Munster 34 Sharks 21
Champions Munster, fielding a mix of youth and experience, did more than enough to get their URC campaign off to a winning start with a bonus-point win over the Sharks at Thomond Park.
Loads of players have points to prove following the World Cup and two who had hoped to now be returning from duty in France made a big impact in this one.
Andrew Conway, playing his first match in 16 months, marked his return from injury with the bonus-point try, his 50th for Munster on his 150th appearance.
But the biggest impact came from Joey Carbery, keen to make a mark after falling out of favour, not only with Ireland but with Munster.
He produced a man-of-the-match display on a welcome return to form, but was keen to deflect the credit to the wider group afterwards.
“I think it was really good that we just stuck in there. There were a few really tough patches for us, we knew what they were going to bring and they were very clinical, but we fought back well and controlled it quite well.
“We stuck to our guns. The forwards gave us a good platform so it was really pleasing to get the five tries,” said Carbery.
Munster led 21-7 at the break, having taken a quarter of the game to finally get through the Sharks defence when promising lock Edwin Edogbo got in for his first try for the province after good pressure.
Shay McCarthy, a late replacement for Calvin Nash, made a big impression on his debut on the left wing and was involved in several promising Munster moves in the opening half, while fullback Shane Daly was also to the fore.
Munster’s second try was created by Carbery, who stepped inside to open the Sharks defence and managed to get the pass away in the tackle for Alex Kendellen to set up hooker Diarmuid Barron to score.
Sharks, with former Irish forwards coach John Plumtree in charge for the first time, hit back when outhalf Curwin Bosch slit the home defence to set up Werner Kok for a converted try which cut the gap to 14-7.
But Munster got a big break just before the interval when Antoine Frisch chased his own chip and when both Marnus Potgieter and Cameron Wright failed to control the ball, the centre got the touchdown to lead 21-7 at the interval.
Carbery pushed the lead out with a penalty four minutes after the restart before Rohan Janse van Rensburg got over after Wright executed a 50:22 after blocking Carbery’s kick and then raced forward to take a quick throw. And while Potgieter was initially stopped, the replacement centre was on hand to score.
That left Munster 24-14 ahead going into the final quarter and moments after Conway had almost sent debutant McCarthy over on the right, he looped around to the other wing and was on hand to secure the bonus point and mark his return from injury in style.
Ethan Coughlan, making his first start, had to come back on when McCarthy was injured and he made it count when he scored Munster’s fifth try after being set up by Frisch.
Sharks had the final say when Aphelele Fassi got in under the posts but the Durban side left Limerick empty-handed as the champions started in style with five points in the bag as Graham Rowntree’s side embark on the new season with a spring in their step.
SCORERS – Munster: Tries: E Edogbo, D Barron, A Frisch, A Conway, E Coughlan. Cons: J Carbery 3. Pen: Carbery. Sharks: Tries: W Kok, R Janse van Rensburg, A Fassi. Cons: C Bosch 3.
MUNSTER: S Daly; A Conway, A Frisch, R Scannell, S McCarthy; J Carbery, E Coughlan; J Wycherley, D Barron, S Archer; E Edogbo, F Wycherley; J O’Donoghue (capt), A Kendellen, G Coombes.
Replacements: Ahern for Edogbo (55 mins); A Nankivell for R Scannell, J Ryan for Archer (both 62); S Buckley for D Barron, F Gibbons for McCarthy (both 68); N Cronin for Coughlan, B Gleeson for Coombes (both 70); K Ryan for J Wycherley (71); Coughlan for Gibbons (76).
SHARKS: B Chamberlain A Fassi 62); W Kok, M Koster (R Janse van Rensburg 40), F Venter (capt), M Potgieter; C Bosch, C Wright (Z Mkhabela 74); N Mchunu (D Bleuler 70), K van Vuuren (D Jooste 70), C Oosthuizen (H Jacobs 55); E van Heerden, R Hugo; J Venter, P Buthelezi, G Cronje (S Notshe 62).
Replacements: R Janse van Rensburg for Koster (40 mins); H Jacobs for Oosthuizen (55); A Fassi for Chamberlain, S Notshe for Cronje (both 62); D Bleuler for Mchunu, D Jooste for K van Vuuren (both 70); Z Mkhabela for Wright (74).
Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy).
