With valuable points up for grabs and the table hotting up, both sides were quick out of the traps in the early stages. And much to the delight of the home crowd, it was the hosts who struck the first blow. Tom Farrell ripped the ball out of Arno Botha’s hands before racing to clear to score the opener.
Connacht were playing with the type of confidence that comes with having won four of their last five Guinness PRO14 fixtures, but instead of cowering in the face of the early blow, Munster grew in stature. Slowly but surely they began to puncture holes in the hosts’ defence, and just six minutes later they were level with a landmark score. Chris Farrell crashed through the middle and from the ensuing quick ball, Peter O’Mahony held off two defenders to finish in the corner. The try was the 500th of the Guinness PRO14 season, and served as the basis for a spell of sustained pressure for the Thomond Park outfit.
Dominating both possession and territory, Munster continued to attack. Wave after wave had been repelled by the hosts by the time Dan Goggin powered over on 25 minutes. A Joey Carbery conversion, followed swiftly by a Jack Carty penalty, saw Munster head into half-time 14-10 to the good – just rewards for their dominant play.
However, just as they had done at the start of the opening period, Connacht made another fast start, scoring their second try of the game just after the break. The impressive Tom Farrell – a constant throughout in attack – was once again the heart of the move, breaking clear before feeding Cian Kelleher to touch down. The topsy-turvy nature of the clash continued as Munster mounted their second fightback of the game to wrestle back the initiative through tries from Goggin and Carbery.
The gap between the teams was now 14 points, but just as all looked lost for Connacht, substitute Ultan Dillane burst a hole in the Munster rearguard, allowing the supporting Carty to reduce the deficit and ensure a nervy conclusion. But with replacement Conor Murray and Carbery orchestrating proceedings, chances for the hosts were few and far between, with Munster holding on to take top spot in Conference A after Glasgow’s defeat at Benetton. Connacht’s losing bonus point sees them draw level with third-placed Ospreys, who tasted victory against Cardiff Blues earlier on Saturday.
CONNACHT - D Leader; C Kelleher (C de Buitlear 74), T Farrell, T Daly (D Horwitz 72), M Healy; J Carty, C Blade (A Lloyd 65); P McCabe (M Burke 59), D Heffernan (capt) (T McCartney 54), D Robertson-McCoy (F Bealham 44); G Thornbury, Q Roux (U Dillane 58); P Boyle, C Fainga'a, E Masterson (C Gallagher 65)
MUNSTER - A Conway; K Earls, C Farrell, D Goggin (S Arnold 74), A Wootton (T Bleyendaal 60); J Carbery, A Mathewson (C Murray 51); J Loughman (D Kilcoyne 61), N Scannell (K O'Byrne 67), J Ryan (S Archer 40); J Kleyn, T Beirne; P O'Mahony (capt) (B Holland 65), T O'Donnell, A Botha (CJ Stander 52)
Ref - M Adamson (SRU)
(report courtesy of Guinness Pro14 website)
