Munster secure late bonus-point win against Gloucester

It took a final-quarter surge, but Munster are up and running in their Investec Champions Cup pool, thanks to a bonus-point 31-3 win against a plucky Gloucester side at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh.

One week on from their brutal 40-14 defeat to Bath at The Rec, Munster still looked to be carrying some scars from that chastening loss, but while their Premiership opponents brought a real fight to the home of Cork GAA, their challenge wilted in the last 20 minutes.

In total, Clayton McMillan's side scored five tries; Dan Kelly’s first-half effort had them 7-3 in front after a dour opening 40 minutes in front of 36,208 people on the banks of the Lee, and while Mike Haley added another after the break, they still entered the final quarter of an hour with just a nine-point lead thanks to a litany of attacking errors.

They game – or the bonus point at least – was won off the bench, with Ruadhán Quinn and Tom Farrell’s tries securing the full five points, before an opportunistic effort from Tadhg Beirne sent the Cork supporters home happy, but still with some questions about how far off their best Munster are currently playing.

It was a sloppy start overall from the home side, who fell 3-0 behind with just two minutes on the clock, George Barton kicking Gloucester in front from a penalty after Michael Milne had been caught holding on at the ruck.

The Munster errors were inviting pressure, with a poor knock-on from Jean Kleyn and a scrum penalty against Milne, but the away side were wasteful with their chances, as they lost three successive lineouts – one of those a steal from Kleyn – while Ala’alatoa punished them with a scrum penalty, which was greeted by the only significant cheer from supporters in the opening quarter of an hour.

Gavin Coombes and Craig Casey combined to generate some sparks just after the 15-minute mark, Coombes winning a breakdown penalty and Casey taking a quick tap, as Munster earned another penalty further upfield, to finally get the attack motoring.

Crowley turned down a kick at goal from 40 metres out as Munster set their sights on a try, but despite a dominant maul and a big gain on the ground from Niall Scannell, a stray Munster hand on the ground saw them cough up a penalty.

On the few occasions they got width on the ball, they were stretching Gloucester, and that finally yielded a dividend on 20 minutes for their opening try.

Kelly’s wide pass found Haley, and the full-back had luck on his side when his blocked kick sat back up for him to collect it again and race for the 22, and while he was chased down by Will Knight, he popped it up to the supporting Kelly (above), who made it to the line, as Crowley converted for 7-3.

Despite a second-string side, it was a plucky first half from Gloucester, who got back into the Munster 22 with a brilliant 50:22 from Barton, but Ben O’Connor - who was having a fine performance on the left wing – came up with an important turnover.

The hosts could, and should, have extended their lead before the break.

Crowley saw a penalty go wide of the posts on 32 minutes after a high clearance from Jamal Ford-Robinson saw the Gloucester prop sent to the bin, and they saw another chance spurned two minutes later after a sloppy lineout in the 22 led to a sloppier carry, and a breakdown penalty for the Premiership side.

With the clock in the red, Kleyn was held up over the line by a slew of Gloucester jerseys, summing up the opening 40 minutes for the hosts.

The second half didn’t start much better. While Munster won a penalty right off the restart, Crowley missed touch with his kick, while a minute later they coughed up a free-kick on their own lineout.

O’Connor was one of the few Munster players who had been consistent on the night, and when the former Cork U20 All-Ireland winner chased down a nothing ball on 48 minutes in the Gloucester half, it forced a scrum, which in turn provided the second Munster try.

Off that stable scrum, Kelly ran a hard line to get the province moving, and after a couple of short phases a wide pass found Alex Nankivell, who flicked a lovely offload for Haley (above), and the full-back beat former Leinster man Rob Russell to the corner to score.

Crowley missed the conversion, leaving the score 12-3, but a couple of minutes later his break up the middle could have laid on a third Munster try, but Casey’s wide pass to O’Connor on the follow-up was forward, much to the relief of the Gloucester defence.

Munster were dominating possession and territory, but continually struggled to pull the trigger.

They won back-to-back penalties to get within five metres of the Gloucester line just before the hour mark, but despite a good maul and carries from Jack O’Donoghue, Coombes and Scannell, Tom Farrell’s knock-on saw another great opportunity go to waste.

As valiantly as George Skivington's side were fighting, they were starting to look gassed, and on 67 minutes Munster finally forced their way in for a third try.

It arrived in bizarre circumstances, as a Gloucester kick bounced awkwardly for them, but perfectly for Casey, and the scrum-half offloaded to Haley, who got stopped short of the line, but a penalty soon arrived, with a neat five-metre-tap play putting Quinn (below) in for a well-worked try, converted by Crowley to make it 19-3.

With the win now pretty much secure, the pressure valve was released, and two dominant scrums from the Munster replacements put them in prime position to strike for the bonus-point score on 72 minutes, with another beautiful Nankivell offload sending Farrell in under the posts to ensure maximum points for the hosts.

There was still time for a final flourish, as the Gloucester heads dropped, and it was appropriate it would come from lineout pressure, an area where Munster impressed, Beirne picking off an overthrow in the final minutes which he carried over the line to score.

Scorers

Munster: Tries: Dan Kelly, Mike Haley, Ruadhan Quinn, Tom Farrell, Tadhg Beirne

Cons: Jack Crowley (3)

Gloucester:

Pens: George Barton (1)

Munster: Mike Haley; Shane Daly, Dan Kelly, Alex Nankivell, Ben O'Connor; Jack Crowley, Craig Casey; Michael Milne, Niall Scannell, Michael Ala’alatoa; Jean Kleyn, Tadhg Beirne (C); Tom Ahern, Jack O’Donoghue, Gavin Coombes.

Replacements: Diarmuid Barron (for Scannell, 60), Josh Wycherley (for Milne 60), Conor Bartley (for Ala’alatoa, 69), Edwin Edogbo (for Kleyn, 60), Ruadhán Quinn (for O’Donoghue, 60), Paddy Patterson (for Casey, 69), JJ Hanrahan (for Haley, 69), Tom Farrell (for Kelly, 52).

Gloucester: George Barton; Josh Hathaway, Will Knight, Max Knight, Rob Russell; Charlie Atkinson, Mikey Austin; Dian Bleuler, Jack Innard, Jamal Ford-Robinson; Cam Jordan, Arthur Clark (C); Josh Basham, Harry Taylor, Jack Clement.

Replacements: Kealan Freeman-Price (for Innard, 70), Ciaran Knight (for Bleuler, 50), Afo Fasogbon (for Basham, 39-42 and for Ford-Robinson, 50), Danny Eite (for Clement, 62), Hugh Bokenham (for Jordan, 69), Caio James (for Clement, 62), Rhys Price (for Austin, 62), Jack Cotgreave.

Referee: Ben Breakspear (WRU)