Glasgow Warriors 25
Munster 10
Lewis Stuart reports from Scotstoun
THE HANDICAP OF missing most of their current Ireland internationals proved too much for Munster to overcome as three first-half tries were more than enough to see Glasgow Warriors home in their Guinness PRO14 clash at Scotstoun.
The visitors fought back hard after the break but the damage had been done during a torrid opening 40 minutes, with Glasgow dominating territory, possession and, most importantly, the scoreboard.
With the wind behind them, they were able to keep the pressure on for long spells and reap the rewards.
The strange thing is that it could have been worse for Munster as Johann van Graan’s defence muscled up over long periods but they could do nothing about the Peter Horne penalty that got Glasgow on the scoreboard, nor the clever loop run by Warriors out-half Adam Hastings to put flanker Callum Gibbins in for the opening try.
The southern province were able to break the siege for only seconds at a time and however tough the resistance, further scores were almost inevitable with Hastings again pulling the strings until he found the space to put in a clever grubber kick for Stuart Hogg to score and convert himself.
Munster were not helped by key injuries with both captain Billy Holland scrum-half Neil Cronin going off in the first half — the latter’s loss proving a real blow.
Duncan Williams showed his rustiness with his first touch of the ball: his pass missed JJ Hanrahan at 10 to hand Adam Ashe, the Glasgow eight, a gift try.
With 22 points against them at half-time, Munster needed quick scores to mount their fightback and got off the mark through the boot of Hanrahan. It was the Kerryman’s final act before being replaced by Joey Carbery.
By this stage, the wind was behind Munster, and it was their turn to mount all the pressure but they found their opposition to be even more resilient in defence as Glasgow absorbed the battering to keep their line unbreached.
Both sides went to their benches and eventually it worked for Munster as replacement hooker Rhys Marshall came at an angle to catch the home defence flat-footed and grab his side’s first try.
Nearly 70 minutes had gone by then, though, and Muster’s mission seemed quixotic when Hogg added a penalty soon after the restart. And so it proved as the match finished with Glasgow back in the ascendency.
Scorers for Glasgow Warriors
Tries: Callum Gibbins, Stuart Hogg, Adam Ashe
Cons: Stuart Hogg [2 from 2]
Pens: Peter Horne [1 from 2], Hogg [1 from 1]
Scorers for Munster
Tries: Rhys Marshall
Cons: Carbery [1 from 1]
Pens: Hanrahan [1 from 1]
GLASGOW WARRIORS: Stuart Hogg (Niko Matawalu, 73); Tommy Seymour, Nick Grigg, Peter Horne, DTH van der Merwe; Adam Hastings (Alex Dunbar, 63), George Horne (Ali Price, 54); Oli Kebble (Jamie Bhatti, 59), Fraser Brown, (George Turner, 50) Zander Fagerson (D’Arcy Rae, 63), Rob Harley, Jonny Gray, Ryan Wilson (Matt Fagerson, 70), Callum Gibbins, Adam Ashe (Scott Cummings, 54).
MUNSTER: Mike Haley; Darren Sweetnam, Sammy Arnold, Rory Scannell (Jaco Taute, 64), Shane Daly; JJ Hanrahan (Joey Carbery, 43), Neil Cronin (Duncan Williams, 35); Dave Kilcoyne (James Cronin, 56), Mike Sherry (Rhys Marshall, 48), John Ryan (Stephen Archer, 41); Jean Kleyn, Billy Holland (C)(Fineen Wycherley, 25); Dave O’Callaghan (Tadhg Beirne, 41), Tommy O’Donnell, Arno Botha.
Referee: B Whitehouse [WRU]
Attendance:7,351
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