Munster 19
Gloucester 33
MUNSTER SHIPPED FIVE first-half tries and slipped to a second defeat this pre-season as Gloucester punished an error-strewn performance at Musgrave Park.
The Premiership side ran out 33-19 victors despite not scoring in the second half, with Munster left to rue defensive disconnects, soft tackling, and general ring-rust in attack.
Tries by Charlie Atkinson, Ollie Thorley, Max Llewyllyn, Afo Fasogbon, George Barton — four of the five of them converted by fullback Barton — gave Gloucester a lead at the break which proved unassailable as both sides emptied their benches in a more experimental second half.
Munster took an early lead through Liam Coombes, but further tries by Ruadhán Quinn and first-time starter Jack Oliver in either half scarcely kept them in touch with their Premiership opponents.
New Munster signing Thaakir Abrahams also made his first start in red in front of 4,497 fans at Musgrave Park but, aside from the odd electrical spark, he found himself starved of opportunities to leave his mark.
Munster did seek out the South African at the very first opportunity: from a scum inside the Gloucester half, Billy Burns pinged a picture-perfect cross-kick out left to Abrahams who raced it 20 metres further upfield.
While the rapid wing was eventually hauled down, his burst gave Munster excellent field position from which Liam Coombes eventually opened the scoring after a lengthy goal-line stand from Gloucester.
Coombes, however, handed back those seven points immediately after Billy Burns’ conversion.
The Skibbereen native turned awkwardly into Gareth Anscombe’s restart, colliding with Seán O’Brien in the process. The ball bounced backwards off Coombes’ shoulder and into a corridor of space in which Gloucester inside centre Charlie Atkinson pounced to score just left of Munster’s sticks. Fullback George Barton levelled from the tee.
To make matters worse for Coombes, he was forced off with an injury before play resumed. Patrick Campbell replaced him on the right wing.
Nearing the end of an otherwise scrappy first quarter, Gloucester ominously clicked into gear and pieced together a sumptuous move to retake the lead.
Wing Ollie Thorley provided the finishing touch after wonderful hands by Tomos Williams, Max Llewyllyn and George Barton carved Munster open down the left edge. Barton was again spot-on with the extras after Thorley significantly narrowed his angle.
And whereas Gloucester smartly rebuffed Munster’s attempted reply, Munster’s defence was quickly being reduced to rag order.
It was torn to shreds again on 25 minutes by outside centre Llewyllyn, who waltzed through a glaring hole, shrugged off a tame attempted tackle by Mike Haley, and easily stepped the scrambling Abrahams to score under the posts. Anscombe stretched Gloucester’s lead to 21-7.
Ruadhán Quinn then finished powerfully for an unconverted score after a Munster lineout maul was stopped short, but Gloucester were having to work far less for their own scores.
The visitors built a 33-12 lead with five minutes remaining in the first half: tighthead Afo Fasogbon firstly dove over from close range after some wonderful hands in midfield and a subsequent break by Tomos Williams. Then, fullback Barton walked one in from a different post code, a score which tested the patience of the home support. Barton converted the second of those two tries.
Gloucester again made a goal-line stand up the other end and went in at the break 21 points to the good.
Thankfully for Munster, George Skivington switched out virtually his entire backline at half-time, with sole survivor Charlie Atkinson moving from inside centre to out-half.
Munster, meanwhile, made just one change at the break, with Patrick Campbell — a first-half replacement in his own right — subbed off for Tom Farrell. Shane Daly consequently shifted from 13 to the right wing. (Campbell, thankfully, wasn’t injured: he came back on as a blood sub for Mike Haley later in the second half.
Musgrave Park favourite Seán Edogbo was among the five Munster forwards unleashed from the bench on 48 minutes and, almost immediately, he combined nicely with Abrahams for what looked like an invigorating Munster score. The young back row was pulled back by referee Andrew Cole, however, to pull it back for a forward pass earlier in the move.
Munster did eventually register the first score of the second half, first-time starter Jack Oliver with the snipe from the Gloucester line after a testing 55 minutes to that point. Billy Burns reduced the deficit to 14 with the close-range conversion.
A quietish debut for Abrahams ended a couple of minutes shy of the hour mark as Mike Haley returned to the field following a blood sub and Pa Campbell stayed put on the left wing.
With just over 15 minutes remaining, Munster let slip a couple of gilt-edged opportunities to bring the gap back to a single score. Garryowen recruit Bryan Fitzgerald was particularly unlucky as he created space down the left edge but appeared to slip as he attempted to send over Alex Kendellen in the corner, causing him to partly botch his pass.
From a scrum penalty soon afterwards, the hosts knocked on the door again but Gloucester held them up over the line. It was emblematic of a game in which the Premiership side had more answers than Munster were able to ask questions.
With just over eight minutes remaining, Tom Farrell had a try under the sticks chalked off for a knock-on in the lead-up. The result from that point felt beyond Munster, who continued to get in their own way as far as full-time.
Scorers for Munster:
Tries: Liam Coombes, Ruadhán Quinn, Jack Oliver. Cons: Billy Burns (2/3). Pens: n/a.
Scorers for Gloucester:
Tries: Charlie Atkinson, Ollie Thorley, Max Llewyllyn, Afo Fasogbon, George Barton. Cons: George Barton (4/5). Pens: n/a.
Munster: Mike Haley; Liam Coombes, Shane Daly, Seán O’Brien, Thaakir Abrahams; Billy Burns, Jack Oliver; Josh Wycherley, Niall Scannell, Stephen Archer; Gavin Coombes, Fineen Wycherley; Ruadhán Quinn, Alex Kendellen, Jack O’Donoghue (C).
Replacements: Diarmuid Barron, Scott Buckley, Eoghan Clarke, Jeremy Loughman, John Ryan, Ronan Foxe, Conor Ryan, Jack Daly, Seán Edogbo, Luca Cleary, Tony Butler, Tom Farrell, Bryan Fitzgerald, Gordon Wood, Patrick Campbell.
Gloucester: George Barton, Christian Wade, Max Llewyllyn, Charlie Atkinson, Ollie Thorley, Gareth Anscombe, Tomos Williams; Jamal Ford Robinson, Jack Singleton, Afo Fasogbon, Freddie Clarke, Ruan Ackermann, Ciao James, Harry Taylor, Zach Mercer.
Replacements: Ciaran Knight, Gareth Blackmore, Alfie Petch, Freddie Thomas, Deiane Gwynne, Jack Clement, Caolan Englefield, Jack Reeves, Louis Hillman-Cooper, Matt Ward, Morgan Adderly-Jones, George Knowles, Lewis Ludlow, Charlie Chapman.
Referee: Andrew Cole
Assistant referees: Andrew Fogarty, Tomás O’Sullivan
TMO: Stephen Curtin
