Munster 31 Gloucester 3 (FT)
Here’s Denis Walsh’s piece from Páirc Uí Chaoimh and an impressive performance from former Cork under-20 hurler Ben O’Connor.
And Gerry Thornley heard from Munster head coach Clayton McMillan after the match.
[ Clayton McMillan says Munster guilty of trying to force things against GloucesterOpens in new window ]
Munster are unimpressive for an hour but, eventually, they have too much quality for an inexperienced Gloucester outfit who ran out of puff. Playing into the wind after half-time did not help the visitors.
Plenty to work on but, as far as Munster are concerned, it’s job done with a bonus point win.
Here’s Gerry Thornley’s report from Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
[ Munster finally find their mojo late on to secure bonus-point win over GloucesterOpens in new window ]
Full-time: Munster 31 Gloucester 3
Munster spill right on the line. Gloucester choose to play, kicking it away as Nankivell runs it back. It’s all a bit haphazard and, ultimately, the game ends on a Farrell spill forward.
80 mins: Gloucester infringe at a maul. Well actually, there are two further offsides in-field. So Munster have three penalty marks to choose from. They choose to tap and go right in front of the posts...
79 mins: Penalty for a deliberate knock-on from Gloucester and it could be more. The officials confer.
Meanwhile, Craig Casey is announced as player of the match. Alex Nankivell was robbed!
Penalty only for the knock, Munster go to the corner.
TRY MUNSTER: Tadhg Beirne
77 mins: It’s all gone to pot for Gloucester. An overthrown lineout right on their own line is a gift for Beirne. He gathers at the back and wriggles under the tackle to score Munster’s fifth.
Crowley hits the post with the conversion.
Munster 31 Gloucester 3
75 mins: Munster are hunting for more. Patterson breaks down the short side after the ball squeezes out of a ruck. He kicks ahead and, had the bounce gone his way, he could have gathered and scored. As it happens, it rolls into touch for a Gloucester lineout close to their own line.
TRY MUNSTER: Tom Farrell
74 mins: That’s a sensational try-assist from Nankivell. Offload out the back, not looking at his man, passing under pressure, he sets it on a plate for Farrell. Sensational. Crowley converts.
That’s the bonus point score for Munster.
Munster 26 Gloucester 3
73: Wow, Bartley’s introduction at tighthead has been inspired. He marmalises his opposite man in a second consecutive scrum, winning a penalty 5m from the Gloucester line. Tap and go incoming.
72: Casey and Haley are called ashore, Paddy Patterson and JJ Hanrahan on to replace them.
Conor Bartley is on for his Champions Cup debut and his first impact is to win a scrum penalty. Crowley kicks for the corner.
True to form, a knock-on in the lineout ruins this particular chance for Munster.
TRY MUNSTER: Ruadhán Quinn
69: Off the quick tap penalty, Munster get over through their young backrow. Crowley converts and, all of a sudden, Munster have the bones of 10 minutes to try find a fourth try and a bonus point.
Munster 19 Gloucester 3
Yellow Card Gloucester: Caio James
68 mins: Big moment. Casey takes the ball after a Gloucester high bomb holds in the wind, seeing every cherry and white jersey overrun it. He then pops it off to Haley who breaks clear. Russell shows good pace to haul him down but James kills the ball off his feet right on his own line. Clear yellow card.
66 mins: Somehow, Munster are allowed to play on after Ahern spills Edogbo’s pass. Eventually, Naknivell’s wide ball to O’Connor is called forward, so justice of sorts is done.
Once again, Munster are guilty of overplaying between the 10 metre lines.
63 mins: Gloucester definitely have the upper hand at the scrum, Fasogbon winning a penalty off Wycherley. It hasn’t been a good weekend so far for Irish sides in that set-piece.
61 mins: Oh dear. Tom Farrell spills metres from the line.
This after Munster did well to march their way forward after Gloucester made a mess of the maul, forcing Munster back a good 20 metres.
Changes made: Quinn, Edogbo, Josh Wycherley and Barron are all on. O’Donoghue, Milne, Kleyn and Scannell are gone.
59 mins: Maul number one off the lineout is ended by Fasogbon’s early drive. Penalty back into the corner, we go again.
