Ospreys 17

Munster 27

Rob Cole reports from Swansea.com Stadium

A SUPERB DEFENSIVE display and two intercept tries from man of the match Sean O’Brien formed the basis of an excellent away win for Munster as they made it five wins in a row over Welsh regional opposition to continue their rise up the URC table.

The reigning champions invited the home side to try to break them down but totally frustrated the Ospreys’ attempts to turn their massive territorial advantage into much-needed points.

It ended in a huge Munster tackle count — with John Hodnett leading the way with 20 — and a victory that was mostly achieved without the ball. But it yielded five points and symbolised the sort of belligerent effort that would have had head coach Graham Rowntree purring with delight.

Five times the Ospreys broke into the Munster 22′ in the first half, yet only once did they score. Compare those five points to the 19 plundered by Munster in their four visits in the opening 40 minutes: that was the game in a nutshell.

The first Munster try came after only three minutes: Joey Carbery kicked a penalty into the Ospreys 22′, RG Snyman won the ball and four passes later, Shane Daly was galloping 20 metes up the left touchline to score in the corner.

Carbery added the extras before Daly’s wing partner O’Brien took centre-stage with two try-scoring interceptions. The first came on his 10-metre line when he picked off a pass from Owen Williams intended for Keelan Giles. That became a straight foot-race between O’Brien and Giles, which the Munster man won with an excellent hand-off in full flight. There was no conversion this time but Carbery was back on target when O’Brien somehow conjured up a second try.

This time, he grabbed a Keiran Williams pass before kicking up the touchline as he was challenged on halfway.

He ran out of the field as he watched the ball bobble upfield, inches shy of the touchline, but managed another controlled kick ahead before beating Justin Tipuric in the race to the ball. There was one final bit of drama as Williams came rushing onto the scene and tried to hack the ball away, only to kick it into O’Brien, who gratefully accepted the stroke of fortune and touched down.

If that was miraculous, another astonishing feature of the first half was that Munster managed to keep their line intact for so long. By the time Giles went over in the 34th minute, it was for the home side’s first points on what was their fifth entry into the 22′.

By contrast, Munster had managed 19 points from just four entries but they came up empty — just — on their fifth, as Rhys Davies turned over a ruck on his line after referee Holly Davidson had sent Tipuric to the sin-bin.

Two minutes after Tipuric returned in the second half, his side got back into the contest with a driving line-out try from Sam Parry which Williams improved. The Swansea.com Stadium expected a grandstand finish.

Munster had other plans. They simply got into the home 22′, went through 12 phases, and worked the giant Snyman over for the bonus-point try four minutes later. Carbery’s conversion hit the upright, but a few minutes later he was back on target with a 38-metre penalty to stretch the lead to 15 points.

The Ospreys got a third try when former Wales and Lions wing Alex Cuthbert powered over. He would have scored a second before the end but as he raced unopposed to the left-hand corner, he pulled up lame with a left hamstring injury.

That stroke of utter misfortune cost the home side two bonus points. They had a penalty to come back to, but Williams kicked the ball dead.

If that summed up the frustrating night for the Ospreys, the 20 tackles put in by John Hodnett as well as the 15 from Snyman were at the heart of an amazing defensive effort from the visitors.

Munster may have had to make twice as many tackles as their hosts, but their game management was far superior and they were good value for their latest triumph.

Ospreys scorers: Tries: K Giles, S Parry, A Cuthbert; Con: O Williams.

Munster scorers: Tries: S O’Brien 2, S Daly, RG Snyman; Cons: J Carbey 2; Pen: J Carbery

Ospreys: I Hopkins (J Walsh 41); A Cuthbert, E Boshoff (O Watkin 68), K Williams, K Giles; O Williams, R Morgan-Williams (C Jones 78); N Smith (R Henry 32), S Parry (L Lloyd 75), T Botha (G Phillips), J Ratti, R Davies (H Sutton 74), J Rudolph (H Deaves 52), J Tipuric (capt), M Morris

Munster: M Haley; S O’Brien, A Frisch, R Scannell (S McCarthy 75), S Daly; J Carbery (T Butler 72), C Casey (E Coughlan 72); J Wycherley (J Loughman 45), N Scannell (E Clarke 74), J Ryan (S Archer 59), T Ahern, RG Snyman (J O’Donoghue 59), J Hodnett (R Quinn 63), A Kendellen (captain), G Coombes

Referee: Hollie Davidson (Scotland)