A spirited second-half fightback wasn’t enough for Munster as they went down 15-14 to Ulster in their United Rugby Championship clash at Thomond Park.
Ulster scored all their points in the opening half as crossings from Jordi Murphy, Tom Steward and James Hume sent them into the break leading 15-3.
Munster had produced a disjointed performance up to that point, but they absorbed Malakai Fekitoa’s sin-binning and Jack Crowley kicked three penalties.
Crucially, the post prevented the Munster fly-half from converting Shane Daly’s 66th-minute score and the hosts were unable to avoid their fifth successive interprovincial defeat – and third of the current season.
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Murphy, a late inclusion for the injured Sean Reffell, rewarded Ulster‘s early decision to go for the corner by scoring from a well-executed lineout drive.
Crowley closed the gap to 5-3 with his first penalty, punishing Duane Vermeulen for an off-the-ball scuffle with Diarmuid Barron.
However, the visitors’ maul found another defensive chink and Emerging Ireland hooker Stewart crashed over. The conversion proved too difficult again for Nathan Doak.
Advancing from two breakdown steals by Edwin Edogbo, Munster’s lineout and handling unfortunately let them down inside the opposition 22.
Although David McCann was denied a try due to a Doak knock-on, he was soon the victim of a high tackle from Fekitoa which saw him sin-binned. Hume duly added a third unconverted try.
Some hair-raising running from John Hodnett saw Munster improve on the restart, as Crowley ate into the deficit.
The Cork youngster made it a six-point game in the 54th minute, and Ulster went down to 14 men when replacement Cormac Izuchukwu saw yellow for preventing a quick tap.
Simon Zebo made a big impact on his introduction, running hard out to the right where he flicked a pass over Stewart Moore to put Daly over in the right corner. Crowley’s conversion hit the woodwork.
Despite Munster stopping Ulster from mauling over during a frenetic finish, the home side’s hopes of creating a match-winning score were crushed by a Vermeulen penalty win at the breakdown.
Connacht edge Ospreys on the road
In the late game, Jack Carty’s second-half drop-goal proved just enough for Connacht to edge out Ospreys 22-19 in an entertaining clash in Swansea.
Both teams scored three each but Ospreys will reflect on surrendering an early 12-0 lead as they were left with just one win from their opening seven United Rugby Championship fixtures.
Connacht’s tries came from Alex Wootton, Caolin Blade and John Porch, with Carty converting two to go along with his ultimately crucial drop-goal.
Huw Sutton, Reuben Morgan-Williams and Sam Parry crossed for Ospreys, Jack Walsh adding two conversions.
Dragons cruise past Zebre Parma
Elsewhere, the Dragons’ impressive revival continued in emphatic fashion at Rodney Parade with a five-try 47-7 trouncing of Zebre Parma.
A third victory of the campaign sees the Men of Gwent occupying the relative heady heights of mid-table in the United Rugby Championship, with more wins by the end of October than the two they managed all last season.
While their supporters will have expected no less against an Italian side who arrived in Newport without a win from their first six games, the manner of this success endorsed the feeling that better days lie ahead.
With former Cardiff fly-half Dai Flanagan currently in charge following the messy and as-yet-unresolved departure of Dean Ryan, the new, buoyant mood around the region is palpable.
Tries from Rhodri Williams, Dean Richards (2), Steffan Hughes and Angus O’Brien and the solid boot of Sam Davies saw the Dragons to the maximum.
Stormers fight back to beat Lions
In the early match, the Stormers rediscovered their winning touch but were made to fight hard for a 31-22 bonus-point victory over the Lions in Johannesburg.
John Dobson’s men – the defending URC champions – saw their 14-match winning run in the competition halted by a draw at the Ospreys in Round Five before losing at Cardiff last weekend.
But they arrested that brief slump at Emirates Airline Park on Saturday against a Lions side who have now lost all three of their home matches this season, having won all three away.
The Lions led 22-10 at half-time as Henco van Wyk’s try was complemented by a combined 17 points from the boots of Jordan Hendrikse and Sanele Nohamba.
A Stormers rally in the second half saw Sacha Mngomezulu, Clayton Blommetjies and Nama Xaba all go over, while Manie Libbok kicked 11 points in total.
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