Munster 0 Wasps 15:AN INJURY to BJ Botha on his Munster debut was compounded by 80 scoreless minutes for Tony McGahan's team as they were soundly beaten by Wasps in Musgrave Park last night.
Botha limped from the field with a leg injury after 28 minutes – he has just recovered from a knee injury – as Munster fell to their second defeat of the pre-season campaign as late tries from Tom Varndell and Matt Everard sealed the victory .
Wasps struck for the decisive opening try from Varndell just after the hour mark as a quick-tap penalty from Charlie Davis sprung the Munster defence and Varndell crossed wide on the right.
And in the last move of the game Everard breached the Munster line for the second time after a five-metre lineout was pushed over with Everard at the bottom of the pile.
Line-out practice was the order of the day for Munster, who were awarded ten first-half penalties, and refused to take a pop at goal on each occasion. As a result the penalties continued to flow from Wasps, but after referee Dudley Phillips awarded number nine, Ryan Davis was the unlucky recipient of a yellow card two minutes before the break.
Doug Howlett was penalised for tackling Tom Varndell without the ball, Davis gave the visitors a deserved 3-0 lead with a 15th-minute penalty.
It was more of the same toil after the break, with both coaches choosing to empty the benches, and Varndell’s try and conversion from Nick Robinson handed Wasps a deserved victory.
MUNSTER: S Deasy; D Howlett, D Barnes, L Mafi, S Zebo; D Cusack, P Stringer; W du Preez, M Sherry, BJ Botha; B Holland, I Nagle; D O’Callaghan, P O’Mahony, P Butler. Replacements: S Archer for Botha (29 mins), D Williams for Stringer (h-t), D Fogarty for Sherry, D Foley for Holland (both 47 mins), D Hurley for Barnes, S Scanlon for Mafi, T Gleeson for Cusack, J Coughlan for O’Callaghan, T O’Donnell for Butler, M Horan for du Preez (all 53 mins), P Butler for Coughlan (61 mins).
WASPS: J Wallace; C Wade, C Mayor, C Bell, T Varndell; R Davis, N Berry; J Castex, T Lindsay, S McIntyre; J Cannon, M Wentzel; R Birkett, J Harris, J Hart. Replacements: B Vunipola for Birkett (20 mins), B Broster for McIntyre (31 mins), M Everard for Wentzel, R Haughton for Wallace, C Davis for Berry, N Robinson for Davis (all h-t), N Morris for Lindsay (45 mins), B Baker for Castex (52 mins), A Cheesman for Mayor (62 mins), G Roa for Broster (68 mins).
Referee: D Phillips (IRFU).
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