Gavin Coombes scores twice as Munster beat Bulls in URC

By PA

Munster marked their first outing of the season at Thomond Park with an encouraging 31-17 United Rugby Championship bonus-point win over the Bulls.

Number eight Gavin Coombes notched tries after 28 and 35 minutes as Munster broke into a 17-3 half-time lead, in response to a Johan Goosen penalty.

Jeremy Loughman scored before WJ Steenkamp and David Kriel touched down for the Bulls either side of Tadhg Beirne’s 61st-minute bonus-point score. Joey Carbery converted all four Munster tries.

Teenage lock Edwin Edogbo was lively on his first Munster start, and a double movement prevented Craig Casey from scoring early on from a quickly-taken penalty.

Kurt-Lee Arendse’s jinking run drew a high tackle from Coombes, allowing Goosen to kick the Bulls ahead in the 10th minute.

However, Munster’s territorial control of the game increased as the second quarter wore on. Calvin Nash regularly made ground and fly-half Carbery landed a straightforward penalty.

Peter O’Mahony pressurised the Bulls lineout and a Nash kick chase set up a five-metre scrum. Munster’s maul was stopped short but Coombes burrowed over a few phases later.

Carbery converted and then threaded a terrific kick into the 22 where, supported by O’Mahony, Coombes was unstoppable again from close range. Carbery’s conversion made it 17 points without reply.

Munster swallowed up a late Bulls maul and added an opportunist third try early on the restart. Chris Smith failed to gather a chip kick from Carbery, allowing Loughman to dribble through and dive on the ball.

Despite Mornay Smith’s sin-binning for a no-arms tackle on Jack Crowley, openside Steenkamp crossed in the right corner from replacement Kriel’s assist.

Chris Smith’s superb conversion made it 24-10, Jean Kleyn almost firing back with a try soon after as replacement Crowley’s dancing feet exposed defensive gaps.

A clever Crowley kick saw the South Africans concede a five-metre scrum, the pressure telling when Beirne plunged over from Conor Murray’s flicked pass.

Kriel’s 60-metre run-in, after a ruck ball had squirted loose, pulled back seven points but Munster’s resolute defence prevented the Bulls forwards from picking up a late losing bonus point.