The fight to defend the United Rugby Championship title by Munster came to a halt against Glasgow Warriors. The Warriors showcased a newfound spirit and tenacity, usually absent in their play-off matches, but it stood out clearly in this encounter. Despite being a man short for a chunk of the game, they proved their mettle. They now move on to challenge the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld, who earlier took down Leinster.
Two eye-catching offensive strategies – one from an error, the other an 80-meter countermove – swung the game in Glasgow’s favour. Standout player, centre Sione Tuipolotu, proved to be a tough challenge for the host team.
For Munster, the match left them steeped in regret, as unsuccessful attempts to convert dominance and possession into key points paired with a lack of precision led to their undoing. Although Tadhg Beirne shone brightly, and at moments, seemed capable of steering his team towards victory single-handedly, it just wasn’t enough.
Several strong performances were observed from Alex Nankivill, Jeremy Loughman, Shane Daly, and notably Mike Haley, but these efforts couldn’t put Munster in the lead. Questionable game management and decision-making also contributed to the loss, a setback that will be tough to swallow.
Munster showed great promise in the early stages, from a dominant scrum to a well-tuned attack strategy, characterized by swift handling and great depth on the ball, all reinforced by speed and width. They earned a penalty for forcing the Glasgow eight backward, but subsequent errors didn’t let Munster capitalize on their early momentum. In particular, a missed penalty kick from Jack Crowley from 25 meters out and a poor lineout turnover from Crowley gave Glasgow the respite needed to gather points. The game also saw valiant efforts from John Hodnett and Craig Casey, but it was Munster’s fullback Haley who won an impressive penalty turnover just metres from his line.
Glasgow made four penalty errors in the initial eight minutes, facilitating their rivals into their 22. They followed with a fifth penalty for an early drive at the subsequently ensuing lineout, representing gross misconduct, with a sixth resulting in Andrea Piardi, the referee issuing a card and sending Richie Gray, the secondrow player, to the sin bin.
At the 12th minute mark, Crowley succeeded in nudging his side ahead with a penalty, though their control over possession and position on the pitch made it seem less impressive. Despite Beirne’s significant contributions, as his team made vigorous efforts toward the Glasgow line, Fineen Wycherley was caught for not releasing fast enough, with a clearout occurring a half-second too late for them.
A mistake at the 23-minute mark put a damper on Munster’s first quarter efforts of dominance. An ill-placed pass from Antoine Frisch to Nankivill saw Glasgow’s captain, Kyle Steyn, recover the stray ball and scored a try despite the proceedings not being in their favour. The extra points were tacked on by George Horne. Though initially taken aback, the visiting team started to cultivate confidence by obtaining the lead in spite of being at a disadvantage.
In the first half, Glasgow clung on to a 7-3 leading advantage, which included a regrettable pass by Steyn that led to a Munster scrum outside the Glasgow 22, but did not result in any significant points. When Josh McKay began with the forearm, he ended up being rightly penalised, and Matt Fagerson was penalised more seriously when he swiped at Peter O’Mahony with his arm causing him to be sin-binned.
The initial stage of the second half saw Munster realising the consequences of their indiscipline, letting 14-member Glasgow deep into their 22. Beirne’s excellent lineout defense diverted the threat. Graham Rowntree, the head coach of Munster, called on three substitutions after 45 minutes, bringing in Diarmuid Barron, Oli Jager, and RG Snyman to deliver some much-needed freshness.
Although Horne missed a penalty at the 49-minute mark, it hardly jolted Glasgow’s momentum as McKay’s choice to run the ball back from his 22 culminated in Sebastian Cancelliere securing a try. This time, the Glasgow scrum-half did not falter, stretching the visitors’ lead to 14-3 with less than 30 minutes left in the match.
The spectators enthusiastically supported a comeback from Munster and things looked optimistic when Frisch cut through the Glasgow defence. However, an untimely penalty turnover by Darge halted the advance just eight metres shy of the visitor’s goal line. Upon entering the game, Snyman made an immediate impact by partially blocking Horne’s kick, allowing Jeremy Loughman to cut through the gap following a turnover.
Loughman’s surge into Glasgow’s 22 was momentarily thrilling, but it was Frisch who secured points for the team by taking advantage of Casey’s swift transfer from a ruck. Crowley then nailed a sensational touchline conversion, closing the gap to four points with a 14-10 scoreline.
Despite the frequency of basic errors, the game’s seesawing possession created an engrossing contest. Munster’s indiscipline continued into the latter half and Glasgow seized the opportunity to kick their way into Munster’s 22 as the match went into the final quarter. The visitant side was handed a penalty advantage on the 73rd minute and following a review, Nankivill’s ill-judged ruck clearout attempt on Horne resulted in a red card.
Capitalising on the penalty, Glasgow’s scrum half secured an easy kick extending the visitors’ lead to 17-10. A penalty gave Munster a chance at a last-minute turnaround, but Snyman’s botched offload to John Ryan extinguished their hopes of reaching the final.
Simon Zebo’s farewell could have been highlighted by a better result, but he still received a heartfelt applause in appreciation of his captivating performances throughout his gaming career.
Here is the recap of the match. The game began with a penalty from Crowley in the 12th minute, making the score 3-0. However, Steyn scored a try at the 23rd minute, and it was followed by a successful conversion from Horne, turning the score around to 3-7 for the half time. After the interval, Cancelliere scored a try for Glasgow Warriors with Horne converting in the 50th minute, stretching the lead to 3-14. Frisch scored a try for Munster in the 55th minute, with Crowley converting, closing the gap at 10-14. However, Horne sealed the win with a penalty in the 74th minute, making the final score 10-17.
Munster’s team comprised of Mike Haley, Shane Daly, Antoine Frisch, Alex Nankivell, Simon Zebo, Jack Crowley, Craig Casey, Jeremy Loughman, Niall Scannell, and Stephen Archer. The rest of the team included Fineen Wycherley, Tadhg Beirne as captain, Peter O’Mahony, John Hodnett, and Jack O’Donoghue. During the match, several substitutions took place that involved players like Diarmuid Barron, Oli Jager, RG Snyman, Seán O’Brien, Gavin Coombes, Conor Murray, J Ryan and Alex Kendellen. However, Nankivell was shown the red card in the 73rd minute.
The Glasgow Warriors’ squad included Josh McKay, Sebastian Cancelliere, Huw Jones, Sione Tuipulotu, Captain Kyle Steyn, Tom Jordan, George Horne, Jamie Bhatti, Johnny Matthews, Zander Fagerson, Scott Cummings, Richie Gray, Matt Fagerson, Rory Darge, and Jack Dempsey. Their bench players included Max Williamson, Henco Venter, J Dobie, George Turner, Euan Ferrie, and Oli Kebble. During the game, two players, R Gray and M Fagerson, were given yellow cards in the 11th and 40+1 minutes respectively. The match was officiated by an Italian referee, A Piardi.