Munster achieved a well-earned victory over the Bulls in an intense URC competition at Loftus Versfeld, marking the first home defeat for the Bulls in a year. Returning to their traditional rugby roots, the Munster team successfully executed their game plan.
The match’s pivotal moment arrived 54 minutes in when Johan Goosen of the Bulls received a red card. Despite the Bulls leading 22-17 and Canan Moodie almost scoring a bonus point try, Goosen’s head-on-head tackle led to the annulment of the score and his subsequent removal from the field by referee Adam Jones.
Following a few minutes on the pitch, Craig Casey was forced to retire due to the collision. Despite nursing an injury from a late tackle, Conor Murray returned and ultimately scored the match-winning try seven minutes before the final whistle, confirming a bonus point victory for the champions in this challenging fixture.
Despite a punishing first half, champions Munster were able to regain the lead and enjoy a halftime lead of 17-10. Although chances were slim as both teams possessed commendable tackling skill, Munster pulled ahead during the opening quarter. With a well-placed chip from Jack Crowley and a lineout overthrow by the Bulls, Munster’s Niall Scannell seized this opportunity and drove towards the goal. Shane Daly then scored in the left corner, thanks to an excellent assist from Simon Zebo and Alex Nankivell.
Following Murray’s earlier missed penalty, Crowley successfully converted, bringing the score to 7-0. The Bulls quickly retaliated, with Goosen managing a stellar touch in the right corner from a distance. After a contested lineout and a five-meter scrum resulting from Daly losing possession, the Bulls capitalized. Erligh Louw, the Bulls’ captain, made it through Daly and co’s defense to score a try, tying the game at 7-7 after 27 minutes.
Goosen propelled the Bulls ahead with a penalty kick at the half-hour mark, following an offside penalty against Jeremy Loughman in the 22 metres zone. Though the Bulls seemed primed to establish an early advantage, Munster retaliated more impressively, regaining the lead just three minutes before half-time. Courtesy of RG Snyman’s far-reaching effort to slip the ball beneath Zach Burger on the goal line, enhancing their lead with Crowley’s conversion.
By half-time, they widened the gap to 17-10, with Crowley delivering a challenging penalty kick from the right side at 47 metres distance. The Bulls regained momentum after the break, narrowing the score gap when Kurt-Lee Ardense scored in the corner, followed by a leading score from hooker Johan Grobbelaar, 50 minutes in, after taking advantage of Erligh Louw’s strategic play from a tapped penalty.
Despite Goosen’s successful conversion, his ill-timed tackle on Casey became a turning point, giving Munster the unexpected chance they needed to succeed. Crowley’s expert crosskick maneuver sent John Hodnett in to level the game at 58 minutes. A combination of skilful play by Zebo and Joey Carbery set up the opportunity for Murray to achieve what seemed impossible: scoring the winning goal in the right corner.
The match’s scoring rundown is as follows: 19 mins: Daly’s try, Crowley’s conversion (0-7); 26: Louw’s try, Goosen’s conversion (7-7); 30: Goosen’s penalty (10-7); 37: Snyman’s try, Crowley’s conversion (10-14); 40: Crowley’s penalty (10-17); Half-time: (10-17); 45: Ardense’s try (15-17); 50: Grobbelaar’s try, Goosen’s conversion (22-17); 58: Hodnett’s try (22-22); 73: Murray’s try (22-27).
The Bulls’ team comprised W Le Roux, S de Klerk, C Moodie, D Kriel, K-L Arendse, J Goosen, E Papier, G Steenekamp, J Grobbelaar, W Louw, R Vermaak, JF van Heerden, C Hanekom, R Ludwig, and team captain E Louw.
The substitution details are as follows: A van der Merwe came in for Grobbelaar at 51 minutes, followed by M Gumede replacing Hanekom (52), J Swanepoel taking over from van Heerden (59), C Smith taking le Roux’s place (63), S Matanzima for Steenekamp (69) , M Smith entering in place of W Louw (69), Z Burger swapping places with Papier (76), and D Williams for de Klerk (76).
Considering Munster’s line-up, S Zebo was up next, then C Nash, who was succeeded by A Frisch, A Nankivell, and finally, S Daly. After this, we observed J Crowley and C Murray in action, following whom were J Loughman, N Scannell, and S Archer. The following set included RG Snyman, team captain T Beirne, P O’Mahony, A Kendellen, and finally J O’Donoghue.
Further permutations saw J Wycherley swap places with Loughman (51 minutes), with C Casey entering the game for Murray for a brief spell (51-54). G Coombes stepped in for O’Mahony (52), which led to J Hodnett coming on for Kendellen (52), T Ahern substituting for Snyman (56), E Clarke replacing Scannell (63), O Jager for Archer (63), and J Carbery taking over from Nankivell (65). The game was refereed by A Jones from Wales.