Ospreys 11
Munster 25
Rob Penney’s Munster returned to the summit of the Pro12 after a three-try win over the Ospreys in which they played some impressive attacking rugby. In an entertaining affair at the Liberty Stadium, the southern province were the more accurate side and deserved their win.
A typically powerful maul in the 6th minute allowed Munster into an early lead, with openside flanker Sean Dougall touching down after the pack’s strong work. Donnacha Ryan popped off the top to intelligently allow Penney’s men to set the maul up at the tail before powering over.
Ian Keatley converted and then added a 16th minute penalty to put Munster into control in the first quarter. Sam Davies got the Ospreys off the mark with a penalty of his own shortly after, but following another three points from Keatley, Munster were heading for a strong half time lead.
However, the out-half slipped off a one-on-one tackle just before the interval to allow Welsh international Ashley Beck to score a try, leaving the scoreline at 13-8 in Munster’s favour heading into the second half.
Simon Zebo got the second period off to the perfect start when he scooped up a loose ball, spun out of Tom Habberfield’s despairing tackle and raced clear from 70 metres out to dot down.
Davies’s 68th minute penalty brought the Ospreys back in touch, but Munster once again found a route to pull away in response. Replacement JJ Hanrahan scythed through the Welsh side’s front-line defence, before finding the surging James Downey.
The towering inside centre needed no second invitation and raced home to finish the try-scoring chance. With Hanrahan converting, Munster were out to a 25-11 lead with just eight minutes left on the clock, and the Ospreys wasted a pair of opportunities late on.
Munster move back to the top of the Pro12 ladder, two points ahead of the chasing Leinster. Penney will have been pleased with some of the attacking rugby his team played in Wales this afternoon as he remains focused on finishing the season with silverware.
Ospreys scorers:
Try: Ashley Beck
Penalties: Sam Davies (2)
Munster scorers:
Tries: Sean Dougall, Simon Zebo, James Downey
Conversions: Ian Keatley, JJ Hanrahan
Penalties: Ian Keatley (2)
OSPREYS: Sam Davies; Aisea Natoga, Jonathan Spratt (capt.), Ashley Beck, Jeff Hassler; Matthew Morgan, Tom Habberfield (Tito Tebaldi); Duncan Jones (Marc Thomas), Scott Baldwin (Matthew Dwyer), Dan Suter; Perry Parker (Ryan Jones), James King; Tyler Ardron, Sam Lewis, Joe Bearman (Dan Baker).
Replacements not used: Joe Rees, Hanno Dirksen, Richard Fussell.
MUNSTER: Felix Jones ; Andrew Conway, Casey Laulala, James Downey (Denis Hurley), Simon Zebo; Ian Keatley (JJ Hanrahan), Cathal Sheridan (Duncan Williams); James Cronin (Dave Kilcoyne), Duncan Casey (Ger Slattery), BJ Botha (Stephen Archer); Donnacha Ryan, Dave Foley (Donncha O’Callaghan); Tommy O’Donnell (CJ Stander), Sean Dougall, James Coughlan (capt.).
Referee: David Wilkinson (IRFU).
