Dec 21,2024
Tom Farrell pulled off a Christmas miracle as Munster snatched a dramatic bonus-point win away to Ulster, and inflicted a fifth defeat in a row on their hosts.
The Munster centre pulled his side kicking and screaming over the line on a night that produced a sensational final quarter, after a game that had been slow to get going.
Farrell scored a hat-trick as he continued his brilliant season at his new province, the last of those scores coming with the final play of the game to seal a 22-19 win.
Munster played the bulk of the game with 14 players after Ulster's Tom O’Toole had been sent off just after the 30-minute mark for a dangerous clearout on Alex Nankivell, falling into the Munster man’s standing leg, and receiving a red card from referee Ben Whitehouse.
O’Toole had scored Ulster’s early try to make it 7-0, while they led 7-5 as Farrell’s first of the night kept Munster in touch.
With both sides coming into this game in poor form, it looked like one of those nights where neither team knew how to win. They traded tries after half-time when Farrell scored his second, only for Harry Sheridan to put Ulster back in front with 15 minutes left on the clock.
Farrell turned provider for Shane Daly to restore the Munster lead, but with Jack Crowley missing his third conversion from three, Munster’s lead was only 15-12 heading into the final 10 minutes, and it looked like they would be left to rue those misses when McNabney’s try gave Ulster a late lead.
But Farrell completed his stunning individual performance with the final play of the game to cap off the win, while Ulster’s players and supporters were furious about a potential head contact in the build-up, which went unchecked.
After conceding 17 penalties in last week’s defeat to Castres, Munster started this game in a similarly indisciplined manner, giving up four penalties in quick succession by the seventh minute.
Three of those penalties would have been easily kicked by Cooney, but Ulster were keen to lay down an early mark, opting instead for kicks to the corner of tap-and-go moves, which eventually paid dividends when O’Toole burrowed beneath the posts to score a try, and Cooney converted to make it 7-0 to the hosts after eight minutes.
Next it was Ulster’s turn to cough up penalties, but they were saved by a litany of Munster errors. In the first event Crowley missed touch, and when he did find the line on his next two efforts, his forwards couldn’t execute either lineout in the opposition 22.
A shaky start from Crowley continued when he gave away a penalty for blocking the kick-chase on 17 minutes, as Ulster again kicked into a promising position, but after hammering at the Munster 22 for a lengthy set of phases, the visitors’ defence held firm before winning a penalty for a croc roll by Kieran Treadwell.
Munster had barely played any rugby in the Ulster 22 for the opening 25 minutes, but when they finally got some territory together, Farrell barrelled his way over for their opening try on 27 minutes. An Ulster clearance had been run back at them by Calvin Nash, and when John Hodnett straightened the line with a good carry, quick hands by Mike Haley and Shane Daly put Farrell into space as he rode two tackles before making it to the line. Crowley’s conversion was left and wide, leaving Ulster 7-5 in front.
Three minutes later, Munster won another penalty on halfway after Rob Herring had failed to release, but when Munster’s Nankivell stayed down injured, referee Whitehouse was called to review the ruck by his TMO, with O’Toole red-carded for dropping his weight on Nankivell’s leg, one which also ended the Munster man’s night.
Once more, Munster’s execution let them down on the following attack, as Jack O’Donoghue got turned over by Herring for an Ulster penalty, as the hosts brought a 7-5 lead into the break.
The first 10 minutes of the second half continued along similar lines, as both sides struggled to get any meaningful phases together, and the game played out largely in the middle third.
It caught fire on 52 minutes though; Crowley sent a delicate crossfield kick towards Farrell just inside the Ulster half, and after he popped the ball down towards Haley, the full-back flicked it back up to Farrell after he was tackled, and the centre ran in for his second try.
Crowley couldn’t take advantage, with his conversion slicing right and wide, and Ulster were given an immediate chance to punish that miss when they won a penalty in the Munster 22 straight off the restart.
Twice in the space of three minutes Ulster were held up over the line by Munster defenders, but despite playing with 14 men, the hosts were controlling the game.
Just after the hour mark, it was 14v14, as Rory Scannell was yellow-carded for an off the ball tackle, and this time Ulster made them pay, as Cooney broke to the right off a maul, before Sheridan came back against the grain to dive over and score. Ulster were back in front, but it stayed 12-10 after Cooney’s conversion came back off the post on 67 minutes.
Incredibly, Munster were back in front within two minutes, Daly burning down the wing and out-pacing Cooney on the outside, after a beautiful pass by Brian Gleeson had sent Calvin Nash through the initial gap.
For the third time on the night though, Crowley’s conversion was wide of the posts, leaving Munster with a slender 15-12 lead, with 13 minutes left.
Now it was frantic, as Ulster came piling back into the 22. They were almost over for another try when Scott Wilson was stopped just short by Coombes, while but with four minutes left it looked like they had landed the final blow when James McNabney squeezed over to his side’s third try, as Cooney converted to make it 19-15.
But there was still time for Munster – and Farrell – to have the final say, as he latched onto Nash’s pass in the 79th minute to complete his hat-trick, as Crowley let the clock run into the red as he completed his first conversion of the night to seal a vital 22-19 win.
Ulster scorers: Tries: Tom O’Toole, Harry Sheridan, James McNabney
Cons: John Cooney (2)
Munster scorers: Tries: Tom Farrell (3), Shane Daly
Cons: Jack Crowley (1)
Ulster: Michael Lowry; Werner Kok, Jude Postlethwaite, Stuart McCloskey, Zac Ward; Aidan Morgan, John Cooney; Andrew Warwick, Rob Herring, Tom O'Toole; Alan O'Connor (capt), Kieran Treadwell; James McNabney, Marcus Rea, David McCann.
Replacements: John Andrew, Eric O'Sullivan (for Warwick, 63), Scott Wilson (for Telfer, 34), Harry Sheridan (for Treadwell, 61), Matty Rea (for Marcus Rea, 65), Dave Shanahan, Jack Murphy (for McCloskey, 38), Rory Telfer (for Ward, 24).
Munster: Mike Haley; Calvin Nash, Tom Farrell, Alex Nankivell, Shane Daly; Jack Crowley, Paddy Patterson; John Ryan, Niall Scannell, Stephen Archer; Tom Ahern, Fineen Wycherley; Jack O'Donoghue (capt), John Hodnett, Gavin Coombes.
Replacements: Eoghan Clarke, Dave Kilcoyne (for Ryan, 49-69), Oli Jager (for Archer, 49), Evan O'Connell (for O’Donoghue, 49), Alex Kendellen (for Hodnett, 56), Ethan Coughlan (for Patterson, 45-55 and 66), Rory Scannell (for Nankivell, 34), Brian Gleeson (for Wycherley, 62).
Referee: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)
