O’Donoghue gets Munster off to the perfect start at revamped Musgrave
JACK O’DONOGHUE graced Munster’s first game at the revamped Musgrave Park with try on his first start to earn victory over Cardiff Blues.
Munster climb to the top of the PRO12 standings after the win, until this afternoon at least when Leinster and Glasgow Warriors play, but coach Anthony Foley will be most pleased with the victory from his inexperienced side.
A bout of flu forced the late withdrawal of Ian Keatley and Andrew Conway before kick-off, but the Munster boss will be thrilled with the performances of No 8 O’Donoghue and Rory Scannell, both of whom made their first starts at home.
And the Northampton-bound JJ Hanrahan gave Munster the lead in the 11th minute with a straightforward penalty from underneath the posts, but that chance only arrived when his earlier kick rebounded off the posts and Ronan O’Mahony’s determination earned him a second chance. But Cardiff had started brightly, and when Rhys Patchell kicked the levelling penalty – his good interplay with Lucas Amorosino forced Jack O’Donoghue to hold on – it was well deserved.
Patchell doubled his tally in the 18th minute when Billy Holland was penalised for the same offence after he brought Manoa Vosawai’s piercing run to a halt, and he made it 9-3 to the visitors on the half-hour mark when Dave O’Callaghan infringed at a lineout.
Despite the deficit, Munster continued to attack. Duncan Williams was proving dangerous
at the back of the ruck – he often looked for the inside pass to catch out Cardiff’s drift defence – while the returning Luke O’Dea, in for his first start since December 2012, also featured heavily.
Five minutes from the break, Hanrahan put three points between the sides, but his equaliser on the stroke of halftime was the toughest kick of the lot from wide on the right.
The second half didn’t start too well for Munster as the Cardiff scrum began to gain the upper hand, but the home side took a significant stride towards the win in the 48th minute when Denis Hurley crossed for the game’s opening try. Both Ronan O’Mahony and Hanrahan were halted inches short, but once ball was generated Hurley did well to power over from a few inches.
Hanrahan kicked the conversion from the left for a 16-9 lead. Strong running from Ronan O’Mahony and Earls was proving difficult for Cardiff to cope with, and after 60 minutes a mazy run from Earls almost sent Hanrahan in for a try. The Kerry man was stopped in his tracks, but Billy Holland was on hand to send O’Donoghue in for the try.
Hanrahan’s conversion made it 23-9 for the home side, but Josh Navidi hit back 10 minutes later.