Cork's Edwin Edogbo and Jack Crowley help Munster grind out win over Stormers

Munster 10 DHL Stormers 3 

AN Edwin Edogbo try on the stroke of half time proved to be the difference between Munster and South African side the Stormers in a winter arm wrestle of a URC tie at Thomond Park on Saturday evening.

We did not get the first score until the 15th minute, when Jack Crowley kicked a penalty from under Stormers' posts, while four minutes later the visitors had a chance to level matters, but centre Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s shot at the posts faded away to the left.

In the 31st minute the South African winger Leolin Zas sliced through the Munster midfield and just needed the ball to bounce the right way to be in, but Munster fans were grateful that it angled into the arms of Crowley instead and the out-half cleared his lines.

Two minutes later Stormers outside centre Ruhan Nel was adjudged to have committed a deliberate knock-on in midfield and from the resultant penalty Munster pinned the Stormers into their corner, and after a number of offences referee Sam Grove-White sent Neethling Fouche to the sin bin in the 38th minute.

Munster capitalised on their numerical advantage when second-row Edogbo crashed over from close range in the 39th minute, for his second try of the campaign, after a couple of big carries from John Hodnett got them to within touching distance of the Stormers line, to ensure that Munster led 10-0 at the break.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu got the Stormers on the board with a 46th-minute penalty, but there was a notable round of applause when tight head Stephen Archer came off the pine in the 47th minute to make his 268th appearance for the club, eclipsing Donncha O’Callaghan’s club appearance record. The Cork man made his Munster debut way back in 2009 and there appears to be no sign of him slowing down.

Stormers number eight Evan Roos looked to be thundering over the Munster line in the 57th minute only to be held up brilliantly by the scrambling Crowley, who was deservedly awarded the man of the match award.

The Munster scrum was creaking at this point with Josh Wycherley coming under considerable pressure from Fouche and soon after Roos rumbled over again, only this time to be held up by Gavin Coombes' superb defensive effort.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu was well wide from a long-range drop goal attempt on the hour mark as the Stormers were desperate to get some reward for their pressure, but Munster survived the storm to win by seven.

Scorers for Munster: J Crowley (1 pen, 1 con), E Edogbo (1 try). 

Stormers: S Feinberg-Mngomezulu (1 pen).  

MUNSTER: S Daly; C Nash, A Frisch, A Nankivell, S McCarthy; J Crowley, C Casey; J Loughman, S Buckley, J Ryan; E Edogbo, T Beirne; P O'Mahony (c), J Hodnett, G Coombes.

Subs: J O’Donoghue for P O’Mahony (41), J Wycherley and S Archer for J Loughman and J Ryan (47), T Ahern for E Edogbo (56), C Murray for C Casey (60), A Kendellen for J Hodnett (69).

STORMERS: W Gelant; B Loader, R Nel, S Feinberg-Mngomezulu, L Zas; J-L du Plessis, P de Wet; S Sithole, J Dweba, N Fouche (c); R van Heerden, G Porter; W Engelbrecht, B-J Dixon, E Roos.

Subs: A Smith for G Porter (6), B Harris for W Engelbrecht (43), W Engelbrecht for B Harris (53), A-H Venter and Keke Morabe for J Dweba and W Engelbrecht (55), A Vermaak and H Jantjies for S Sithole and P de Wet (60), B Harris for N Fouche (62) C Blommetjies for J-L Du Plessis (66), A Davids for B Loader (69).​

Referee: Sam Grove-White (SRU)