY

The wet surface sees Coombes initially slide past the ball when if he just put his hand on it it would have been a score. Instead, he reaches behind him to pick the ball up and ground it, but by the time he did that the rain-soaked pitch saw him slide beyond the dead ball line. What a bizarre sequence of play.

3 mins: Connacht have the league’s best defensive lineout coming into this match and it showed there, Darragh Murray reading the throw to bat the ball back onto the Connacht side. Blade clears and he’s charged down!

TRY MUNSTER!

Gavin Coombes charges down the kick, races in behind to the bouncing ball and dots down in-goal. An opportunistic score after brilliant defensive work from Connacht initially. Blade will be disgusted with himself.

2 mins: Munster go through plenty of phases without maknig much ground. Eventually they go wide, Ahern is there in his new role as the wide forward in the six jersey and a penalty comes when Aki doesn’t release after making the tackle. Butler kicks into the 22.

1 min: Tony Butler kicks off for Munster. The kick goes high into the 22 where Blade gathers and clears. He doesn’t find touch and Zebo runs it back into the Connacht half.

Here are the teams. Seconds away from kick-off now. Chris Busby is the man with the whistle today.

As the saying goes, it’s raining sideways in Galway.

Quite an interesting analysis piece here done for TG4 ahead of the game. Connacht’s defence has been very leaky in recent games. Combine that with Munster who, as we touched on above, have not been as fluid in attack as they would like recently. It’s an intriguing battle, an average defence against an average attack.

It is also raining in Galway, how much of an effect will the conditions have?

As for Munster, despite winning the URC title last season their attacking play has faltered. In the below piece, a statistical analysis of how they have changed game plan under attack coach Mike Prendergast shows that, while they look to play with the ball more now than before, the desired results are not quite there.

This suggests the title win came earlier in Munster’s development than expected as they continue to adapt and adjust to a new system under a new coach.

[ 2023 by the numbers: Blunt Munster, fantastic Forde and what might have been with Healy ]

The 22-year-old Cathal Forde’s brilliant start to the season is a huge fillip for his team and while he is playing slightly out of position, he may be able to mix and match with Bundee Aki in the centres. Forde’s footballing ability will enable him to cope. He’s up against Antoine Frisch, a key component when Munster’s attack is cohesive and fluent.

These matches are important indicators for Ireland coach Andy Farrell, especially with the announcement of an extended Six Nations squad imminent. There are a number of other duels that will be interesting to watch. Caolin Blade is another who has excelled, and the Connacht captain will carry the game management responsibility with Hanrahan.

—  Irish Times rugby writer John O'Sullivan

John O’Sullivan has picked out some of the intriguing match-ups from an Ireland point of view with Andy Farrell set to announce a Six Nations squad in the coming weeks. You can read his full preview below.

[ Connacht and Munster battle it out for new year bragging rights in Galway ]

As for Munster, they’ve made a few changes to the line-up they originally named on Saturday. Hooker Eoghan Clarke and lock Fineen Wycherley were supposed to start, but they have dropped out. Scott Buckley comes into the frontrow instead with Gavin Coombes shifting from the backrow to the secondrow. Jack O’Donoghue starts at number eight.

Elsewhere, academy outhalf Paddy Butler starts with Jack Crowley rotated out of the 23. Tadhg Beirne is back alongside Conor Murray after being rested vs Leinster in line with IRFU protocols.

Rory Scannell starts at 12 in place of the injured Alex Nankivell.

Let’s have a look at the teams, starting with Connacht. It’s hard to look past that centre pairing. Bundee Aki was the best centre in the world according to stats company Opta, while Cathal Forde was the third best. Forde was shooting the lights out in this year’s URC before injury saw him miss the last two matches. He’s back and partners Aki in midfield in what is one of the competition’s strongest centre pairings.

Elsewhere, Mack Hansen starts at fullback, JJ Hanrahan is at outhalf against his old province while Cian Prendergast lines up in a strong-looking backrow alongside Jarrad Butler and Shamus Hurley-Langton.

Niall Murray, the URC leader for lineout steals, is on the bench. Given Munster’s usual strength in that area, don’t be surprised to see him introduced relatively early.

Happy New Year all and welcome to the final day of festive rugby action. It’s a blockbuster day for the Irish provinces in the United Rugby Championship. First up, Connacht welcome Munster to the Sportsground.

Nathan Johns here to guide you through all the action. We’ll start building up to the 3pm kick-off, feel free to get in touch with your thoughts on Twitter (@nathanrjohns).