Following a 34-31 defeat to the Bulls in the United Rugby Championship clash at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, here are the player ratings for Munster.
15 Ben O’Connor: An epic kick and chase was the highlight as O’Connor turned defence into attack, while there was other nice moments in the opening half, but his impact was limited after moving to wing following Calvin Nash’s injury, but his nice line in the latter stages reduced the arrears. 7
14 Calvin Nash: Had some positive carries during the early stages but unfortunately his game ended following a nasty collision with Willie le Roux. 6
13 Dan Kelly: Usually technically accurate but some missed tackles in this game while he also did not contribute too much in attack. 5
12 Alex Nankivell: In contrast, Kelly’s centre partner was much more influential and was comfortably their top carrier. Made plenty of metres, mostly in traffic, and gave his side front foot ball. 8
11 Seán O’Brien: A threat on that left wing. Rewarded with a try as he always made ground with ball in hand. Plenty of penetrating runs as the visitors managed to cause problems for the Bulls defence. 7
Immense performance
10 Jack Crowley: Taken his Six Nations form back to Munster. Superb display from the fly-half, who linked the attack beautifully and also put his body on the line in defence, which included one brilliant turnover. Crowley will be gutted to miss two conversions in a three-point defeat, but he showed why he is well and truly the number one Ireland 10. 8
9 Craig Casey (c): Had a fine display, like his fellow half-back partner, kicking well and making good decisions around the breakdown. 8
8 Brian Gleeson: A shame he went off at half-time as his physicality at close quarters was giving his side go-forward. The youngster is a player the South African franchises wouldn’t mind having given his power in the carry. 6
7 Alex Kendellen: Floated a lovely pass for the O’Brien try and also carried well but his main work was making himself a nuisance at the breakdown. Had some success but the Bulls also managed to get plenty of quick ball. 7
6 Tom Ahern: Roamed in the wider channels and was rewarded with a brace of tries as he showed his finishing prowess. Some decent work in set-piece and around the field elsewhere. 7
Front five physicality
5 Fineen Wycherley: Lineout was solid for the majority of the match but Munster had some issues in the latter stages of the contest. Like the rest of his pack, Wycherley fronted up to the Bulls physicality. 6
4 Jean Kleyn: Set the tone physically early on and did his bit around the field and in the set-piece as Munster set a decent platform and limited the impact of the hosts’ superb scrum. 7
3 Michael Ala’alatoa: Struggled a bit since signing for the province but you couldn’t argue about the shift he put in here. 6
2 Diarmuid Barron: Missed his influence after he came off. Some good lineout and scrum work, and he was also lively in the loose. 6
1 Michael Milne: Under pressure at times in the scrum but an immense amount of work around the field with Milne giving everything at altitude. 6
Replacements: The Edogbos, Sean and Edwin, were both excellent, particularly the former, who came on for Gleeson at the interval. However, there was the odd lineout issue late on, while another early replacement, JJ Hanrahan, made a few errors. 6
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