IT WAS MORE than a little fitting that one of the key moments of last night’s game at Páirc Uí Chaoimh was delivered by Ben O’Connor, who knows the place well.
Formerly a minor and U21 All-Ireland winner with Cork in hurling, the 21-year-old got the first Champions Cup start of his career for Munster against Gloucester and did well throughout.
He is a classy athlete, but his best moment was all about doggedness as O’Connor chased a Craig Casey kick and snared George Barton just when it looked like the Gloucester fullback might skip away on the counter-attack.
Barton forced an offload, Josh Hathaway knocked on, and Munster scored a cracking try off the ensuing scrum. O’Connor chipped in with the final carry before Casey and Alex Nankivell sent Mike Haley over.
Munster had been leading only 7-3 before that moment, so O’Connor’s interventions were important.
The locals were happy to see such a proud Cork man making an impact for Munster, particularly given that it was a frustrating night for long stretches against a Gloucester team that fully embraced their role as underdogs.
Director of rugby George Skivington sent out his second-string side with a simple game plan to use the wind blowing from behind them at the City End of Páirc Uí Chaoimh by peppering Munster with kicks in the first half. They limited what Munster could do.
The frustration was evident among Clayton McMillan’s players and possibly played into them forcing things, although that also seemed to come from Munster’s sheer eagerness to impress the big crowd as they bid to bounce back from a miserable night in Bath last weekend.
In truth, it was an error-strewn game that was very stop-start until the closing stages when Munster earned a bit of gloss on the scoreline.
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Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
The lack of flow and Munster’s inability to build positive moment upon positive moment meant it was difficult for the crowd of over 36,000 at the Páirc to really come to life. There were some quiet spells.
This wasn’t a sell-out but it was the biggest home attendance ever at a home Champions Cup game in the province.
Munster sold out the Páirc for their previous exhibition games against South Africa A and the Crusaders, who are more exotic opposition than Gloucester.
Any chance of a very late surge for the final few thousand tickets vanished when Gloucester announced that they would be without their big guns. The supporting cast did a fine job of frustrating Munster, but it’s not what either set of supporters wanted to see after shelling out to be there.
Unfortunately, the game had long stretches of forgettable rugby but there were bright flashes as Jack Crowley, a huge fan favourite, tried to make things happen and his halfback partner Casey delivered moments of class.
Haley and Nankivell were lively, while Gavin Coombes and skipper Tadhg Beirne were strong up front. The Munster bench made an impact too, with tighthead prop Conor Bartley among those to do well.
Yet the number of Munster errors was impossible to ignore as they repeatedly put the ball down after getting into promising positions.
Five tries secured them a bonus point and that’s the bottom line, but Munster had 10 other entries into the Gloucester 22 from which they came away with nothing. That continued the theme of wastefulness from Bath.
Munster have to get better at converting good field position into points.
“We just need to be more clinical, a little bit more patient, and serve each other to get one person across the line,” said McMillan.
“We’re just trying to get there a little bit too cheaply, and no one’s going to give up cheap tries, so we’ve just got to be prepared to earn them.”
Tadhg Beirne in a Munster maul. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
So it’s a mental thing?
“Just trust. Trust in each other, yeah.”
Munster’s relationship with Páirc Uí Chaoimh started on a high with a brilliant night against South Africa A in November 2022. The place was rocking on an important night for Graham Rowntree’s team. They had endured an awful start to the season, but that win over the South Africans showed they could be better. The campaign ended with a URC title.
Munster squeezed past the Crusaders down the park in February 2024, the Kiwis missing a last-gasp conversion that would have levelled the game. Again, there was a sell-out crowd of more than 40,000 and it was a big hit.
It was clear that Munster needed to bring a competitive game to Páirc Uí Chaoimh and with attendances having been relatively low for the December pool game in the Champions Cup at Thomond Park in the last couple of years, this season felt right for a few reasons. What Munster anticipated as “a significant financial uplift” was one of them.
It’s a shame how things worked out this week with Gloucester’s selection and also the scrappy nature of the game, even if Munster got a bit more to cheer about at the end.
Munster will likely be back in the near future, and we can all hope that it will be a better spectacle when they do.
