Relentless Munster Rout Ulster With Record Nine-Try Haul

Munster overwhelmed an under-strength Ulster side as they ran in nine tries in a record-breaking 64-7 GUINNESS PRO14 derby victory at Thomond Park.

Bouncing back from last week’s poor performance in Cardiff, Munster beat their previous highest score in the Championship (61 points against Caerphilly in 2001), biggest winning margin (47 points against Zebre in 2016), and the most tries (eight) and conversions (seven).

Dan Goggin and Tommy O’Donnell both touched down inside the opening eight minutes and completed their braces by half-time, with Johann van Graan’s men taking just 37 minutes to bag the bonus point and accumulate 29 unanswered points.

Ulster were the only unbeaten team left in the PRO14 but came to Limerick without a number of first-choice players through injury and required rest following the two-match tour of South Africa. Captain Rory Best and Jacob Stockdale are due to return next week against Connacht, while their hopes tonight were hampered by injuries sustained by Iain Henderson (head) and John Cooney (blood) during the first half.

Further tries from Munster captain Peter O’Mahony, man-of-the-match Joey Carbery, who starred at out-half with 18 points, Sam Arnold, returning winger Keith Earls and Alex Wootton followed Darren Cave’s lone score for Ulster early in the second half.

The manner of the performance and result has the Munstermen in very good stead as they turn their attention to next Saturday’s Aviva Stadium duel with Leinster, while Ulster, who gave competitive debuts to Academy backs Michael Lowry and James Hume as replacements, will aim to right the wrongs of this disappointing display when hosting Connacht.

Wootton, who indirectly replaced Mike Haley in Munster’s back-three before kick-off, lit up tonight’s one-sided interprovincial contest with a devastating burst of pace, cutting in off his left send centre Goggin over for a fifth-minute opener.

Carbery converted and also added the extras from out wide to O’Donnell’s effort just three minutes later, the pacy openside breaking away from Cave to score in the corner following Carbery’s initial cross-field kick to Goggin. The Ireland out-half closed out the first quarter with a well-struck 40-metre penalty for 17-0.

O’Donnell had support from O’Mahony as the pair broke off a maul for the Tipperary man’s second try on the half hour mark, with Carbery’s conversion coming back off the post. With the bonus point within reach, Billy Holland was stopped short before good hands from Kiwi debutant Alby Mathewson and Carbery sent Goggin over to the right of the posts.

A knock-on denied Angus Kernohan as Ulster came away try-less from a promising attack right on half-time, but experienced centre Cave, fed by Billy Burns, slipped out of a Carbery tackle to cross in the 46th minute. The latter redeemed himself with some classy play, providing a long cut-out pass for O’Mahony’s try and tagging on a superb touchline conversion.

Carbery then darted in from near halfway out for a deserved try, having started the attack back in his 22 and then burst onto Wootton’s scooped pass back inside. Wootton’s grubber kick set up replacement Arnold to score just three minutes after his introduction.

Ulster’s replacement hooker John Andrew saw yellow for a late tackle on Wootton, and Earls and Wootton got in on the scoring act late on, the hosts’ glut of points including three closing conversions from replacement Ian Keatley.

Earls was the beneficiary of some excellent build-up play from Duncan Williams and Holland as their slick handling invited him to sidestep around former Munster back rower Jean Deysel and snipe in under the posts. Goggin and Keatley combined for the final try, the latter firing a monster pass out to the left wing for Wootton to slide over in the corner.

Reacting to Ulster’s worst ever defeat, which overhauled their 56-3 reversal to Wasps in 1997, the province’s head coach Dan McFarland said: “I thought we put in a couple of good defensive sets to start with and then suffered a really unlucky ricochet which ended in seven points and then missed a tackle, which is very unlike us, and that resulted in 14 points.

“We lost John and Iain and we were under the cosh. We played some nice stuff, and then as the game went on, the momentum built (in Munster’s favour). We looked as if we were suffering physically, and as coaches we might need to look at that after a very tough South African trip. I certainly thought the five-day turnaround in South Africa had an impact.

“There’s no questioning the effort. You’ve got young fellas out there and you ask them to go out and play in that a scenario. I was here the week that Anthony (Foley) died with Glasgow and when there’s meaning and importance to a game at Thomond Park, and you get put on the back foot, it’s a difficult place to be. That’s where we found ourselves.”

Munster head coach van Graan commented: “Obviously very happy to put in a good performance. We asked for a response from our guys and the most important thing was we needed to improve in all areas, and I thought we did. The small things were very good tonight, I thought our scrum and our lineout were very good.

“Ulster attacked pretty well and kept us in our 22 for multiple phases and I thought we defended pretty well then. We were in this position twice (already this season), when we’ve had a very good first half and kinda didn’t really put the foot on the accelerator in the second half and I thought we did that tonight.

“You have to be happy with that (nine tries and 64 points), although I think we left quite a few out there tonight. But a real positive was the small things, some of the passing was excellent and the decision-making was very good. I don’t think we overplayed or chased the game, even when we were into the 60s, we didn’t try and do anything fancy, we just kind of stuck to what we set out to do.

“We, as a team, took a responsibility this week after a below-par performance last Friday night. Each guy takes responsibility for his job, and I thought it was a job well done tonight. I thought Joey and Rory (Scannell) combined pretty well. Very good communication from Andrew (Conway) at the back and I think our forwards are starting to get their depth.”