Welcome along to our liveblog of the Pro12 clash between Munster and Connacht at Thomond Park. We hope you all had a great Christmas, but it’s back to the important matter of rugby this evening. Can Connacht pull off another shock in December? History and form suggest not, but Munster will need to be sharp.

Rob Penney was forced into a couple of late changes this afternoon due to injury and illness. Damian Varley has failed to recover from a bug, meaning Young Munster hooker Ger Slattery is on the bench. Felix Jones has a neck spasm, so Denis Hurley starts at fullback, with Ivan Dineen promoted to the bench.

Munster: D Hurley; K Earls, J Murphy, J Downey, R O’Mahony; JJ Hanrahan, D Williams; J Cronin, N Scannell, J Ryan; D O’Callaghan, D Foley; P Butler, S Dougall, J Coughlan (captain).

Replacements: G Slattery, A Cotter, S Archer, B Holland, CJ Stander, G Hurley, J Holland, I Dineen.

Connacht: Gavin Duffy; Fionn Carr, Robbie Henshaw, Eoin Griffin, Matt Healy; Dan Parks, Frank Murphy; Brett Wilkinson, Jason Harris-Wright, Nathan White, Mick Kearney, Craig Clarke (captain); Andrew Browne, John Muldoon, Eoin McKeon.

Replacements: Dave Heffernan, Denis Buckley, Rodney Ah You, Aly Muldowney, George Naoupu, Kieran Marmion, Jack Carty, Darragh Leader.

Conditions in Limerick are far from ideal, as you can see in this shot of Penney chatting to Connacht’s Nathan White. The former Waikato captain would have faced Penney’s Canterbury sides in the ITM Cup over the years.

©INPHO/Dan Sheridan

Another important test of JJ Hanrahan’s ability tonight, particularly his game management. There is little doubt over his playmaking and individual attacking flair, but if he is to usurp Ian Keatley for the big Heineken Cup games, he needs to demonstrate strength in his territorial kicking game too.

Opposite him is the 35-year-old Dan Parks, vastly more experienced but with less of an ability to challenge the defensive line. The former Scotland international came up trumps in the rain last weekend with his late drop goal, but some of his kicking from hand this month has been very loose.

Who do you think will have more of an influence? It’s likely to be decided by whichever pack gets on top.

The rain has ceased in Thomond Park, which is good news. A couple of readers of TheScore.ie have suggested that these inter-provincial fixtures are greatly undermined by under-strength teams having been named. Shane O’Donnell says:

I’d get excited if it looked like the provinces gave a damn but all of Munster, Ulster and Leinster are resting key players, such a shame because if the provinces cared these would be mouthwatering fixtures, as it stands it’s vaguely interesting.

Do you agree or disagree with that?

Nowhere near a full house at Thomond Park ahead of kick-off, so Munster will need to give them something to shout about early on. At least the humour of the venue is intact. That’s Limerick city:

The teams are out on the pitch. Munster in their traditional red, Connacht in their white jersey with blue socks.

1 minute – Munster concede a penalty directly from the kick-off as Dave Foley tackles Craig Clarke in the air. The rain suddenly starts lashing down again…

3 minutes – Very scrappy stuff so far. Connacht lose their line-out from the preceding penalty, but Munster knock-on as they look to shift the ball wide. Pat Lam’s men win the turnover but they knock-on in turn. The rain not making things easy as the first scrum goes to deck too.

5 minutes – Nathan White gets the better of James Cronin at the scrum, with the Munster loosehead taking the set-piece to deck. Parks kicks the penalty down the left-hand touchline, 10 metres from the Munster try-line, but it’s another poor line-out and Munster can kick it clear.

7 minutes – TheScore.ie reader Conor Cahill isn’t too confident we’re going to have a classic on our hands here. Very, very scrappy opening few minutes. Understandably.

