Munster edge nine-try thriller against Ulster in Guinness PRO12
By Tony Tighe
Last Updated: 01/11/15 7:48pm
Munster edged a nine-try epic against provincial rivals Ulster at Thomond Park as they withstood late pressure to claim a 32-28 win.
The lead changed hands on five occasions during an end-to-end Irish derby, where Munster led 19-18 at the interval with Craig Gilroy crossing twice for the visitors in the first half.
After Ulster had retaken the lead with a Paddy Jackson drop goal, two tries in the space of four minutes put Munster in control, but a score from replacement Dan Tuohy set up a tense finish.
And there was late controversy as Ian Keatley kicked the ball into touch, thinking time was up, but the clock had not gone red, giving Ulster one final opportunity to nick a winner. Stuart McCloskey charged for the line out on the left wing but he was dragged into touch as the hosts held on.
The strong breeze at a sparsely-filled Thomond Park favoured Munster in the opening period but they were rocked on three minutes when Ulster broke away for the opening try.
Francis Saili lost possession on the edge of the Ulster 22 when tackled by Stuart McCloskey and Darren Cave reacted quickest, releasing Gilroy who raced up the right wing to score.
Munster hit back on 17 minutes when Tomás O'Leary, making his first start since returning to province, dummied inside Andrew Warwick and offloaded to James Cronin, who sent Andrew Conway over in the corner.
Ian Keatley nailed a difficult conversion but Jackson kicked Ulster back in front when Cronin was pinged for not rolling away, and they extended their lead on 27 minutes after some great attacking play.
Jackson's delayed pass sent Nick Williams through a gap and after Wiehahn Herbst's driving run took Ulster to within inches of the try line, quick thinking from Paul Marshall put Gilroy over for his second.
Capitalised
Munster responded with two tries in four minutes, the first coming after Zebo's attempted pass came back off Jackson and the wing capitalised on his good fortune, offloading to Keatley whose inside pass allowed Robin Copeland to score.
Keatley converted to put Munster back in front and they extended their lead when O'Leary's pop pass to Gerhard van den Heever caught out Roger Wilson, the South African outpacing Andrew Trimble to score.
Ulster cut the gap to one point with two first-half minutes remaining after a wonderful passage of play, their offloading game in full flow. Munster were caught offside and with the angle too acute for a kick at goal, Jackson opted for touch.
Skipper Rob Herring found Franco van der Merwe at the lineout and Ulster got a powerful drive on in the maul, with a bloodied Williams touching down against his former side.
Jackson was again unable to convert, his kick coming back off the post, but he redeemed himself after the restart by potting a drop goal to put Ulster back in front.
Munster retook the lead on 49 minutes when Keatley kicked a penalty after Williams played the ball while off his feet.
Ulster began to lose their discipline and that resulted in Munster's fourth try on the hour mark.
Playing advantage, Keatley put up a high bomb and although Conway was unable to claim, he flicked the ball backwards for Denis Hurley to score.
Munster appeared home and hosed when Zebo crossed following good play by Duncan Casey and O'Leary, but Ulster had other ideas and after great work from Gilroy, the visitors created an overlap out wide and replacement Dan Tuohy crossed.
Jackson nailed a touchline conversion to cut the gap to four points and Ulster mounted a late assault, but Munster held on for a gripping victory.
