Tralee Triumph Keeps Munster ‘A’ On Course

The early indications for the home supporters were good as Munster 'A' applied the pressure and made good yardage, spending the opening 10 minutes attacking inside the Aberavon 22.

Cian Bohane was first up, crashing through the Aberavon defence to bring play up close to the posts. Tommy O'Donnell continued the attack before the final pass failed to come off with Corey Hircock lurking for the opening try.

But Munster 'A' went again and this time with the focus on the breakdown from both sides, out-half Scott Deasy chanced a cross-field kick to centre Bohane who was just denied by the equally tall Richard Thomas.

For all the pressure and possession the Munstermen had, it was Aberavon who finished the opening quarter with a try. Turnover ball on the halfway mark was moved out wide for the aforementioned Thomas to claim the opening score.

Deasy missed his first penalty attempt and it was reflective of a frustrating stop-start period for Munster 'A' where they caused their own problems with knock ons and handling errors.

Any positive play resulted in a turnover of possession until the half hour mark when David Foley charged down an Aberavon kick inside their 22.

The turnover gave Munster 'A' the space and numbers to run it wide with Tralee local Danny Barnes setting the in-form Hircock up for his third try in this season's competition. Deasy kicked the extras to give the hosts a 7-5 lead.

O'Donnell's experience at the breakdown and work-rate in defence was evident as he thwarted a number of Aberavon attacks.

But Jamie Davies added a penalty just before the break, resulting from a Foley infringement in the lineout, as the Welsh side went in one point ahead.

Davies was on hand again on the resumption with his second penalty, but it was to be the last score of the afternoon for the visitors as Munster 'A' responded with two tries and a conversion.

Ian Costello's young charges moved ahead in the 54th minute thanks to a Ronan O'Mahony try under the posts. The winger took the scoring pass from Bohane who broke the Aberavon defence. Deasy added the conversion.

Ten minutes later, Barry O'Mahony completed the sibling act with a try of his own to give Munster 'A' a buffer of eight points.

The province's bench was cleared with all replacements in action at this stage and the fresh legs certainly gave Munster 'A' a new lease of life going into the closing minutes.

The hosts bombarded the Aberavon line time and time again, looking for the illusive bonus point winning try.

As the clock ticked into added time, there was certainly a sense they were going to produce the goods but after a number of phases and an eventual knock on, it was not to be.

Speaking afterwards, Munster 'A' head coach Ian Costello said: “I thought Tommy O'Donnell and Cian Bohane really stood out for us today. And Barry O'Mahony certainly did in the second half.

“They (Aberavon) were a very physical side and went out with a clever game-plan, slowing our ball time and time again. We struggled with continuity, the stop-start nature didn't suit us but we were much better in the second half.

“Yes, we're happy with the win but overall we're frustrated with not getting the bonus point try especially after getting so many penalties and five-metre scrums.”

He added: “Next up we have Rotherham Titans back-to-back in December, so we have the time to regroup and look at the mistakes and the positives, and that's what we'll do.”

Referee: Andrew Jackson (England)