Saturday’s United Rugby Championship clash between the fifth-place Munster and the third-place Bulls in Limerick eventually fell the way of the South African visitors on a 16-13 scoreline following a bizarre 14-minute second-half period where the hosts were incorrectly forced to play a man down.

Both teams came into the round 15 league match on the back of away losses in European competition, Munster losing their Investec Champions Cup quarter-final at Bordeaux and the Bulls getting beaten in their Challenge Cup last-eight match at Edinburgh.

Having confirmed on Friday four changes to their starting XV, interim Munster boss Ian Costello was forced into making two more alterations with Craig Casey and Peter O’Mahony withdrawing before the start, and Conor Murray and Jack O’Donoghue getting promoted from the bench.

On a greasy day where the flow of the stop-start action wasn’t helped by the jittery officiating of referee Andrea Piardi, the Bulls dominated the opening half-hour and were good value for their 10-0 lead before Munster hit back to tie it up at 10-all by the break.

A tetchy encounter got even edgier in the second half when the exit of replacement tighthead Stephen Archer, with the scores now tied at 13-all, resulted in the sacrificing of No8 Alex Kendellen to accommodate the match going to contested scrums.

However, it eventually materialised 14 minutes later that Munster weren’t required to go down a man as the early first-half exit of Ollie Jager was due to a failed head injury assessment, so the law penalising the team for having to go to uncontested scrums should not have been implemented.

This restoration to a full complement of 15 players, though, didn’t help Munster as the match was lost 13-16 to a 73rd-minute Keegan Johannes penalty. Here is how we rated Costello’s team:

Munster player ratings v Bulls

15 Thaakir Abrahams: Munster’s attacking threat becomes different gravy when the full-back gets on the ball with a yard of space to exploit. Just look at his 26th-minute foot shuffle when galloping out of his 22, or the classy finish for his 37th-minute try. Unable to inflict further damage in the second half. 6

14 Sean O’Brien: One of six changes to the starting XV beaten last weekend in Bordeaux, his effort was committed. His enthusiasm was seen in his reaction to a 25th-minute slip, immediately getting back to his feet and intercepting an ensuing Bulls pass. His night unfortunately ended with his 83rd-minute knock-on, which ended Munster’s 20-phase last stand. 5

13 Tom Farrell: This wasn’t the best of efforts from the outside centre and his lack of experience at this level was seen in his rash option to try and kick in the 80th minute when Munster needed to keep the ball in hand. 5

12 Alex Nankivell: Exhibited deceptively sweet hands in the lead up to the lone Munster try, distracting the defence and finding Jack Crowley, who sent in Abrahams. Made some decent carries into traffic in his 74 minutes on a very unglamorous, wet evening for running. 6

11 Andrew Smith: One of Munster’s best last weekend in France, he played 52 minutes here without majorly catching the eye. 5

10 Jack Crowley: Was in the Bulls’ crosshairs all night, starting with an 11th-minute double hit from Sebastian de Klerk and Devon Williams and ending with another juddering collision in the final moments. In between, he was effective in creating his team’s try and his attempted 60th-minute catch, kick and chase exemplified his ambition. 7

9 Conor Murray: One of the two late call-ups to start, the veteran’s box-kicking was a constant feature throughout his 74 minutes on the pitch. Showed some slick passing at times, particularly in the pressure that built in the lead-up to Munster’s try. 6

8 Alex Kendellen: Was a defiant presence in decreasing the intensity of the first-half Bulls charge, pouncing on a loose 20th-minute ball and then winning a breakdown penalty just before the break. Will be annoyed that the incorrect application of the uncontested scrum laws cost him 14 minutes on the pitch in the second half, but his eventual return was blighted by giving away the high tackle penalty that gave Bulls their match-winning kick. 6

Munster v Bulls: Five takeaways as officiating mare dampens historic first South African victory at Thomond Park

7 Jack O’Donoghue: Another late call-up, he played the entire 83 minutes, and his physicality helped to get Munster back into the contest after a collectively worrying opening 30 minutes. 6

6 Tom Ahern: At fault for the penalised neck roll that allowed the Bulls to go 10-3 up, that was his only blemish on an evening where he was excellent value. It was his catch of a crosskick on 33 minutes near halfway that shifted the momentum and ignited his team. His last act was then a 67th-minute breakdown penalty win. 7

5 Tadhg Beirne: Normally a consistently top performer, his levels dropped as he looked leggy throughout. His stunted display was capped by uncharacteristic handling errors on 61 and 78 minutes. 4

4 Jean Kleyn: Didn’t back away from a tough grunt of an evening against his fellow South Africans, whose pack had come to Limerick to be a real nuisance. Can be pleased with his energetic work rate across his 67 minutes. 6

3 Oli Jager: His rotten run with injury had another example here, the tighthead exiting the fray on 14 minutes after coming off worse in a tackle on Ruan Nortje. No rating

2 Niall Scannell: Will kick himself that his loose vigilance at a 16th-minute ruck allowed Marcell Coetzee to dive in unopposed. His lineout accuracy was also a frustration, but he kept trying as evident in the penalty-winning carry that allowed Munster to build pressure in the closing stages of the first half. 4

1 Josh Wycherley: Will take a lot from his battle with veteran Wilco Louw when the scrum was a full-blooded contest. 5

Replacements: The bench overall didn’t make a defining impact. Sub tighthead Stephen Archer did do a decent job in taking some heat from the Bulls scrum before his 52nd-minute exit resulted in uncontested scrums. There was also a debut for newly signed hooker Lee Barron but his second lineout throw was crooked, continuing the club’s misfiring in this area this last month. 5

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Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/munster-player-ratings-v-bulls-leggy-lions-hopeful-not-helped-by-uncharacteristic-errors