Munster Start South African Tour With Bonus Point Success

Munster made it back-to-back bonus point wins in the GUINNESS PRO14 as they got the better of the Isuzu Southern Kings on a 31-20 scoreline at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium this afternoon.

Tries from Mike Haley, Alby Mathewson, Fineen Wycherley and Arno Botha, coupled with out-half JJ Hanrahan’s flawless kicking from the tee, put the province out of reach for the gallant Port Elizabeth outfit.

Giving his reaction afterwards, Munster head coach Johann van Graan said: “We’re happy with the five points. The ball was very slippery and different from Limerick conditions. We left a few chances out there but it was a great attitude to keep the Kings out in the second half with some great maul defence and a couple of turnovers.

“Any win away from home is pretty good. We saw last week against Cardiff that they’re a very difficult side to play against. We created enough opportunities but need to finish a few more – that’s something we need to work on over the next few weeks.”

The Munstermen started well with a number of attacking phases getting them close to the Kings line. The early pressure saw Kerry native Hanrahan fire over an opening ninth-minute penalty after the hosts failed to roll away.

However, the Kings were quick to reply with their own Demetri Catrakilis penalty following a Munster breakdown infringement. Just minutes later, man-of-the-match Shane Daly was denied the game’s first try after Welsh referee Dan Jones called a double movement on his scoring attempt out wide.

The sustained pressure did pay off when Darren Sweetnam was at the end of his own kick chase, and the ball was swung out wide from the half-backs and Dan Goggin for full-back Mike Haley to dart over from the left for a well-crafted 19th-minute try. Hanrahan added the extras to give the visitors a seven-pointer buffer.

Catrakilis knocked over his second successful penalty to reduce the deficit, with it staying 10-6 up to the break. The home side, who had Jonathan Sexton’s younger brother Jerry in the second row, added further momentum to their challenge with a slick seven-pointer soon after the restart.

Inside two minutes of the restart, Masixole Banda broke and jinked his way towards the Munster 22, linking with the supporting Jacques du Toit whose well-timed released Stefan Ungerer for the line despite Rory Scannell’s attempts to haul the scrum half down. Catrakilis’ conversion edged the Kings in front.

Van Graan’s charges struck back with the first of three converted tries during a crucial 21-minute spell, either side of the hour mark. Kiwi scrum half Alby Mathewson grasped his opportunity to scoot around the side of a close-in ruck and dot down after the powerful Dan Goggin had been brought to ground just a few metres out.

Now chasing the visitors’ 17-13 lead, the Kings continued to press and make ground with Munster coughing up penalties inside their 22.  A series of attacking mauls were handled superbly by the men in red, though, with blindside flanker Jack O’Donoghue leading from the front.

In absorbing the attacking threat Munster’s defence held firm, and once back in the opposition 22 it was the province who converted their possession into points. Fineen Wycherley crashed in under the posts for their third try, the hard-carrying forwards earning a penalty advantage before Kevin O’Byrne flipped an inviting pass to the young lock.

Scoring for the second week running, Arno Botha then charged over past two defenders for the bonus point try in the 69th minute. Debutant Jed Holloway, who came on for the final quarter of an hour, carried well in the build-up and hooker O’Byrne supplied his second assist with some more soft hands.

Munster actually ended the game down to 14 men, with replacement loose James Cronin seeing yellow, and the Kings garnered a late consolation try when they went through 14 phases which ended with replacement Elrigh Louw throwing a dummy and diving over from close range.

Disappointingly, a second half injury has ruled flanker Chris Cloete out of Munster’s plans ‘for the immediate future’. “After an initial review on Chris’s ankle injury we’ve released him from the touring group as he won’t be available for the immediate future,” admitted van Graan.

The Munster management are able to maintain a 28-strong touring party with Academy back rower Jack O’Sullivan flying out to replace Cloete. He will link up with the squad in Bloemfontein ahead of their third round encounter with the in-form Toyota Cheetahs on Friday.