Munster 30 Cheetahs 26
Munster and their returning South African contingent needed a bonus point try from Mike Haley and yet another long range Rory Scannell penalty to secure victory over the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein.
Arno Botha, Jean Kleyn and Chris Cloete impressed in heavy combat with fellow countrymen while the Irish-qualified Tyler Bleyendaal made a welcome return from neck problems but it was Munster’s home grown outhalf Bill Johnston who impressed in a rare opportunity.
Johnston’s looping run and silky left handed pass gifted Liam Coombes a try on debut with the touchline conversion giving Munster a 22-5 lead on 45 minutes.
That’s when altitude began to weigh on travelling limbs as the Cheetahs rattled off three tries inside 12 minutes via Ox Nche, Joseph Dweba and fullback Rhyno Smith, who finished a brilliant break by scrumhalf Shaun Venter. Tian Schoeman’s conversation completed the turnaround to make it 26-22 with 15 minutes remaining.
Munster coach Johann van Graan emptied the bench with Haley’s slick finish reclaiming the lead on 68 minutes only for Ian Keatley, who had relieved Johnston, to miss the easy conversion.
That meant an insurance score was needed by Scannell, who repeated his trick to beat Glasgow last weekend with a 48-metre strike giving the tourists a four-point cushion.
Keatley intervened once again with a cross field kick floating out on the full to gift the Cheetahs territorial advantage entering the final seconds. The Munster pack repelled the driving maul to force a scrum and escape Toyota Park with their first away scalp since April (against the same opposition).
This sloppy performance started in smoother fashion, despite Sam Arnold being pulled from the line-up due to concussion as Shane Daly switched to centre and Coombes came onto the wing, when Botha muscled over for a try on 15 minutes. Johnson missed the conversion but took every other point on offer.
Alex Wootton made a try-saving tackle on Rabz Maxwane but Munster were put under constant pressure when Cloete was sin binned by referee Marius Mitrea for needlessly kicking the ball out of a ruck. Dweba claimed his first try from the resulting lineout but fellow hooker Kevin O’Byrne hit back for Munster to leave them leading 15-5 at the turn.
The opening 40 minutes will also be remembered for a serious looking head injury sustained by Cheetahs winger William Small-Smith.
The second half performance was far from ideal but van Graan, the former Springboks assistant coach, was visibly delighted when Duncan Williams punted the ball into the stand to end a desperate record on the road.
Munster now go into hibernation with no fixture until the trip to Zebre on November 25th.
Scoring sequence – 10 mins: B Johnston pen, 3-0; 15 mins: A Botha try, 8-0; 26 mins: J Dweba try, 8-5; 37 mins: K O'Byrne try, 13-5; B Johnston con, 15-5; 44 mins: L Coombes try, 20-5; B Johnston con, 22-5; 51 mins: O Nche try, 22-10; T Shoeman con, 22-12; 57 mins: J Dweba try, 22-17; T Shoeman con, 22-19; 63 mins: R Smith try, 22-24; T Shoeman con, 22-26; 68 mins: M Haley try, 27-26; 76 mins: R Scannell pen, 30-26.
MUNSTER: M Haley; L Coombes, S Daly, T Bleyendaal (capt), A Wootton; B Johnston, A Mathewson; J Cronin, K O'Byrne, S Archer; J Kleyn, D O'Shea; F Wycherley, C Cloete, A Botha.
Replacements: D Williams for A Mathewson (51 mins), J Loughman for J Cronin, J Ryan for S Archer, I Keatley for B Johnston, S O’Connor for J Kleyn, R Scannell for T Bleyendaal (all 59 mins), G Coombes for A Botha (63 mins).
CHEETAHS: R Smith; W Small-Smith, BJ van Rensberg, N Lee, R Maxwane; T Shoeman, S Venter (capt); O Nche, J Dweba, A Coetzee; W Steenkamp, JP du Preez; G Olivier, J Pokamela, A Davis.
Replacements: T Meyer for W Small-Smith (35 mins, inj), D Maartens for A Davis, J Basson for JP du Preez (both 46 mins) E de Jager for A Coetzee, C Marais for O Nche, A Nonkontwana for J Pokamela (all 69 mins),
Referee: M Mitrea (Italy).
