Following Glasgow Warriors’ 28-25 victory over Munster at Scotstoun Stadium, here’s five takeaways from the United Rugby Championship clash.
Top Line
It was Glasgow Warriors v Munster so of course it was an epic. This might not be a geographical derby but there is certainly no love lost as the two sides went hammer and tongs at one another in a brilliant URC showdown.
Ultimately, it was the hosts that emerged victorious courtesy of a late try from prop Nathan McBeth, scoring his second five-pointer in as many matches.
Until that try, Franco Smith’s side had not hit the lead, with John Hodnett and Sean O’Brien (2) crossing the whitewash for the visitors and fly-half Tony Butler adding eight points from the tee and Rory Scannell two.
George Horne opened the scoring for the defending URC champions in the 27th minute, rounding off a sensational attack by the Warriors, before captain Kyle Steyn made it a one-point game before the break.
Matt Fagerson’s 68th-minute try paved the way for Glasgow’s late fight before McBeth rounded off the win.
Ultimately, it was the hosts who showed their championship credentials by doing what so many title-winning teams do – win games even when they are not playing their best and coming out on top when it matters.
Shaking off the rust
Both outfits were void of many of their Six Nations internationals for the fixture with most of the two starting XVs not playing a proper competitive match since earlier this month and it showed.
But when things clicked, boy it was a joy to watch with Hodnett finishing off a glorious Munster score for the Irish province, who went touchline to touchline several times before Butler weighted his kick to perfection for Andrew Smith who simply passed inside to his flanker.
Horne’s score was just as pleasing on the eye but it was clear to see that there was still rust in the legs from both sides when it came to executing the basics.
Notably, Smith will be fuming at his kickers, Adam Hastings and Duncan Weir, who seemingly conspired to nullify one of the Warriors’ most lethal attacking weapons, the rolling maul, by failing to find touch on three occasions to find touch with their line kicks. Those were diabolical mistakes with the Warriors trailing on the scoreboard and simply not of the standard expected of two players of their pedigree.
Munster did look good value for their lead at times but the continued failure to get clean attacking lineout ball continues to hamstring the side while they weren’t helped by needless penalties, racking up 14 in total compared to Glasgow’s eight.
Reckless ruck madness
On the topic of needless penalties, one can only wonder what Fineen Wycherley and Tom Farrell were thinking when they lifted Glasgow’s Alex Samuel at the breakdown. Wycherley was subsequently sent to the sin bin and did not have his yellow card upgraded to a red purely because Samuel landed on his side and not on his neck or head.
In fact, Farrell can also count himself fortunate as it would not be outside of the match officials’ scope to sanction both players for their actions at the breakdown, with the incident involving Duane Vermeulen against Italy during the 2019 Rugby World Cup being a notable example of two players being sent-off. It was a mindless act, a soft moment and one that could have cost Munster dearly.
Instead, Munster were able to not only survive the 10-minute period of being a man down but benefitted from it with Hodnett crossing the whitewash.
That was the most glaring example of just how messy the breakdown was at Scotstoun but far from the only one with both teams flying off their feet regularly, sealing off any kind of contest.
The Kyle Steyn effect
Gregor Townsend was in attendance today and surely looked on thinking what could have been in the Six Nations had the brilliant Steyn been available to him for the Championship.
Sure he was not short on options with the likes of Duhan van der Merwe, Darcy Graham and Kyle Rowe at his disposal for the tournament, but Steyn showed exactly why he is so highly thought of in Glasgow as a leader and attacker.
While so many others showed some rust having not played a competitive fixture since early March, that was not the case for the Warriors’ captain as he scored a blinder of try in the 35th minute as he cut through the Munster defence from far out.
His impact extended far further than that as he was excellent once again under the high ball, made good reads on defence and crucially interacted well with the officials.
As mentioned above, the breakdown was an utter mess for much of the match but there was a real turning point with Steyn having a kind word with South African referee Morne Ferreira and moments later, his team were rightly awarded a penalty.
That small word had a big impact even after Steyn was forced off the pitch, but when he came back on, he inspired his team over the line for a crucial win as the Warriors continue their bid to defend their title with the race to eight heating up.
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Race to eight
The URC resumed with just six rounds left to play with 15 teams in the running for a place in the play-offs and for Glasgow and Munster, a home knockout fixture was still very much on the table.
This fixture never fails to deliver a fiercely fought contest and it went right down to the wire with Jack Mann winning a stunning penalty with the clock well in the red to seal the win.
It means that Glasgow has strengthened their lead in second place to eight points with the Bulls having a game in hand but face the league leaders, Leinster, on Saturday.
Munster saw a four-point league boost – which would have seen them retain fifth place – slip when McBeth powered over the line from close range. It was a real shame for the Irish province, who had been in the lead from the 17th minute until the prop crossed with a handful of minutes left on the clock.
Ian Costello’s men now face the threat of dropping even further down the standings with Edinburgh and Connacht able to surpass them this weekend if results go in their favour against Benetton and Ospreys respectively.
From here on out, every point matters and Munster will be incredibly disappointed to leave one of the most hostile away grounds with just one point after putting themselves in a perfect position to leave with four.
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Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/glasgow-v-munster-five-takeaways-as-the-kyle-steyn-effect-leads-warriors-to-clutch-victory-despite-scotland-pair-nullifying-lethal-weapon