You have to ask the burning question: how can rugby matches like this one be played in appalling conditions? If the coverage demands it, well, they should get this through their heads: no one will watch a match that will most likely be filled with a mountainful of mistakes if it’s bucketing down like it is in Limerick right now….

9 minutes – Well Munster are sticking to their usual patterns, moving the ball wide through the hands. It brings a reward this time, with Connacht pinged for coming offside in midfield. Hanrahan is lining up the penalty from 35 metres out, straight in front…

PENALTY! Munster 3-0 Connacht (Hanrahan ’9)

11 minutes - Kudos to those who have made the trip to Thomond Park. There are some truly loyal rugby supporters in this country.

12 minutes – Back to the action, and Connacht have had their first promising attack. Henshaw, Harris-Wright and Andrew Browne all carried strongly. Munster’s Cronin was caught offside though, and it’s a penalty for Connacht in a very similar position to that which allowed Hanrahan to open the scoring.

PENALTY! Munster 3-3 Connacht (Parks ’13)

14 minutes – Excellent work by Connacht again! Matt Healy hounded and harried Hurley and Keith Earls under the high ball, allowing his team to re-win possession. Browne went close down the right, before play was halted for another penalty. Cronin offside again, his third penalty already.

PENALTY! Munster 3-6 Connacht (Parks ’16)

This photo gives you an idea of the rainstorm that affected play early on. Thankfully that has subsided again.

©INPHO/Dan Sheridan

19 minutes – Munster are just metres out from the Connacht line now following a James Downey break in midfield…

TRY! Munster 8-6 Connacht (Hanrahan ’20)

CONVERSION! Munster 10-6 Connacht (Hanrahan ’21)

It all came from a loose kick by Parks from inside his own 22, straight into the hands of Johne Murphy in acres of space. The outside centre returned play out to the right, where Connacht’s defence was sparsely organised. His offload allowed Downey to break to within two metres of the line, and a few phases later, Hanrahan stretched over to score.

23 minutes – We spoke about Parks’ loose kicking in the build-up to the game, and it’s come back to haunt Connacht for that try. Credit also to Munster’s aggressive and dogged defence; they put serious pressure on Connacht as Lam’s men attempted to exit the 22.

25 minutes – Another scrum penalty for Connacht there, allowing them to kick to the right-hand touchline and then bring Fionn Carr into play off the set-piece. Worries for Penney in the front row so far for sure. Connacht attack up the left, but Healy is tackled into touch and possession is turned over. The former Lansdowne winger looks very lively though.

28 minutes – Oh Munster miss a superb chance for a try there! Hanrahan scooped up another loose Connacht kick and burst away downfield, nearly beating fullback Gavin Duffy. The Connacht man put it a high tackle, but Munster still managed to recycle. Dave Foley just couldn’t get a pass away to a huge overlap on the left though. Easy kick in front of the posts for Hanrahan…

PENALTY! Munster 13-6 Connacht (Hanrahan ‘ 30)

32 minutes – Munster enjoying all of the momentum now, despite the dogged nature of the Connacht performance so far. Penney’s men continue to look for width in their attack, while Lam’s charges need to stop the awful kicking out of hand. Too many loose touches from the boot and Munster will punish them further if it continues.

Connacht back in possession inside the Munster half now, with Frank Murphy dictating play from scrum-half…

34 minutes – That is superb work by Duncan Williams! The scrum-half burst off the defensive line, hounded Murphy into dropping the ball and then forced a turnover penalty as Connacht attempted to recover. The Cork Con man brings that physicality to the number nine shirt, and he’s been in good form recently.

Munster kick to the right-hand touchline, 10 metres out…

36 minutes – Eoin McKeon concedes a cynical penalty coming in from the side. It’s kickable, but Munster go back to the corner. Line-out on Scannell’s throw, just 6 metres out…

37 minutes – Munster missed their line-out, but Eoin Griffin’s clearing kick allowed Ronan O’Mahony to run the ball back into space. A dink over the top from Hanrahan was then badly dealt with by Duffy, but the passage ended with Hanrahan again kicking in behind Connacht for his chasing players. Too long this time though and Connacht cleared the ball away.

