Dave Kilcoyne scored the crucial try two minutes from time – and captain Tyler Bleyendaal added the conversion – as Munster staged an unlikely comeback victory away to the Ospreys to stay top of the GUINNESS PRO12.
Facing an 11-point deficit approaching half-time, tries from Jack O’Donoghue and Francis Saili gave Rassie Erasmus’ side hope in the second half and Dave Kilcoyne stretched to touch down late on to nudge them in front.
But it did not end there as Munster were forced to defend the halfway line as the clocked ticked into red. And after the ball was kicked dead, they had to wait for a TMO decision to go their way. In the end, a combination of Conor Oliver, who made a huge impact off the bench, and Kevin O’Byrne was cleared of foul play and a hard-fought win was sealed.
Munster would have been delighted with their disciplined, high-tempo start at Liberty Stadium that produced a penalty for a high tackle on Ronan O’Mahony, which Tyler Bleyendaal sent through the uprights for a 3-0 lead.
Yet, after that score, Munster went through a disappointing 20 minutes where the Ospreys ran in two brilliant tries. There were plenty of Munster defensive errors during that period and, five minutes in, winger Hanno Dirksen finished off a good move across the line with a dive to score in the corner.
Sam Davies was on the mark with the touchline conversion for a 7-3 scoreline, and the hosts only had to wait seven minutes for their second try. Kieron Fonoita was the scorer, with his sidestep of O’Donoghue and swerve around Darren Sweetnam both eye-catching and effective.
Out-half Davies added the conversion to make it 14-3 and ten minutes later he booted a penalty goal to stretch the Welsh region’s lead. Munster were certainly struggling at that point, but when Sam Underhill was penalised for side-entry at a ruck 13 minutes from the interval, Bleyendaal banged over the penalty to make it 17-6.
Those three points gave Munster a timely lift, and they went on to score two tries in the four minutes before referee Marius Mitrea’s half-time whistle.
Firstly, number 8 O’Donoghue charged over when he looped on to man-of-the-match Dave O’Callaghan’s pass following a lineout, and then in the final play of the half, Rhys Marshall and Bleyendaal linked well to send centre Saili over.
After missing the first conversion, Bleyendaal was successful with the second kick which saw the Ospreys’ advantage cut to 20-18 at the turnaround.
A decision from TMO Stefano Penne denied Ashley Beck a try in the 51st minute when he dotted down on the base of the corner flag, which resulted in a 22-metre drop-out, but it was a nervy start to the second period from both sides as they went in search of the crucial next score.
It arrived for the Ospreys in the 58th minute when Davies punished a Munster offside with a well-struck penalty for a 23-18 lead. Three minutes later, Munster came close to a try when Tommy O’Donnell collected an overthrown lineout, passed to Andrew Conway and Sweetnam narrowly failed to get a touchdown on Conway’s excellent chip through.
The men in red continued to pile pressure on the home side and they turned down a kick at goal as they went in search of the vital try. However, the TMO ruled that Bleyendaal’s diving effort was just short of the try-line in the 63rd minute.
Shortly afterwards Munster refused another kick at goal in favour of a scrum, but a powerful shove from the Ospreys saw O’Donoghue outnumbered at the back and the fired-up Welshmen cleared their lines.
However, Munster were not to be shaken and two minutes from time they struck in decisive fashion. A lightning quick break from Sweetnam was added to by Conway, and eventually Kilcoyne spun out of the tackle and stretched to score brilliantly from close range.
New Zealander Bleyendaal was successful with the awkward conversion from the left to secure a very valuable four points against one of Munster’s main title rivals. The result sees the province retain top spot in the GUINNESS PRO12 with a 15th win in their last 16 games.
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