Glasgow Foil Munster’s Bid For Back-To-Back URC Titles

Munster’s dreams of lifting the BKT United Rugby Championship trophy at home next week are over, following a 17-10 semi-final defeat to Glasgow Warriors that will sting for a long time.

Glasgow are off to Pretoria to face the Vodacom Bulls in next Saturday‘s URC final, having boxed clever through two sin-binnings and made the most of their limited scoring opportunities.

Munster only had a Jack Crowley penalty to show for 63% possession and 71% territory during the first half at Thomond Park. The Warriors led 7-3 at half-time thanks to captain Kyle Steyn’s opportunist 23rd-minute try.

Glasgow’s defence held firm during the sin-binnings of Richie Gray and Matt Fagerson, and 10 minutes after the break, Graham Rowntree’s men fell further behind when Sebastian Cancelliere surged over.

Antoine Frisch pulled back seven points, but the hosts had Alex Nankivell red carded, and George Horne’s resulting 74th-minute penalty kick proved enough for the resilient Scottish side.

Munster had reached the last-four with an excellent run of 10 successive wins, and boasted a proud record of winning all four previous semi-finals played at Thomond. The carrot of a home final in Limerick – the first in the league since 2011 – offered a huge incentive too.

Crowley, the Next-Gen Player of the Season, pushed a third-minute penalty wide, and despite Munster also gaining the upper hand at the first scrum, it was Glasgow who came closest to crossing the whitewash early on.

A Niall Scannell lineout throw went out the back to his opposite number Johnny Matthews. Sione Tuipulotu also swept through on a threatening break, only for full-back Mike Haley to come to the Reds’ rescue just a few metres out from his own line.

When the Munstermen advanced again from successive penalties, Gray’s yellow card for offside preceded Crowley’s 11th-minute opener.

Nonetheless, when ball went loose between Frisch and Nankivell, Steyn swooped in to score from halfway and Horne converted. Glasgow were also now winning the breakdown battle.

Munster were frustrated by Glasgow’s defence which was brilliant at times. Huw Jones tackled Simon Zebo into touch, and Scott Cummings and Tom Jordan both earned turnovers.

Matt Fagerson’s high tackle on Peter O’Mahony drew a card, but Munster needed captain Tadhg Beirne to twice thwart the Warriors in quick succession.

Following a Horne penalty miss, Glasgow ran a Crowley kick back with interest. The fast-breaking Jones fed Argentinian Cancelliere for a slick finish. Horne supplied the extras from the right.

Munster prop Jeremy Loughman’s impressive run paved the way for Frisch to score in the left corner. Crowley’s classy conversion brought it back to a four-point game.

However, an error-strewn Munster failed to kick on. Nankivell made contact with Horne’s head at a ruck, allowing the scrum half to book Glasgow’s flight to South Africa.

Scotland centre Tuipulotu stood out as the BKT URC player-of-the-match. He made some key reads in defence, helping Glasgow to keep Munster out, and carried powerfully in attack, also notching an early try.

Between himself and Jones, they outplayed the Munster midfield. The Warriors won in Limerick in March 2023, and they used that experience to deliver the goods again in what was an intense play-off fixture.