Munster pay heavy price for indiscipline away to Cardiff
The Munster team huddle during the United Rugby Championship match against Cardiff. Picture: Kian Abdullah/Sportsfile
Two costly sin-binnings that saw them outscored in those periods by a margin of 19-0, cost Munster a crucial URC victory against Cardiff at the Arms Park on Friday evening.
Cardiff scrum-half Johan Mulder thought he had opened the scoring in the 6th minute, but the final pass from loose-head Danny Southworth, who had broken the Munster line much too easily, was adjudged to have been fractionally forward.
Craig Casey drove his team down the other end with some brilliant passing and sniping and it was fitting that it was the diminutive scrum half who supplied the final pass for Calvin Nash to run in a try on the right to get Munster up and running in the 12th minute.
In the 22nd minute, Cardiff had a lineout 5m from the Munster line, after a series of costly penalty concessions from Munster, but the Welsh side’s maul put a foot in touch in the left corner and Munster survived.
A crooked Munster lineout meant there was no exit and Cardiff were attacking inside the Munster 22 once more, with lock Fineen Wycherley ending up being yellow-carded for his lack of discipline.
The pressure eventually told as Cardiff breached the Munster defensive line up the middle and Mulder, Ben Thomas and Callum Sheedy combined to send winger Gabe Hamer-Webb over in the left corner.
Three minutes later and the home side were in again. Taulupe Faletau rolled back the years to brush off a Tom Farrell tackle on halfway and he had the gas to get clear and send Harri Millard over for the lead score.
Munster had lost that sin-bin period 12-0 but when back to 15 v 15 they got control of the tie again as they translated a lineout in the right corner into a try under the posts as Tom Farrell and Nash put the returning Mike Haley over for a 37th minute try to give Munster a 12-14 half time lead.
Munster grabbed the opening score of the second half in the 50th minute when centre Tom Farrell sliced his way under the posts.
Jack O’Donoghue was harshly yellow carded in the 55th minute with Cardiff also being awarded a penalty try and Cardiff once again took advantage of their numerical advantage when Mulder sniped over from range in the 64th minute to give the home side the lead.
Callum Sheedy missed a 73rd-minute penalty to put Cardiff two scores ahead but despite one last frantic effort, Munster could not rescue the tie.
C Sheedy (2 cons), G Hamer-Webb, H Millard, J Mulder (1 try each), Penalty try.
J Crowley (3 cons), C Nash, M Haley, T Farrell (1 try each).
C Winnett; J Adams, H Millard, B Thomas, G Hamer-Webb; C Sheedy, J Mulder; D Southworth, L Belcher (c), K Assiratti; J McNally, T Williams; J Botham, T Young, T Faletau.
R Litterick for K Assiratti (22), K Assiratti for R Litterick (33), C Domachowski for D Southworth (49), R Litterick for K Assiratti (59), A Lawrence for T Faletau (62), R Thornton for J McNally (65), A Davies for J Mulder (77).
M Haley; C Nash, T Farrell, A Nankivell, T Abrahams; J Crowley, C Casey; M Milne, N Scannell, J Ryan; F Wycherley, T Beirne (capt); J O'Donoghue, A Kendellen, G Coombes.
D Barron for N Scannell (50), J Kleyn, R Quinn and S O’Brien for F Wycherley, A Kendellen and A Nankivell (59), M Donnelly for M Milne (64), R Foxe for J Ryan (73), T Butler for M Haley (77).
Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR).
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