Champs through and the toast is Sherry

DEFENDING champions Munster waltzed into the quarter-finals as two firsthalf tries from Mike Sherry saw them to a straightforward win at Irish Independent Park.

Ospreys coach Tom Smith was not as downcast as he might have been following his side’s heavy defeat, as they recovered from the concession of 20 points in the first half and responded with an improved display to deny Munster a bonus point.

“It’s never nice when you lose by 27 points and fail to score, but there were positives to take from the game,” said Smith.

“In the first-half we were a bit disorganised and allowed them to dictate the way the game was played, but they learned from the experience and it was a much better second-half.

“This level of competition was new to a few of our players and it took them a bit to acclimatise, but they will be all the better for the experience.”

Munster took the lead when Sherry crossed for his first try after 18 minutes, while his second two minutes from the interval put Munster in control.

Bill Johnston converted both and added two penalties before Ireland U20 international Gavin Coombes crossed for Munster’s third try on the hour mark.

Johnston converted and Harri Morgan’s bright linebreak in the second-half was as close as Ospreys came to scoring on the night. They end the competition without a win to their name.