A shot of Hanrahan getting the congratulations of his teammates after scoring the only try of the game in the 21st minute:

©INPHO/Dan Sheridan

39 minutes – Munster’s kicking game has been vastly superior to Connacht’s so far this evening, crucially in conditions like these. Hanrahan is demonstrating that he can control a game in poor weather.

40 minutes – Referee Dudley Phillips has halted play for a word with the captains after an altercation between Gavin Duffy and James Cronin on the ground. Not too much in it to be fair.

HALF TIME: Munster 13-6 Connacht

So that’s it for the first half in Limerick. As expected, it’s not the most free-flowing game, but it has been entertaining. Both teams are getting stuck in physically, but Connacht have been punished for some loose kicking, particularly before the Hanrahan try.

What are your thoughts on that first half? Where do you see the game going in the second?

There has been some criticism of referee Dudley Phillips in that first 40. TheScore.ie reader Danger Here had this to say:

The referring in the first half was shocking. Connacht done out of a perfectly good try and a blatant knock on by Hurley was missed by the ref and umpires.”

Fair comments or has Phillips been good so far?

Both teams are back on the pitch, with Munster captain James Coughlan taking an extra generous helping of the sticky spray that aids handling. Badly needed in these slippy conditions. Parks set to kick off the second half…

YELLOW CARD! Frank Murphy (’43) gets binned for pulling back Cronin as he chased a kick through. Hanrahan has opted to go for goal from about 38 metres out, to the left of the posts.

PENALTY! Munster 16-6 Connacht (Hanrahan ’44)

46 minutes – Munster’s fringe defence, on either side of the rucks, has been excellent so far. They’re really hassling the Connacht attack, turning every bit of possession into scrappy stuff, or simply just making strong tackles. Vital on a day like this, when so much of the action is in that area.

47 minutes – CJ Stander is on for Sean Dougall, who needs help just to limp off the pitch.

Munster have an excellent attacking platform here, with a scrum in midfield, around eight metres out from the Connacht try-line. Came from more of their excellent harrying of Connacht possession…

48 minutes – And it’s all kicked off after Munster win the scrum penalty! Cronin was involved again, with Nathan White taking exception. Referee Dudley Phillips is going to the TMO to have a look at it. On first glance, we didn’t see any punched, just lots of pushing and shoving. Could be wrong though…

49 minutes – Oh wait, Nathan White could be in trouble here…

YELLOW CARDS! Nathan White and James Cronin both sent to the bin (’49)

Cronin gave White an ironic tap on the head after the scrum penalty, to which White responded with an open-handed slap. Looked a lot worse in slow-motion. The penalty stands for Munster and Hanrahan lines up the easy effort…

PENALTY! Munster 19-6 Connacht (Hanrahan ’50)

There’s certainly a bit of edge to this encounter in Limerick now.

©INPHO/Dan Sheridan

51 minutes – A promising surge from Downey in midfield, simple route one stuff. The big inside centre gets well over the gainline, but then his offload is a little bit forced. Both sides have been forced into changes with their props in the bin.

Rodney Ah You on for Connacht, while Alan Cotter is in for Munster. The promising Denis Buckley replaces Brett Wilkinson in a permanent change.

55 minutes – Connacht are back to 14 men, with Kieran Marmion entering the fray after the 10 minutes of Murphy’s sin binning have elapse. The scrum-half makes an almost instant impact, first by speeding up the Connacht attack and prompting his teammates onto the ball, then by blocking down William’s attempted box kick. Such a livewire.

57 minutes – There are still plenty of errors in this game, with Munster two most recent attacking opportunities ending with knock-ons. Connacht need the next score you feel, if they are to get anything from this game. Pat Lam’s men will re-start play with a scrum on the right-hand side of the pitch, 10 metres inside the Munster half.

