Ian Keatley converted fellow replacement CJ Stander’s late try as Munster squeezed past the Ospreys in Swansea to make it two opening wins out of two in the GUINNESS PRO12.
Prior to kick-off, Munster joined the Ospreys in paying tribute to former player Jerry Collins who, along with his wife Alana, died following a road traffic accident in France at the start of June.
Francis Saili and Ospreys captain Lloyd Ashley laid a wreath each on the pitch before this round 2 fixture got underway. The new Munster centre had previously played with Collins for the Asia Pacific Barbarians against Saracens in Hong Kong in 2012.
Following a minute’s silence, the Ospreys number 6 jersey was retired for the game and the sixth minute of the encounter was marked with warm applause from the Liberty Stadium crowd.
It was the hosts who dominated the opening 20 minutes, not least when a 16-phase attack brought them from the halfway line to within inches of the Munster whitewash. The pressure told when Munster went offside in defence and a Sam Davies penalty opened the scoring in the ninth minute.
The next score came the way of the Munstermen when the Ospreys went off their feet and New Zeaander Tyler Bleyendaal stepped up to slot his first penalty goal in the PRO12, leaving the sides all-square after 12 minutes.
Anthony Foley will not have been happy with the easy yards Brendon Leonard made just minutes later and with Munster struggling to get back in defence, another penalty was conceded just outside the Munster 22. Testing debutant Stephen Fitzgerald, the Ospreys went for the cross-field kick, however the Academy winger acquitted himself well in backtracking to claim the high ball, averting the danger.
The Ospreys came again, using their maul and physicality to good effect across 12 phases before a clash of heads involving Dave Kilcoyne brought play to a halt. The subsequent five minutes saw both sides place opposition scrums under serious pressure before Munster eventually won the tit-for-tat set piece battle and cleared their lines to halfway.
Infringement from the Ospreys on the ground then allowed out-half Bleyendaal bring Munster deep into the region’s 22 for the first time, before Cathal Sheridan sent a neat kick down the left wing. Teenager Fitzgerald did well in the chase but was unable to control the grounding.
Munster could have been in yet again when Bleyendaal’s inside pass to Robin Copeland put the number 8 in space. Bringing Munster to within five metres of the line, the support was slow in arriving and the chance went a-begging.
Foley’s charges did eventually take the lead for the first time in the 31st minute when the Ospreys went offside in defence and Bleyendaal made no mistake in slotting the long range effort for 6-3.
However, two further infringements from the men in red gifted the deadly accurate Davies two more shots at goal which he duly converted to hand the Ospreys at 9-6 lead at the interval.
A shaky start to the second period for Munster saw Davies continue where he left off and with Munster going in from the side, the hosts’ advantage was out to six points.
The province soon began to mount an attack in opposition territory. Sensing the upper-hand at set piece time, Bleyendaal turned down a kickable shot at goal when the Ospreys went in off their feet, instead opting for the corner on 51 minutes.
With possession secured, the pack mauled and went through a couple of phases before Bleyendaal executed a perfectly weighted cross-field kick for the inrushing Fitzgerald who capped an already impressive PRO12 debut with the opening try. Bleyendaal’s conversion put Munster back in front at 13-12.
In attempting to quell any Munster momentum, the Ospreys came again. A clever kick and chase downfield found Copeland isolated and Davies made it 15-13 to the Welshmen. Just a few minutes later, the Ospreys play-maker made it six successful place-kicks from six attempts when Munster also infringed at scrum time.
At 18-13 and with less than ten minutes to go, Foley’s side needed to dig deep, and that they did. Initially, the province responded with an 11 phase attack and when that yielded nothing, they went again, showing impressive patience and composure in a 14-phase onslaught that eventually forced the Ospreys to go offside.
Ian Keatley, who replaced Bleyendaal in the 63rd minute, kicked to the corner and Munster went to the maul before going through the phases from right to left and it was CJ Stander who forced his way over the line with 79 minutes on the clock – scoring his third try in two league outings.
Ireland international Keatley then showed the necessary poise to fire over the conversion and seal a hard-fought two-point victory for Munster – it was just their fourth success in the last 13 trips to Swansea.
The tight win sees last season’s beaten finalists go third in the PRO12 table on eight points, behind the first-placed Scarlets and Edinburgh, in second, on points difference.
Today’s match saw the Southern Hemisphere trio of Bleyendaal, Mark Chisholm and Saili join try scorer Fitzgerald in making their first PRO12 starts, while back rower Jordan Coghlan made his competitive debut for Munster off the bench. The result ended the Ospreys’ 14-match unbeaten run at the Liberty Stadium – Munster were also last team to win there in February 2014.
This website uses cookies.
Read More