Munster posted a statement victory in their quest for back-to-back Vodacom United Rugby Championship titles as they beat the Vodacom Bulls 27-22 at Loftus Versfeld.
Scrum-half Conor Murray’s try six minutes from time secured a bonus-point victory in Pretoria and took Munster above the Bulls into third place.
The home team had fly-half Johan Goosen sent off after 54 minutes for a dangerous challenge and Munster kept their composure to claim an outstanding win.
Wing Shane Daly, lock RG Snyman and replacement back-row forward John Hodnett also claimed touchdowns, with fly-half Jack Crowley kicking two conversions and a penalty.
The Bulls, despite fielding many of their international stars, had to be content with a losing bonus following tries by Elrigh Louw, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Johan Grobbelaar while Goosen added a penalty and two conversions.
The teams were separated by just one place and two points before kick-off and while Bulls dominated early possession they could make little headway against a well-organised Munster defence.
Munster were unlucky not to go in front when Murray’s 52-metre penalty attempt hit a post but they went ahead from their first attack after 19 minutes when brilliant handling from their backs – sparked by centre Alex Nankivell – created a try for Daly that Crowley converted.
It was a short-lived advantage, though, with Bulls responding through a trademark score that showcased their enviable forward power.
Louw attacked from the back of a scrum and after Munster initially held him up there was no stopping the skipper a second time as he took three defenders over the line with him.
Goosen converted and then kicked a penalty but Munster were not to be denied a strong first-half finish as they regained the initiative when Snyman rounded off a prolonged spell of pressure and Crowley converted before adding a penalty a 17-10 interval advantage.
The Bulls took only five minutes to cut their deficit, with Arendse crossing wide out from close range, and Munster could not hold wave after wave of phase-play.
Grobbelaar was the next beneficiary following a quickly-taken penalty as he breached Munster’s defence, with Goosen’s conversion completing a scoring burst of 12 points in just six minutes.
It was to be Goosen’s final scoring contribution as he was then sent off by Welsh referee Adam Jones following head-on-head contact with Munster’s replacement scrum-half Craig Casey.
Munster immediately made their one-player advantage count, with Crowley’s cross-kick finding Hodnett, who displayed outstanding strength and awareness to crash over and tie things up at 22-22 before Murray’s late clincher.
Vodacom Man of the Match
The award could have gone to any one of several Munster players, with Crowley’s half-back partner Conor Murray proving particularly influential. But as in this season’s Six Nations for Ireland, Crowley provided a calming influence throughout and put his team repeatedly in the right areas as Munster claimed a big win.
Play of the match
The game was billed as a battle between two outstanding packs – and so it proved – but Munster conjured a superb first-half try that showed the quality of their back division. Precision passing at pace saw key contributions from Nankivell, Calvin Nash and Simon Zebo before Daly finished strongly. It was worthy of winning any game.
>>>Story courtesy of www.unitedrugby.com<<<