60 minutes – Marmion’s impact has been really telling in this game. The scrum-half is so strong at organising his forwards, getting them around the corner and communicating exactly what he wants from them. His direction leads to a penalty in front of the sticks, which Parks lines up…

PENALTY! Munster 19-9 Connacht (Parks ’61)

62 minutes – A few changes to inform you of as both teams return to their full complements following the yellow cards.

Darragh Leader and Aly Muldowney are on for Connacht, while Gerry Hurley replaces Williams for Munster.

65 minutes – Connacht are attacking with more ambition now, with parks putting more width on his passes. They looked a little Munster-esque in that passage of play, moving from one touchline to the other. Henshaw got a rare touch of the ball, but play ended with a knock-on.

The TMO has informed ref Phillips that he is looking for foul play at a ruck though, and we have a break in play here…

65 minutes – And we’re brought back for a Munster penalty due to “unnecessary” use of the boot by Kieran Marmion on CJ Stander at a previous ruck. It serves to end a decent spell for Connacht inside the home team’s half.

Stephen Archer and George Naoupu are both on the pitch now, with Ivan Dineen and Billy Holland set to join them very soon.

68 minutes – Excellent play by Munster down the left-hand touchline there. Good hands by Hanrahan and Murphy found O’Mahony wide on the wing, and the Garryowen clubman showed his searing pace to skin Carr before passing back inside to Murphy. The centre’s offload took Hurley bu surprise though and the fullback spilled the ball forward.

71 minutes – Munster are all over Connacht now, but the Western province are hanging on. Earls – who has been quiet up until now – burst through in the middle of the pitch, before Downey carried it on another ten metres.

The forwards took over possession and tightened play up. With the rain starting to fall heavily once gain, the ball was trapped at the bottom of the ruck though, unplayable. Phillips signals for an attacking scrum for the home team.

73 minutes – Munster battering the Connacht line now… Rain is teeming down…

74 minutes – Munster win the penalty as Darragh Leader comes offside in defence. Munster are going to take the three points, rather than than risk coming away with nothing. Hanrahan to line it up.

On another note, Johne Murphy has been good again today.

PENALTY! Munster 22-9 Connacht (Hanrahan ’76)

77 minutes – Ger Slattery is on for Munster at hooker, great to see his continuing excellence in the AIL being rewarded. Hanrahan goes off to a nice round of applause, with Jonny Holland on in his place. Jack Carty is on for Connacht too.

78 minutes – CJ Stander hasn’t had much of an impact on this encounter since coming on for Sean Dougall. Not too many opportunities to carry the ball, but he’s been decent in the tight.

©INPHO/Dan Sheridan

79 minutes – James Coughlan has been named man of the match for a typically hard-working display. The No. 8 has led a forward display from Munster that has seen them on top for the majority of the match. We’re into the final play of the game here with Connacht searching for one last chance…

TRY FOR CONNACHT? We’re going to the TMO it appears. Bizarre passage of play as Connacht desperately attacked. A fight broke out on the right-hand touchline, with several players continuing past, before scoring!

TRY! Munster 22-14 Connacht (Dave Heffernan ’83)

Really mad stuff there, a bit of excitement at the end of a game that hasn’t been too easy to watch.

CONVERSION! Munster 22-16 Connacht (Parks ’84)

FULL TIME: Munster 22-16 Connacht

Well that’s it, Munster get the four points, while Connacht steal a bonus point at the very death. Sloppy from Penney’s men to concede that one right at the end. Overall, Munster were deserving winners thanks to their hassling and harrying in defence. JJ Hanrahan was impressive in controlling the game, particularly given the conditions.

That’s all we have time for, but we’d love to hear your thoughts on the game. Drop us a comment in all the usual ways. Thanks for joining us.