56 mins: Another error kills a Munster attack inside the 22. Beirne over-ran the line as he looked for a flat ball from Casey, only to spill it forward.
Gloucester, though, get pinged for a croc roll playing off the base of the scrum. Crowley kicks for the corner - Munster are bonus point hunting.
NO TRY
54 mins: O’Connor is over but Casey’s pass in the build-up is blown up as forward. It was a long, looping effort trying to exploit the space. Looks like the wind caught it and blew the ball offline. All this after a break from Crowley.
53 mins: The final decision is a knock-on from Russell there, but he’s done well to stop a line break. Rushing up out of the line, he gets in the way of Kelly’s attempted pass. Had it gone to hand, it would have been a break and who knows what thereafter.
Kelly is done as he limps off, Tom Farrell replacing him.
52 mins: Momentum now for Munster. Casey rips it in contact well, stripping possession from Clark. The big man won’t be happy losing out to the smaller Casey there.
TRY MUNSTER: Mike Haley
50 mins: Finally, daylight on the scoreboard in favour of Munster. Nankivell has been one of the few decent performers for Munster and its his offload which unlocks the Gloucester defence. Multiple defenders are drawn in, leaving Haley in space who still has to beat one man to score out wide.
It was a strong set of phases off the scrum from Munster, O’Connor prominent throughout.
Crowley’s conversion is well wide in the wind.
Munster 12 Gloucester 3
49 mins: Both sides are making their best effort to muck things up here. Barton does well initially to take a kick under pressure but, for some reason, he tries to offload while being tackled by O’Connor. Hathaway was ready to clear a ruck, not take an offload, and he spills it forward.
Anything you can do, I can do better, seems to be the attitude of both sides in terms of the error count.
47 mins: Ala’alatoa gives away a scrum penalty. It’s been a mess at that particular set-piece, both sides trading penalties. Atkinson’s kick for touch gets held in the wind, the ball only advancing about 10 metres down the field.
45 mins: Munster still do not have their attacking mojo. Crowley tries to offload out of contact but the ball spills forward. Scrum Gloucester as, not for the first time, Munster play too much rugby in the middle of the field.
42 mins: Barton counter attacks brilliantly from his own 22, stepping past Casey. He tries to kick ahead but the ball just lands out on the full.
Not that it matters as Scannell’s double pump with the lineout throw concedes a free-kick.
41 mins: Time for the second half. Ford-Robinson is back on, his yellow expiring without Munster adding to their lead. Gloucester kick things off.
Straight away a penalty for Munster as the chase takes out the lifting pod, forcing Beirne to be taken in the air. Crowley, though, misses touch with the line kick.
An uninspiring first half from Munster to say the least. Gloucester’s breakdown work has been good and disruptive but, by and large, Munster are beating themselves. Overplaying in the wrong areas of the pitch is their sin, errors leaving them scrambling inside their own half.
HELD-UP
Half-time: Munster 7 Gloucester 3
Wow. Munster work their way from just inside their own half up to the line. O’Donoghue had the best carry of that sequence, barrelling his way into the 22. Beirne goes close and Scannell gets over the line, but the referee says he didn’t get the ball down. Gloucester survive.
40 mins: It’s easy to forget that Munster have been playing against 14. Gloucester have dominated possession but a forward pass kills an attack.
Just about time for the scrum before half-time, but Gloucester have to sacrifice a backrow for a tight head with Ford-Robinson in the bin.
36 mins: Penalty Gloucester! Munster miss a clear off the lineout and the visitors win another breakdown penalty. Coombes it looks like who missed the clear.
35 mins: Now Munster are purring, Crowley’s offload sending Scannell into space inside the 22. A spill follows a few phases later, but advantage was being played after Russell caught Daly high. To the corner go Munster.
34 mins: Wow, Crowley has missed. It is windy out there, but to miss a kick from a central position just outside the 22 ...
Maybe we’re underestimating the wind. But it’s a missed opportunity.
Yellow card: Jamal Ford-Robinson
33 mins: He does make contact with the head of Crowley, but the referee says it was indirect, sliding up from the chest first. “Low degree of danger” is the word. That one will be debated. Simon Zebo on commentary is happy enough, he thinks it’s the right colour.
