Edwin Edogbo try gives Munster narrow win against Stormers

Munster returned to winning ways in the BKT United Rugby Championship, bouncing back from last week's defeat to Ulster with a gritty 10-3 win against the Stormers in Limerick.

Just under six months on from their nail-biting URC final in Cape Town, this was a much different kind of game between the sides, with both teams struggling to deal with the conditions at a windy and sometimes rainy Thomond Park.

In a game with so few attacking opportunities, it was a day for the kickers and Jack Crowley continued his impressive growth in a Munster shirt.

The out-half was Player of the Match as he impressively managed Munster’s game in difficult conditions, while making both of his shots at goal.

His penalty after just under a quarter of an hour got them on the board, before he converted Edwin Edogbo’s try just before half time. Edogbo is another who seems to be growing in confidence every time he plays, and the Corkman was tireless in his 50-minute shift.

There were other players who stood up to be counted after last week’s defeat to Ulster, with Alex Nankivell impressing in defence, and the New Zealander came up with an incisive break during the first half which Munster couldn’t make count.

The province’s lineout was much improved with Tadhg Beirne and Peter O’Mahony back in the side, but it was in the scrum where Munster will be worried. They were consistently driven back by a powerful Stormers' pack and only for a dogged defence, which held up Evan Roos over the line twice, Munster could have been staring at a second defeat in a row.

Munster played with a strong wind at their backs in the opening half but struggled to put it to any use early on.

Indeed, it was the Stormers who dealt better with the conditions, sending multiple contestable kicks into the Limerick sky, with Shay McCarthy and Shane Daly both guilty of misjudging the flight of the ball, resulting in knock-ons.

The hosts were also understaffing rucks in the opening quarter; on two occasions they were shoved off their own ball after leaving ball-carriers unprotected, but the Stormers couldn't make them pay, their only venture into the Munster 22 in the first 20 minutes ended with Beirne stealing a lineout from the throw of Joseph Dweba.

Dweba’s lineouts were being targeted by Munster, and the Springbok gave up a crooked throw shortly after, while O’Mahony pinched a lineout on 13 minutes which led to the first points of the game.

From the stolen lineout, Munster worked infield and won a penalty under the posts, and even with a tricky wind it was a tap-over for Crowley to make it 3-0.

Sacha Feinberg Mngomezulu had the chance to draw the sides level shortly after with a penalty of his own, but kicking into a sneeze of rain, his strike from 35 metres pulled to the left and wide.

Linebreaks had been a rarity, but on 26 minutes Nankivell gave Munster their first big attack in the Stormers 22 when he found a gap in the defence, but after 13 phases of wide rugby, the hosts eventually coughed up possession after an O’Mahony knock-on.

Slowly but surely the game was opening up, and the bounce of a ball denied the Stormers from scoring the game’s first try on 30 minutes.

Warrick Gelant played Leolin Zas through a gap in midfield as the winger skipped inside Edogbo and Loughman, and after chipping over the head of Crowley, the ball took a sharp bounce to the right, landing safely for Daly to cover.

In the final 10 minutes of the half, Munster got their attack going. Ruhan Nel gave them the 22 entry with a deliberate knock-on, and after the Stormers infringed three times in a row at the lineout and maul their captain Neethling Fouche was sent to the sin-bin.

Munster had three minutes left to get a try before half time, and they did it just as the clock hit 40 minutes. Playing with penalty advantage, they moved infield off a lineout, and after nine phases Edogbo touched down to the right of the posts, Crowley converting to put them 10-0 in front at the break.

Munster lost captain O'Mahony at half time, and five minutes into the second half they saw their lead trimmed. Edogbo was penalised in his own 22 for playing scrum-half Paul de Wet, and this time Feinberg Mngomezulu chipped it between the posts to cut the gap to seven points, 10-3.

Edogbo was heavily involved in everything for Munster, and the second row came close to scoring his second try on 50 minutes.

The province had got into the 22 after winning back-to-back penalties, but after Buckley found Beirne with a great throw to the tail of the lineout, Edogbo was stopped short of the line and eventually penalised for holding on to the ball.

The scrum had been the one area of Stormers supremacy in the opening half, and it continued after the break. Between the 53rd and 57th minutes the South Africans won three penalties in a row at the set-piece as they piled on pressure in the Munster 22.

The hosts were defending for their lives though and after eventually holding the last of those scrums up to completion, it took a big defensive effort to hold Evan Roos up over the line.

Even as both sides called in the replacements, the scrum continued to be an issue for Munster. On 68 minutes they gave up another penalty, this time in the Stormers half, but were given a major let-off when Feinberg Mngomezulu’s kick for touch was mishit, running all the way through the dead-ball line.

While not threatening the Stormers line, Munster started to play the game in the right areas of the pitch in the final quarter, pinning the South Africans back into their own half, and holding on to the ball to professionally kill the clock.

With three minutes to play the Stormers did get a chance to launch a late attack and snatch a draw when Crowley took his eyes off a pass and spilled the ball, but the out-half made up for it moments later when he combined with Nankivell to drive replacement Angelo Davids out into touch, as Munster held on for a fourth consecutive win against their South African rivals.

Munster: Shane Daly; Calvin Nash, Antoine Frisch, Alex Nankivell, Shay McCarthy; Jack Crowley, Craig Casey; Jeremy Loughman, Scott Buckley, John Ryan; Edwin Edogbo, Tadhg Beirne; Peter O'Mahony (capt), John Hodnett, Gavin Coombes.

Replacements: Chris Moore, Josh Wycherley, Stephen Archer, Tom Ahern, Jack O'Donoghue, Conor Murray, Rory Scannell, Alex Kendellen.

Stormers: Warrick Gelant; Ben Loader, Ruhan Nel, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Leolin Zas; Jean-Luc du Plessis Paul de Wet; Sti Sithole, Joseph Dweba, Neethling Fouche (capt); Ruben van Heerden, Gary Porter; Willie Engelbrecht, Ben-Jason Dixon, Evan Roos.

Replacements: Andre-Hugo Venter, Ali Vermaak, Brok Harris, Adre Smith, Keke Morabe, Herschel Jantjies, Clayton Blommetjies, Angelo Davids.

Referee: Sam Grove-White (SRU).