Quick fire start sets Munster on the road to a big win over the Ospreys in Wales

Fri, 22 Mar, 2024 - 21:35

Derek daly

Ospreys 17

Munster 27

MUNSTER secured all five points on offer with victory over play-off rivals the Ospreys in Swansea on Friday evening thanks to two first half Sean O’Brien tries.

Munster crossed for the opening try after three minutes when Rory Scannell, Joey Carbery and Mike Haley utilised their excellent passing skills to send Shane Daly sprinting down the left touchline to score in the corner, and just over two minutes later Munster’s other wing O’Brien plucked a loose Ospreys pace out of the Swansea sky and he had the speed to get home in the right corner.

O’Brien then caught another intercept in the 17th minute on almost exactly the same blade of grass, but this time had to grubber kick the ball down the touchline, play some soccer with the ball to get it over the tryline and then watch an Ospreys defender make a complete hash of controlling the ball, before he had the easy task of touching down for his second.

Seán O’Brien of Munster scores his side's second try during the United Rugby Championship match between Ospreys and Munster at the Swansea.com Stadium in Swansea, Wales. Photo by Gruffydd Thomas/Sportsfile

The Welsh side scored in the 34th minute when Keiran Williams put winger Keelan Giles over in the left corner for a deserved score, as Munster led 5-19 at the break.

The Ospreys continued to dominate, with their scrum completely on top, and they were rewarded when hooker Sam Parry burrowed over in the 53rd minute to make it 12-19.

Munster then stepped it up a gear with their first clean phase of possession for a while, which ended with RG Snyman falling over the line in the 58th minute for the bonus point score.

Carbery split the posts with a 35m penalty in the 64th minute to make it a three-score game once more, and while Alex Cuthbert crossed in the 74th minute, Munster already had the game in the bag.

RG Snyman of Munster on his way to scoring his side's fourth try during the United Rugby Championship match between Ospreys and Munster at the Swansea.com Stadium in Swansea, Wales. Photo by Chris Fairweather/Sportsfile

Scorers for Ospreys: O Williams (1 con), K Giles, S Parry, A Cuthbert (1 try each)

Munster: J Carbery (1 pen, 2 cons), S O’Brien (2 tries), S Daly, RG Snyman (1 try each)

Ospreys: I Hopkins; A Cuthbert, E Boshoff, K Williams, K Giles; O Williams, R Morgan-Williams; N Smith, S Parry, T Botha; J Ratti, R Davies; J Rudolph, J Tipuric (capt), M Morris.

Subs: R Henry for N Smith (33), J Walsh for I Hopkins (40), H Deaves for J Rudolph (52), G Philips and O Watkin for T Botha and E Boshoff (68), H Sutton for R Davies (75), L Lloyd and C Jones for S Parry and R Morgan-Williams (77)

Munster: M Haley; S O'Brien, A Frisch, R Scannell, S Daly; J Carbery, C Casey; J Wycherley, N Scannell, J Ryan; T Ahern, RG Snyman; J Hodnett, A Kendellen (capt), G Coombes.

Subs: J Loughman for J Wycherley (44), S Archer and J O’Donoghue for J Ryan and RG Snyman (58), R Quinn for J Hodnett (64), E Coughlan and T Butler for C Casey and J Carbery (72), E Clarke for N Scannell (75), S McCarthy for M Haley (77).

Referee: Hollie Davidson (SRU).