Strong Finish Secures Top Spot For Munster, While Ulster Book Champions Cup Berth

Munster set up a potential home run in the BKT United Rugby Championship play-offs after a 29-24 win over Ulster at Thomond Park saw them finish top of the table.

The defending champions trailed by 10 points on two occasions, but replacement Eoghan Clarke’s 69th-minute maul try, and a late Jack Crowley penalty, got the job done.

Tries from Rob Herring and David McCann cancelled out RG Snyman’s seventh-minute opener to give quarter-final-bound Ulster a 17-7 half-time lead.

Calvin Nash and Shane Daly both touched down, sandwiching a Matthew Rea score during a sparkling seven-minute spell. Crowley and John Cooney both brought their kicking boots, leaving just three points in it.

Boosted by their strong bench, Graham Rowntree’s side came out on top in bonus point-winning fashion in front of a 17,496-strong home crowd. They will host the Ospreys at the quarter-final stage at Thomond next Friday night (kick-off 7.35pm).

The derby victory came at a cost for Munster with Rory Scannell booked in for surgery next week on his ankle injury. Tom Ahern will also be unavailable for the coming weeks, having sustained an ankle/lower leg injury, and Joey Carbery (thumb) is ruled out of the quarter-final tie.

Speaking in the aftermath, Munster head coach Rowntree said: “It will stand to us. There’s plenty of bits to review, but a lot of our errors were individual errors, and then it was composure in the last 10 metres of the field.

“I’m delighted with our attitude there. We went for the corner, mauled them over, our scrum was in good nick and we used it as a good platform for penalties. It will stand to us.

“It wasn’t perfect. We go into the play-offs Friday night, we have a few sore bodies, we’ll see how they pulled through and name a team in the middle of the week.

He added: “We have a lot of respect for what Toby (Booth) has done there (at the Ospreys). As a club what he’s done, there, the challenges around availability and budget. They’re a sticky team.

“That’s the next game, we’re in the play-offs and finished the league at the top. I’m immensely proud of that, as a team. I think we were 11th on January 2, we had our injuries around Christmas, and picked up 44 out of a possible 45 points since that Connacht game.”

Ulster’s losing bonus point not only earned them a sixth place finish – and a mouth-watering quarter-final trip to the Aviva Stadium next Saturday to face provincial rivals Leinster – but guaranteed them Champions Cup rugby for next season.

The Ulstermen lost both Stuart McCloskey and Ethan McIlroy to injuries before kick-off, which brought Jude Postlethwaite and Stewart Moore into the team. The early departure of Kieran Treadwell (ankle) was another blow.

Snyman managed to avoid a card for a high tackle on Will Addison, and much to Ulster’s annoyance, the Springbok star then used his long frame to score just a few minutes later, giving Crowley a straightforward conversion.

However, Ulster hit back with a well-worked maul try from Herring, and Cooney soon gave his side a 10-7 lead courtesy of a 22nd-minute penalty.

Munster’s execution was letting them down, and a late Crowley blunder handed Ulster a five-metre scrum. They earned a further penalty, and flanker McCann was able to burrow over for Cooney to convert.

A rare Cooney penalty miss preceded the unloading of the hosts’ forward-heavy bench which was a game changer. Nash scored from a long Craig Casey pass, and Crowley’s touchline conversion closed the gap to just three points.

Nash’s 51st-minute try was the pick of the bunch. The Munster replacements brought an immediate impact, as Oli Jager and Gavin Coombes both carried well either side of a weaving run from Crowley inside Ulster’s 22.

Scrum half Casey had a quick scan and knew exactly where to put his pass from a close-in ruck. He lofted a pinpoint delivery to the right for his fellow Limerick man to finish over the line.

Athletic back rower Cormac Izuchukwu broke menacingly to put Ulster right back in scoring range, and Cooney’s short pass put Rea powering over from close in. Cooney also curled over the extras for a 24-14 scoreline.

Crucially, Munster clawed back those seven points by the hour mark. Lively replacement Carbery’s half-break produced quick ball, which Casey deftly scooped up one-handed to send Daly over from the left wing.

Clarke redeemed himself for a previous crooked throw when he muscled his way over in the left corner, and the Reds held onto the momentum as Crowley’s closing penalty put them just out of reach.

Munster managed to put an error-strewn first half behind them in the end, and the running and industry of try-scoring wingers Daly and Nash helped them to turn the screw.

Recent Six Nations winner Nash won the BKT URC player-of-the-match medal as the hosts made it nine league wins in a row. Ulster’s best on the day were young flankers Izuchukwu and McCann.

Giving his post-match reaction, Ulster boss Richie Murphy said: “I loved my team’s performance, I thought they were brilliant. We came down here, went after Munster from the word ‘go’ and really stuck in the game.

“We lost our way in the second half a little, lost control of the ball, a couple of decisions that didn’t go our way, and Munster just got back on top. I suppose the hometown feel just got them over the line.

“Performances are great, but at this level you have to win games. We would have loved to have come here and won. We are very early on our journey as a team but the great thing is there are signs that we are becoming a tough team to play against, and a team that looks after the ball much better.

“Next week we will prepare to beat Leinster and if we do then we move on to the semi-final. We don’t go crystal-balling. We are trying to improve every week. I’m proud of the lads. They have come a massive way in the last few weeks and are really playing for each other.”