Carbery and Munster 'stick to guns' in impressive opening win over Sharks

Conway puts injury nightmare behind him with 50th Munster try as mix of seasoned veterans and newcomers get the job done at Thomond Park

BACK AT IT: Munster’s Andrew Conway celebrates scoring a try with Ethan Coughlan as the province ran out 13-point winners over the Sharks. Pic: INPHO/Ryan Byrne

Munster 34 Sharks 21 

Joey Carbery may have points to prove to the Munster and Irish management this season but he got his campaign off to a flying start as he steered the URC champions to a hard-earned win at Thomond Park.

Munster’s mix of seasoned players and newcomers meant this was always going to be an awkward task but Carbery was pleased with the way they handled the challenge.

“I think it was really good that we just stuck in there," Carbery said after the 13-point victory. "There were a few really tough patches for us, we knew what they were going to bring and they were very clinical, but we fought back well and controlled it quite well.

“We stuck to our guns. The forwards gave us a good platform so it was really pleasing to get the five tries."

There were many notable features to the game with Andrew Conway crowning his first match since June last year by scoring his 50th try on his 150th appearance for Munster as he finally put his injury nightmare behind him.

He scored Munster’s fourth try as the champions got their season up and running with a bonus point win.

They led 21-7 at the break, having taken a quarter of the game to finally get through the Sharks defence when promising lock Edwin Edogbo got in for his first try for the province after good pressure.

Shay McCarthy, a late replacement for Calvin Nash, made a big impression on his debut on the left wing and was involved in several promising Munster moves in the opening half, while full-back Shane Daly was also to the fore.

Daly did superbly to deny Sharks an early try when he got back to tackle scrum-half Cameron Wright with a clear run to the line.

Munster’s second try was created by a fired-up Carbery, who stepped inside to open the Sharks defence and managed to get the pass away in tackle for Alex Kendellen to set up hooker Diarmuid Barron to score.

Carbery was superb for Munster, dictating matters throughout on a welcome return to form, but the Sharks, with former Irish forwards coach John Plumtree in charge for the first time, hit back when out-half Curwin Bosch slit the home defence to set up Werner Kok for a converted try which cut the gap to 14-7.

But Munster got a big break just before the interval when Antoine Frisch chased his own chip and when both Marnus Potgieter and Wright failed to control the ball, the centre got the touchdown to lead 21-7 at the interval.

Carbery pushed the lead out with a penalty four minutes after the restart before Rohan Janse van Rensburg got over after Wright executed a 50:22 after blocking Carbery’s kick and then raced forward to take a quick throw and while Potgieter was initially stopped, the replacement centre was on hand to score.

That left Munster 24-14 ahead going into the final quarter and moments after Conway had almost sent debutant McCarthy over on the right, he looped around to the other wing and was on hand to secure the bonus point and mark his return from injury in style.

Ethan Coughlan, making his first start, had to come back on when McCarthy was injured and he made it count when he scored Munster’s fifth try after being set up by Frisch.

Sharks had the final say when Aphelele Fassi got in under the posts but the Durban side left Limerick empty-handed as the champions started in style with five points in the bag.

Scorers for Munster: Tries: E Edogbo, D Barron, A Frisch, A Conway, E Coughlan. Cons: J Carbery (3). Pen: Carbery.

Sc orers for Sharks: Tries: W Kok, R Janse van Rensburg, A Fassi. Cons: C Bosch (3).

Munster: S Daly; A Conway, A Frisch, R Scannell (A Nankivell 62), S McCarthy (F Gibbons 68, Coughlan 77); J Carbery, E Coughlan (N Cronin 70); J Wycherley (K Ryan 71), D Barron (S Buckley 68), S Archer (J Ryan 62); E Edogbo (T Ahern 55), F Wycherley; J O’Donoghue (c), A Kendellen, G Coombes (B Gleeson 70).

Sharks: B Chamberlain (A Fassi 62); W Kok, M Koster (R Janse van Rensburg 40), F Venter (c), M Potgieter; C Bosch, C Wright (Z Mkhabela 74); N Mchunu (D Bleuler 70), K van Vuuren (D Jooste 70), C Oosthuizen (H Jacobs 55); E van Heerden, R Hugo; J Venter, P Buthelezi, G Cronje (S Notshe 62).

Referee: Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy).