Munster continue unbeaten start to URC title defence with comfortable win over Dragons
DRAGONS TAMED: Munster's Craig Casey scores his team's fifth try. Pic Credit ©INPHO/Ben Brady
Munster cruised to victory with a seven tries to two defeat of winless Dragons to extend their unbeaten start to their BKT URC title defence in Cork on Saturday night.
A try in each half from Calvin Nash and one apiece from Rory Scannell, Gavin Coombes, Tom Ahern, Craig Casey and Brian Gleeson handed the champions a second home win of the new campaign having also drawn with Benetton in Italy last time out the previous Sunday.
There was plenty for the 8,171 crowd to cheer on their side’s seasonal debut at Musgrave Park and while scrum-half Casey’s second-half try marked the first reappearance of Munster’s World Cup contingent, this was very much a victory for head coach Graham Rowntree’s growing squad depth.
There were seven academy players involved, with Tony Butler making his first senior start at fly-half following a wrist injury to Joey Carbery, replacement Gleeson one of the try scorers and full-back and former Cork hurler Ben O’Connor earning his debut off the bench.
Munster had raced into a 17-0 lead after 21 minutes thanks to tries from centre Rory Scannell, No.8 Gavin Coombes and wing Calvin Nash as the Dragons struggled to deal with the champions’ pace and fluid movement.
Butler was making just a second Munster appearance following a debut in the Champions Cup win at Wasps 23 months ago and looked comfortable slotting into the number 10 jersey following the news Carbery would require surgery on a wrist injury.
The 21-year-old from Ennis frequently took the ball to the line to open up the Dragons defence and Munster could have had more points on the board with better execution.
Yet while they still looked comfortable, Dragons gradually grew into the contest and grabbed their first try just before half-time as their pressure began to tell, scrum-half Rhodri Williams, playing as a wing following an injury-enforced backline reshuffle, running back a Casey clearing kick into the Munster 22.
Quick recycled ball from the visitors wrong-footed the home defence and flanker Ryan Woodman struck from close range, his try converted by Will Reid to make it 17-7 at the break, Butler having made one conversion for Munster.
It did not, however, take long for Rowntree’s team to collect the try bonus point, lock Tom Ahern carrying on from his late try to rescue the draw at Benetton six days earlier this time scoring eight minutes after the interval after some multi-phase play from Munster following a scrum inside the Dragons 22.
Butler converted and Munster wasted little time adding a fifth of the night as Craig Casey raced over to mark his return from Ireland World Cup duty with a 53rd minute try, again converted by the fly-half to push the Reds into a 31-7 lead.
Gleeson made it six on 64, again with Butler adding the extras before making way for the return to the red jersey of Jack Crowley for the first time this season, the Ireland fly-half having been granted permission from the IRFU to cut short his post-World Cup break and bolster his province’s playmaking resources, and he made his presence felt with eight minutes remaining to convert Nash’s second try of the night.
It was a bittersweet moment for the double tryscorer, however, Nash needing to be helped from the field with a worrying looking leg injury as Munster finished the contest with 14 men.
That allowed Dragons to finally make a dent on the second-half scoreboard, replacement prop Aki Seiuli crashing over and Reid converting to provide a smattering of consolation to a well-beaten side.
S Daly (B O’Connor, 63); S O’Brien, A Nankivell, R Scannell, C Nash; T Butler (J Crowley, 66), C Casey (B Gleeson, 55); K Ryan (M Donnelly, 70), D Barron (S Buckley, 63), J Ryan (S Archer, 70); E Edogbo (P Patterson, 55), T Ahern; J O’Donoghue – captain (R Quinn, 68), A Kendellen, G Coombes.
A O’Brien (D Blacker, 2); C Baldwin (E Rosser, 55), S Hughes - captain, J Dixon (A Owen, 66), A Hewitt (C Baldwin, 70); W Reed, R Williams; R Jones (A Seiuli, 65), B Roberts (B Coghlan, 65), L Yendle (N Evans, 64, L Yendle 77); J Davies, G Nott (B Langton-Cryer, 64); R Woodman, J Benjamin (G Young, 72), Taine Basham.
Sam Grove-White (Scotland).
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