RG Snyman gets first try as Munster recover from nightmare start to secure bonus point win
Munster's RG Snyman scores a try in Munster's win over Stormers at Thomond Park. Picture: INPHO/Ryan Byrne
Munster rebounded from an early Stormers scoring spree at Thomond Park to pick up their second bonus-point victory of the new United Rugby Championship season as RG Snyman landed his first try for the province on Saturday.
The home side had been caught napping by a strong start from the Cape Town franchise and slumped to a 15-0 deficit inside 30 minutes but Jack O’Donoghue’s try just before half-time and three more in the 16 minutes after the interval took the game away from the South Africans and continued Munster’s winning opening to this new competition.
Jean Kleyn, Niall Scannell and another from O’Donoghue wiped out the 15-7 half-time deficit before 58th-minute replacement Snyman grabbed his first try for Munster.
If Munster had been banking on the fast start they enjoyed in their opening round win over the Sharks seven days earlier, they were in for a shock. It was the Stormers that6 started strongly and impressively, showing expansive intent from the off and an offloading game that stretched the home defence on the edges, full-back Warrick Gelant opening the scoring with a try on eight minutes thanks to a pass out of contact from fly-half Manie Libbok.
It was a similar formula 12 minutes later as former South Africa sevens player Ruhan Nel offloaded to left-wing Leolin Zas who raced into the left corner for tryt number two, this one converted by Libbok.
Munster were struggling to get a foothold in this contest as the Stormers warmed to their task and had the home side on their line once more on 24 minutes as Libbock slid towards the posts for what appeared to be a third first-half score, only for referee Andrew Brace to go to his TMO with the television replays showing the Stormers out-half had lost control of the ball as Peter O’Mahony prevented the touch down.
It was just as well, though Munster conceded a Gelant penalty soon after to go 15-0 down before they sparked to life as half-time approached. Jack O’Donoghue striking from close range after his fellow forwards had finally started to win collisions.
Joey Carbery’s conversion from in front of the posts brought at end to the half and Munster went into regroup with some invaluable points on the board but trailing 15-7.
The swing in momentum towards the home side continued as the second half got under way, Stormers captain Salmaan Moerat was sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on, shortly after which Jean Kleyn scored with a pick and go against his former province, Carbery’s conversion making it a one-point game just six minutes into the second half.
Munster were now firmly in the ascendancy, their forwards on top and brimming with confidence. They made it count from a lineout in the right corner, their driving maul too strong for the short-handed Stormers pack as Niall Scannell touched down for a third try on 50 minutes. Carbery missed the right-touchline conversion but his side had turned this game around in the space of 11 minutes to score 19 unanswered points and take a four-point lead.
It quickly extended to nine, despite the return of Moerat, as the Munster pack once again asserted itself, O’Donoghue scoring his second of the night on 56 minutes.
Munster were far from home and dry at 24-15 but the introductions around the hour mark from the bench of RG Snyman for Kleyn and Simon Zebo for Keith Earls felt like a doubling-down of home dominance. And though replacement fly-half Tim Swiel kicked a penalty on 65 minutes, it was Snyman who stretched the lead, collecting the ball out of a lineout won by O’Mahony, and with the ball in one giant paw, pivoting out of contact from five metres out to claim his first try for Munster in his second game back from the serious knee injury he suffered on debut in August 2020. Carbery’s replacement Ben Healy slotted the conversion to give Munster a 31-18 lead with 10 minutes remaining and the game was up for the Stormers, Healy landing a monster penalty in the rain to close the game with Munster on a roll.
M Haley; C Nash, K Earls (S Zebo, 59), R Scannell, S Daly; J Carbery (B Healy, 61), C Casey (R Osborne, 71); D Kilcoyne (J Loughman, 46), N Scannell (D Barron, 69), K Knox (S Archer, 61); J Kleyn (RG Snyman, 58), F Wycherley; P O’Mahony - captain, J O’Donoghue (J O’Sullivan, 73), G Coombes.
W Gelant; S Petersen, R Nel, D du Plessis (R Pretorius, 67), L Zas; M Libbok (T Swiel, 48), S Ungerer (G Masimla, 53); B Harris (L Lyons, 61), S Ntubeni (A-H Venter, 61), N Fouche (S Sandi, 61); A Smith (E van Rhyn, 65), S Moerat - captain; N Xaba (M Theunissen, 66), W Engelbrecht, E Roos.
Andrew Brace (IRFU).
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