URC: Cardiff 26 Munster 21
With 15 men on the park against Cardiff, Munster looked clinical. Ruthless. Efficient. The problem was discipline, what happened when reduced to 14. Across a pair of sinbin periods, Munster conceded 26 points.
The damage was too much to overcome, the province falling at the Arms Park, a result which could see them drop out of the URC knock-out places by the time the weekend is through.
Cardiff wing Gabriel Hamer-Webb ruled the skies throughout the first half, but he was helped by an early pair of undercooked box kicks from Craig Casey. The second should have cost Munster a seven-pointer.
After Hamer-Webb claimed the high ball, Cardiff sent the phase counter into overdrive. Munster were stretched from side to side, eventually giving up a bust through the middle. Prop Danny Southworth cantered into the 22, with scrumhalf Johan Mulder on his shoulder to take the scoring pass. After Callum Sheedy somehow hit the post with the straightforward conversion, the TMO intervened. The last pass was forward.
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Munster took advantage of the lifeline. Their line speed may have frustrated the home crowd continually crying offside – to no avail – but it started to shut down the lively Cardiff attack. Jack Crowley kicked a penalty to the corner. The forwards bashed around the corner. Once, twice, three times. Casey darted for the line when he spotted a gap. Tom Farrell followed suit.
Cardiff narrowed up in frantic defence. Calvin Nash was a lonely figure on the touchline and Casey’s long pass found him for the opening score.
The clinical nature of Munster’s attack inside the 22 suggested a long night may be in store for Cardiff. Then Fineen Wycherley got himself sent to the bin, needlessly slapping down a pass close to the ruck. When he returned to the pitch 10 minutes later, Cardiff had turned a 0-7 deficit into a 12-7 lead.
The first Cardiff score came from Hamer-Webb, just reward for his aerial dominance. Hooker Liam Belcher made the initial burst, again through the heart of the Munster defence. Sheedy and Ben Thomas showed delicate handling to send Hamer-Webb over out wide.
The Cardiff wing was prominently involved in the second score just three minutes later. Munster’s kick-coverage left plenty to be desired already in the opening half an hour. Nash spilled a kick into touch, Haley had to scramble to claim a routine clearance, while every Muster jumper was beaten by Cardiff’s springy wide man.
So when Thomas’s cross-field kick was allowed to bounce, with neither Haley nor Nash taking control of the situation, Cardiff deserved credit for continually going after a weakness. The ball bounced up to Hamer-Webb, who rode a big Haley hit to offload to Toby Faletau. He sprinted into the backfield before finding Harri Millard, his score coming despite an admirable tap-tackle attempt from Crowley.
Munster did gain momentum once again once Wycherley returned. Thaakir Abrahams dropped an intercept that would have seen him sprint under the posts. His clever kick in behind also caused problems, while a break down the flank was halted only by Cam Winnett’s excellent ankle-tap.
A score did come before the break, once again from a lineout inside the 22. A rolling maul went close, before simple yet effective hands from Crowley and Farrell sent Haley crashing over.
Cardiff had the first chance of note after the break, Josh Adams pulling off an intercept with plenty of open field in front of him. Once upon a time he might have had the wheels to finish. As it happened, Nash’s speedometer hit a bigger number, his tackle forcing the ball loose.
Cardiff’s early second-half pressure now withstood, Munster struck to pad their lead. James Botham avoided a card for a high tackle on Casey, but the resulting penalty allowed for another Crowley kick to the corner. This time Munster went wide off the set-piece, but the end result was the same as before. Cardiff didn’t number up on the runners outside Crowley, the outhalf picking the right option to send Farrell over under the posts.
Not for the first time, though, Munster couldn’t turn the momentum into a game-killing lead. Jack O’Donoghue was offside when preventing Belcher from scoring off the back of a maul. Another yellow card, penalty try to boot.
Munster were bailing water now, damage limitation until O’Donoghue returned the order of the day. Mulder retook the lead for the hosts with a close-range snipe, earning Cardiff the bonus point. All four tries came with Munster down to 14.
Back to full complement, the province simply couldn’t hold on to possession. Haley once again got caught by a kick in behind, giving away a penalty. Sheedy hit the post to add to an earlier drop-goal miss. Adams was again caught when looking to run in an intercept.
A botched Cardiff lineout gave Munster one last attack. The phase counter ticked towards 20 but the hosts survived.
A pair of home games against Ulster and Benetton remain. To keep their season alive, Munster could well have to win them both.
SCORING SEQUENCE – 13 mins: Nash try, Crowley con 0-7; 26: Hamer-Webb try 5-7; 29: Millard try, Thomas con 12-7; 37: Haley try, Crowley con 12-14, Half-time 12-14; 50: Farrell try, Crowley con 12-21; 54: Penalty try 19-21; 63: Mulder try, Thomas con 26-21.
CARDIFF: Cam Winnett; Josh Adams, Harri Millard, Ben Thomas, Gabe Hamer-Webb; Callum Sheedy, Johan Mulder; Danny Southworth, Liam Belcher (capt), Kieron Assiratti; Josh McNally, Teddy Williams; James Botham, Thomas Young, Taulupe Faletau.
Replacements: Rhys Litterick for Assiratti (HIA, 22-34 mins); Corey Domachowski for Southworth, Ben Donnell for Young (both 49); Evan Lloyd for Belcher, Litterick for Assiratti (both 60); Alun Lawrence for Faletau (64); Rory Thornton for McNally (66); Aled Davies for Mulder (75). Not used: Tinus de Beer
MUNSTER: Mike Haley; Calvin Nash, Tom Farrell, Alex Nankivell, Thaakir Abrahams; Jack Crowley, Craig Casey; Michael Milne, Niall Scannell, John Ryan; Fineen Wycherley, Tadhg Beirne (capt); Jack O’Donoghue, Alex Kendellen, Gavin Coombes.
Replacements; Diarmuid Barron for Scannell (50 mins); Jean Kleyn for Wycherley, Ruadhán Quinn for Kendellen, Seán O’Brien for Nankivell (all 60); Mark Donnelly for Milne (65); Ronan Foxe for Ryan, Tony Butler for Haley (both 75). Not used: Paddy Patterson
Yellow card: Wycherley (24 mins), O’Donoghue (54).
Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy).