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Munster finish on a high after a frustrating night down the Páirc
IT WAS MORE than a little fitting that one of the key moments of last night’s game at Páirc Uí Chaoimh was delivered by Ben O’Connor, who knows the place well.
Formerly a minor and U21 All-Ireland winner with Cork in hurling, the 21-year-old got the first Champions Cup start of his career for Munster against Gloucester and did well throughout.
He is a classy athlete, but his best moment was all about doggedness as O’Connor chased a Craig Casey kick and snared George Barton just when it looked like the Gloucester fullback might skip away on the counter-attack.
Barton forced an offload, Josh Hathaway knocked on, and Munster scored a cracking try off the ensuing scrum. O’Connor chipped in with the final carry before Casey and Alex Nankivell sent Mike Haley over.
Munster had been leading only 7-3 before that moment, so O’Connor’s interventions were important.
The locals were happy to see such a proud Cork man making an impact for Munster, particularly given that it was a frustrating night for long stretches against a Gloucester team that fully embraced their role as underdogs.
Director of rugby George Skivington sent out his second-string side with a simple game plan to use the wind blowing from behind them at the City End of Páirc Uí Chaoimh by peppering Munster with kicks in the first half. They limited what Munster could do.
The frustration was evident among Clayton McMillan’s players and possibly played into them forcing things, although that also seemed to come from Munster’s sheer eagerness to impress the big crowd as they bid to bounce back from a miserable night in Bath last weekend.
In truth, it was an error-strewn game that was very stop-start until the closing stages when Munster earned a bit of gloss on the scoreline.
The lack of flow and Munster’s inability to build positive moment upon positive moment meant it was difficult for the crowd of over 36,000 at the Páirc to really come to life. There were some quiet spells.
This wasn’t a sell-out but it was the biggest home attendance ever at a home Champions Cup game in the province.
Munster sold out the Páirc for their previous exhibition games against South Africa A and the Crusaders, who are more exotic opposition than Gloucester.
Any chance of a very late surge for the final few thousand tickets vanished when Gloucester announced that they would be without their big guns. The supporting cast did a fine job of frustrating Munster, but it’s not what either set of supporters wanted to see after shelling out to be there.
Unfortunately, the game had long stretches of forgettable rugby but there were bright flashes as Jack Crowley, a huge fan favourite, tried to make things happen and his halfback partner Casey delivered moments of class.
Haley and Nankivell were lively, while Gavin Coombes and skipper Tadhg Beirne were strong up front. The Munster bench made an impact too, with tighthead prop Conor Bartley among those to do well.
Yet the number of Munster errors was impossible to ignore as they repeatedly put the ball down after getting into promising positions.
Five tries secured them a bonus point and that’s the bottom line, but Munster had 10 other entries into the Gloucester 22 from which they came away with nothing. That continued the theme of wastefulness from Bath.
Munster have to get better at converting good field position into points.
“We just need to be more clinical, a little bit more patient, and serve each other to get one person across the line,” said McMillan.
“We’re just trying to get there a little bit too cheaply, and no one’s going to give up cheap tries, so we’ve just got to be prepared to earn them.”
So it’s a mental thing?
“Just trust. Trust in each other, yeah.”
Munster’s relationship with Páirc Uí Chaoimh started on a high with a brilliant night against South Africa A in November 2022. The place was rocking on an important night for Graham Rowntree’s team. They had endured an awful start to the season, but that win over the South Africans showed they could be better. The campaign ended with a URC title.
Munster squeezed past the Crusaders down the park in February 2024, the Kiwis missing a last-gasp conversion that would have levelled the game. Again, there was a sell-out crowd of more than 40,000 and it was a big hit.
It was clear that Munster needed to bring a competitive game to Páirc Uí Chaoimh and with attendances having been relatively low for the December pool game in the Champions Cup at Thomond Park in the last couple of years, this season felt right for a few reasons. What Munster anticipated as “a significant financial uplift” was one of them.
It’s a shame how things worked out this week with Gloucester’s selection and also the scrappy nature of the game, even if Munster got a bit more to cheer about at the end.
Munster will likely be back in the near future, and we can all hope that it will be a better spectacle when they do.
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Gloucester Munster stop-start