Crowley will have a shot at goal.
TMO check here for a dangerous clear by Gloucester. It was prop Ford-Robinson who clattered into Crowley, and it looked to be high. After a few minutes of crowd complaints, we are going back to look.
Which Tadhg Beirne pinches! Only temporarily, the ball rolling back out immediately for another Gloucester throw.
30 mins: O’Conor just about judges his kick to perfection, landing it an inch on the right side of the touchline. That could easily have sailed out on the full. As it is, it’s a lineout for Gloucester close to their own 22 ...
27 mins: Nearly a magic piece of skill from Hathaway. Chasing another chip ahead, he tried to offload ‘first touch’, so to speak, by throwing the ball behind his back. It is a mile forward but had it stuck, the pass would have led to a sensational try for the support on the outside.
25 mins: That’s a sensational kick from Barton. A 50/22 comes for Gloucester after Crowley failed to find touch following a mark called off a high bomb. Chance for the visitors.
TRY MUNSTER: Dan Kelly
21 mins: Out of nowhere, Munster spark into life. Haley tries to chip ahead but hits it straight into the defender. It then rebounds off his own chest and then into his own arms – just about avoiding a knock-on.
He gathers, steps one defender before offloading to Kelly. He is then hauled down but does enough to finish just about without the bounds of the double-movement law. That woke the crowd up!
Crowley converts.
Munster 7 Gloucester 3
21 mins: Nankivell’s pass to send Ahern into space is a beauty. Alas, his attempted offload is spilled by Beirne. It probably wasn’t on.
20 mins: Munster’s maul is rolling forward at a rate of knots but, for some reason, Scannell peels off. Gloucester then disrupt at the breakdown – again – and win a penalty right on their own line. Munster’s first serious foray forward comes up empty.
17 mins: This is chaotic. Crowley taps a penalty quickly, makes some ground, then throws the ball to no one in particular. Jack O’Donoghue then only just about stops a long pass from flying over his head into touch.
Eventually, Munster win a penalty as Gloucester go in the side. Crowley turns down the points in favour of the corner.
16 mins: Gloucester scrumhalf Austin is happy to keep chipping in behind and asking his backline to chase. With good reason. Poor old Mike Haley is struggling in the wind to deal with balls in behind. He holds on to this one after it bounces before Casey clears. Once the ball hits touch, he turns to nobody in particular behind him and screams. Safe to say Casey is a bit frustrated with Munster’s start.
13 mins: Munster’s attack remains clunky. Ala’alatoa tries to pull back a pass out the back but goes to deck. Munster back-pedal and are forced to clear via the boot.
12 mins: Almost a break for Ben O’Connor. Casey’s long pass just about evades the defenders flying out of the line and O’Connor sprints into space. He can step inside or kick ahead but he does neither, instead taking contact and being tackled into touch.
11 mins: Forward and back they go in terms of scrum penalties. This time Munster are conceded, Michael Milne the guilty party.
As night follows day, though, once Gloucester kick into the 22, they make a mess of the lineout. Munster gather and clear.
8 mins: This has been a clunky start for Munster. Crowley forces a pass which does not go to hand. Haley was the man he crossed wires with. With the loose ball rolling back towards their own line, Kleyn spills in an attempt to regather. Gloucester scrum inside the 22.
Penalty Munster as ex-Munster man Dian Bleuler gets his scrummaging angle wrong. Two entries into the 22 for Gloucester, two set-piece wins for Munster in defence.
6 mins: Gloucester kick the penalty into the 22 but, once again, Munster get a lifer up in the air. This time Jack O’Donoghue pilfers the throw.
5 mins: Kleyn pinches an early lineout after Daly kicked forward. This after Rob Russell looked to smash Haley in the backfield but couldn’t quite get his hit right. Munster on the attack in midfield.
Another breakdown penalty for the visitors! They get a good counterruck going and Munster infringe in desperation to hold on to the ball. Gloucester dominating on the floor at the moment.
Penalty Gloucester
3 mins: George Barton slots it over from about 40 metres out in a central position. First blood to the understrength visitors!
