Poor Magners League form continues for Munster

Dragons 19 Munster 12

The Dragons upstaged an understrength Munster tonight with an impressive recovery after a lacklustre first-half display to take the Magners League honours.

Inspired by two-try Lifeimi Mafi, Munster led at the halfway stage, but the Welshmen fought back decisively through a Jamie Ringer touchdown and 14 points from the boot of Ceri Sweeney to snatch a much-needed win.

Munster shrugged off a sluggish opening by striking the first scoring blow in the eighth minute when Jeremy Manning slipped a neat inside pass to Mafi, who plunged over for Manning to convert.

The Dragons struggled to get parity up front, with the Irish dominating the possession and penalty stakes before Sweeney put an easy penalty chance wide of the upright to highlight the Dragons’ lack of assurance.

Munster’s main tactic of not committing bodies to the breakdown area and soaking up ponderous Dragons attacks made for a sterile first half.

The influential Manning was forced off through injury after half an hour and his replacement, Eoghan Hickey, had a miserable evening with the boot.

A physical, well-organised Munster defence continued to call the shots until hooker Andy Kyriacou was yellow-carded for an offence at a ruck.

Sweeney kicked the ensuing penalty after 36 minutes, but Munster moved 12-3 in front when Mafi slipped over for his second try following a smart blindside attack.

A snap drop goal by Sweeney four minutes into first half added time cut the deficit to six points and the Dragons realised that to break the Munster stranglehold they had to raise the tempo of their game.

They did exactly that as a series of forward drives ended in flanker Jamie Ringer forcing his way over from close range.

Sweeney converted to give the Welshmen the lead for the first time after 47 minutes.

The penalty count was 3-1 against Munster, who were forced to continue to use defence as their main offensive weapon in the face of a fired-up Dragons outfit.

The depleted Munster men were disrupted by a spate of injuries as the physical battle intensified and after Donnacha Ryan became the second Irishman to be sin-binned Sweeney landed his second penalty to put the Dragons on course for victory.

On the stroke of full-time Sweeney completed a penalty hat-trick to seal the win and with it a notable triumph for the Dragons.