In the United Rugby Championship, Munster edged closer to securing a home quarter-final as they triumphed over Connacht with an impressive 47-12 victory at the Thomond Park derby. Despite Connacht’s efforts, making 81 tackles within the initial 24 minutes of the match and trailing only by 14-7 during halftime due to a late try by Byron Ralston, they found themselves overwhelmed.
Munster capitalised in the wake of a yellow card shown to Shamus Hurley-Langton, as RG Snyman, Calvin Nash and then Alex Nankivell scored the all-important points in the match’s 45th minute, restoring a 14-point advantage for the teams. Subsequently, Conor Murray earned a 64-minute bonus point for Graham Rowntree’s team.
A second try from Ralston was swiftly negated by concluding scores from Joey Carbery, Tom Ahern, and Shane Daly. Despite early turnovers given to Hurley-Langton and Peter Dooley, Munster maintained their form and strategically progressed downfield with penalties won during scrum and maul occasions.
Thanks to Dooley and Oisín Dowling’s resilient defence, Munster remained scoreless until the 19th minute when Snyman successfully reached the line, which was confirmed by TMO Mark Patton. Jack Crowley finally turned this into a seven-pointer.
Munster then doubled their lead when Nash skilfully bypassed Tom Farrell and his pace managed a score from 40 meters. Despite Connacht’s protest over Nash’s one-handed finish, the conversion missed by Crowley was retaken and made successfully in the second attempt. Connacht, however, made a comeback before halftime, with Ralston achieving thanks to a brilliant skip pass from Jack Carty, who also converted the try, cutting the deficit. Even though Connacht started the second half spritely, they failed to capitalise. Instead, Nankivell seized the opportunity in the 65th minute to dash down the field and Crowley’s conversion meant Munster led 21-7.
The game saw a disallowed attempt by Hurley-Langton due to his foot being out of bounds, following which Murray was scorched through by Simon Zebo thanks to Munster’s skilful play-making. This endeavoured effort was followed by Carbery’s conversion.
A flawlessly executed elevated pass by Carty saw Ralston score on the left, despite continued difficulty for Connacht.
Munster’s centre field displayed quick precision, setting up Carbery, while Ahern shrugged off Farrell to reach the left corner. The final play witnessed a score by Daly.