Munster 0 Gloucester 3
2 min: Early penalty for Gloucester. They threaten at the breakdown and Niall Scannell goes in via the side. Kickable chance coming up.
1 min: They’re under way in Cork as Jack Crowley kicks off. Gloucester gather under pressure and return the kick, Munster claiming in midfield.
Here come the teams and, well, this is not a game for those who struggle with colours. Munster are in their reddish pink strip and Gloucester are in their cherry and whites. Who signed off on this?
All right then, kick-off is rapidly approaching. I’ve just been reliably informed that the Gloucester centre pairing, the Knight brothers, are 18 and 21 respectively. At risk of flogging a dead horse, this could be lambs to the slaughter.
Stumbled across this nugget from our own Johnny Watterson yesterday. Of course, we all know about 2003 when these two teams met in Europe, Munster needing the ‘miracle’ result of a 27-point win to qualify for the quarter-finals.
They did just that but was it as a result of some accidental espionage?
Johnny found a cracking story involving a mislaid tactics sheet being discovered in the back of a local taxi. Cue a mad dash to get the thing to the Munster team. You can read the full thing here.
Hours before kick-off, the unnamed taxi driver, who gave an interview to a local radio station, saw the piece of paper near his car and, believing it to be money, he picked it up.
To his astonishment, it appeared to outline the game plan that Gloucester had compiled for the game against Munster that night.
— Johnny Watterson
Meanwhile down in South Africa, ROG’s La Rochelle have fallen to the Stormers today, a result which has implications for Leinster’s pool in this competition.
The other games in Munster’s side of the draw – Toulon vs Bath and Castres vs Edinburgh – don’t take place until tomorrow (Sunday).
Apparently tickets are still available on the gate, in case you’re in the area ...
We all love getting far too excited about the next big thing.
With that in mind, Gerry Thornley spoke to Edwin Edogbo during the week. He is interesting because of his size, if anything else. Pair him with Joe McCarthy in a green shirt and well ... one can dream.
But his background is equally of note, formerly of Cobh Pirates and of Nigerian stock. Here is Gerry on the rise of Munster’s towering lock.
Conor Murray has been writing about Munster’s disappointing start to the competition. They’re 0 from 1 having lost to Bath, whereas Gloucester have a winning record having beaten Castres last time out.
That said, with Munster heavy favourites, Murray is not concerned about his old side just yet.
You can read the whole column here.
Is their <a href="https://archive.ph/o/SdXQQ/https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/champions-cup/" rel="" title="https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/champions-cup/">Champions Cup</a> salvageable? Yes. One hundred per cent it is. When the first round doesn’t go to plan, it can act as a good reminder.
— Munster
Starting with the team news, all three high profile absentees from last week’s defeat to Bath are back. Munster once again call on Jack Crowley, Jean Kleyn and Michael Milne.
There are a trio of fullbacks, of sorts, in the backthree with Mike Haley, Shane Daly and Ben O’Connor all lining out. High balls aplenty expected.
Edwin Edogbo, after impressing at The Rec, drops to the bench. All told, Clayton McMillan has made nine changes from last week.
MUNSTER (v Gloucester): M Haley; S Daly, D Kelly, A Nankivell, B O’Connor; J Crowley, C Casey; M Milne, N Scannell, M Alaalatoa; J Kleyn, T Beirne (capt); T Ahern, J O’Donoghue, G Coombes. Replacements: D Barron, J Wycherley, C Bartley, E Edogbo, R Quinn, P Patterson, JJ Hanrahan, T Farrell.
Good afternoon all and welcome along to live coverage of Munster’s historic outing in Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
They’ve played a handful of times in recent years in the home of Cork GAA, but not a European match in some time. Gloucester are today’s visitors as Munster look for their first win of this year’s competition.
As for Gloucester, well, surprise surprise, an English team has rotated out their main starters for an away day in Europe. Annoyingly for Irish onlookers, Ross Byrne does not get a return to these shores as he is left out of the 23. Rob Russell, another former Leinsterman, does get a start on the wing.
There’s no Tomos Williams or Max Llewellyn either, the latter out through injury.
Former Munster prop Dian Bleuler starts at loose head as Gloucester make just the 15 changes after last week’s win over Castres. This competition really is in a dire state ...
