Report | All Square Against Bath In Cork

Munster drew 28-28 against Bath in a strongly contested preseason clash at Virgin Media Park on Friday night.

In a unique game which consisted of three 30-minutes periods, Munster got vital minutes into the squad with 37 players taking to the field against the Premiership champions.

Munster got off to a bright start when JJ Hanrahan took the ball to the line to release Dan Kelly before quick thinking from Gavin Coombes brought play into Bath’s 22. Unfortunately the Premiership champions won the turnover to alleviate the danger.

Munster were forced into a change after three minutes when Diarmuid Kilgallen picked up a knock and he was replaced by Shay McCarthy.

The rain soon started to fall and this led to a few handling errors from both sides as both team had periods of possession without really dominating territory.

Munster took the lead after 17 minutes when a lineout was collected by Evan O’Connell. Munster opted against the rolling maul and instead played the ball to Alex Kendellen who made good ground in the carry despite a number of tackle attempts.

After a few more phases, Munster spread the ball wide to Andrew Smith and the winger accelerated into the little space he had to dive over in the corner. Hanrahan, in his first home game since he returned to Munster, nailed the touchline conversion to put Munster 7-0 up.

A lineout 5m from the Munster line spelled danger for the home side but Clayton McMillan’s side fronted up and repelled Bath’s rolling maul before winning a penalty at the subsequent scrum.

Just before the break, Munster were held up over the Bath line but with penalty advantage, Munster opted for a scrum five metres out. The Munster scrum edged towards the Bath line and the referee had no choice but to award the home side a penalty try.

With Munster leading 14-0 at the end of the first 30-minute period, a new front-row of Max Clein, Mark Donnelly and Conor Bartley joined the fray to begin the second period.

At the 45-minute mark, there were wholesale changes as ‘Team 2’ entered the fray to see out the second 45 minutes.

Miles Reid got a try back for Bath at the end of the 60 minute mark with Ciaran Donoghue notching the conversion to put seven points between the sides entering the final 30 minute period.

Munster restored their 14 point advantage seven minutes into the third period when a quick tap free kick from Craig Casey got Munster on the front foot before Michael Milne crashed over from close range. Tony Butler added the conversion to leave Munster 21-7 in front.

Munster extended their advantage when Mike Haley produced some excellent footwork to get through a gap in the Bath defence to score under the posts. Butler’s conversion put Munster 28-7 in front with just over 15 minutes remaining in the match.

Bath responded just moments later when Henry Arundell got over for a well worked try which Tom de Glanville converted.

With just a few minutes remaining, Bath struck for two quick-fire converted tries which levelled the match 28-28 going into the final two minutes.

Munster pushed for a winner but the match finished all square.

Munster (Team 1): Shane Daly; Andrew Smith, Seán O’Brien (Gibbons 60′), Dan Kelly (Wood 60′), Diarmuid Kilgallen (McCarthy 3′); JJ Hanrahan, Ethan Coughlan (Patterson 35′); Jeremy Loughman (Donnelly 30′)), Niall Scannell (C) (Clein 30′)), Oli Jager (Bartley 30′); Evan O’Connell, Tom Ahern; Ruadhán Quinn (Edogbo 35′), Alex Kendellen, Gavin Coombes.

Munster (Team 2): Mike Haley; Ben O’Connor, Fionn Gibbons, Gordon Wood, Thaakir Abrahams; Tony Butler, Craig Casey (C) (Patterson 76′); Michael Milne (Donnelly 71′), Lee Barron, John Ryan (Bartley 60′); Conor Ryan, Fineen Wycherley; Jack O’Donoghue, John Hodnett, Brian Gleeson.

Replacements: Max Clein, Mark Donnelly, Conor Bartley (Foxe 76′), Ronan Foxe, Michael Foy, Seán Edogbo, Paddy Patterson, Shay McCarthy.