Munster 21 Glasgow Warriors 10
Munster picked up their tenth Pro 14 win of the season and closed the gap on conference leaders Glasgow Warriors with a convincing victory at Musgrave Park.
Tries from Niall Scannell in the first quarter and from James Cronin in the second half ensured Munster were never in danger of losing this game, although they still needed the boot of Tyler Bleyendaal to have an easy run to the line.
The loss of Scannell and Chris Cloete to injuries is a concern for coach Johann van Graan, on a night that Simon Zebo played his last game in Cork before his summer move to Racing 92.
Shortly before kick-off Munster were dealt a bow by the withdrawal of Andrew Conway from the starting XV after the Ireland man failed to shake off the effects of the knee injury that has sidelined him for the last three weeks.
Munster showed their eagerness to be inventive early on when Billy Holland called a trick lineout to himself, which earned the home side a few yards, and from a second complex lineout Cloete almost crossed, before the offside Warriors allowed Tyler Bleyendaal to kick Munster into a 3-0 lead.
While Warriors failed to impress before the break, at the other end Munster misfired in most of their early attacks too as a couple of knock-ons, and the concession of penalties in the Warriors 22, allowed the league leaders to clear their lines.
Just short of the midway point in the first-half James Hart could have doubled Munster’s lead but his penalty from 45 metres fell well short when he slipped in his delivery, but Warriors continued to experience territorial pressure.
The failure of Ratu Tagive to release the ball for a Munster lineout resulted in another penalty for the home side, and after Bleyendaal pinned the Scots back on their own line, Munster’s maul delivered the try, with Niall Scannell the beneficiary for an 8-0 lead after 25 minutes.
Bleyendaal was brilliant with his sideline conversion to stretch the advantage further, but eight minutes from the break it seemed Glasgow had scored a certain try. Hastings send George Horne though a gap on halfway, and eventually Matt Smith seemed certain to score in the corner, but a remarkable tackle from Alex Wootton forced the flanker to knock on as he dived for the line.
To make matters worse for Glasgow Munster cleared their lines brilliantly and forced a penalty straight away in Glasgow territory, which Bleyendaal kicked to stretch their lead to 13-0.
Adam Hastings immediately cut Munster’s lead with a 43rd minute penalty for Warriors after a smart break from Brandon Thompson, and five minutes later Horne got the try his display deserved when he appeared on Lee Jones’s shoulder to score. Hastings converted to make it 13-10.
There was worse news for the home side, who lost flanker Cloete with a nasty arm injury in the lead up to the Glasgow try, but the sell-out home support was lifted two minutes later when James Cronin dived on his own kick through to restore Munster’s advantage.
It was smart work by Rhys Marshall to spot the ball was out of the ruck and he got the initial contact on the ball, and after conferring with the TMO, referee Marius Mitrea awarded the try, although Bleyendall could not add to the 18-10 lead with the conversion.
Calvin Nash was denied a try when he put a toe in touch, but Beleyendaal’s second penalty made sure of the win as Munster closed the gap to leaders Warriors to 12 points.
Scorers - Munster: Tries: N Scannell, J Cronin Cons: T Bleyendaal (1) Pens: T Bleyendaal (3). Glasgow Warriors: Try: G Horne Con: A Hastings (1) Pen: A Hastings (1).
Munster: S Zebo; C Nash, S Arnold, D Goggin, A Wootton; T Bleyendaal, J Hart; J Cronin, N Scannell, S Archer; J Kleyn, B Holland; D O'Callaghan, C Cloete, R Copeland. Replacements: R Marshall for (Scannell 43), J O'Donoghue for (Cloete 48), I Keatley for (Bleyendaal 67), D Kilcoyne for (Cronin 67), B Scott for (Archer 74), G Grobler for (Copeland 74), D Williams (for Hart 78), D Sweentnam for (Nash 78)
Glasgow Warriors: R Jackson; L Jones, S Johnson, B Thomson, R Tagive; A Hastings, G Horne; O Kebble, J Malcolm, S Halanukonuka; K McDonald, S Cummings; R Harley, M Smith, M Fagerson. Replacements: G Stewart for (Malcolm h-t), Z Fagerson for (Halanukonuka 56), H Pyrgos for (Horne 59), C Fusaro for (Smith 59), A Allan for (Kebble 62), R Vernon for (Hastings 68), L Wynne for (McDonald 74), N Matawalu for (Tagive 74).
Referee: M Mitrea (Italy).
