Munster see off brave Blues

Munster got off the mark in the new Magners League season with a hard-fought 24-13 victory over Cardiff at Thormond Park.

Boosted by the return to action of Alan Quinlan following a 12-week suspension, the home side's pack dominated at the breakdown.

They were also helped by a 14-point haul from Jeremy Manning, while their tries came from Marcus Horan and Denis Leamy.

The result was just what the defending champions needed having been stunned 22-6 by Glasgow Warriors in the opening round of fixtures.

Away hopes

Cardiff too had been beaten in week one, going down at home to Edinburgh, but at one stage looked capable of pulling off what would have been a stunning away triumph.

Xavier Rush got over for a converted try and Ben Blair kicked a penalty as the Blues racked up 10 points either side of half-time, closing the gap to 16-13.

However Munster, helped by a hungry bench, regained control to make sure they recorded an eighth straight home win in all competitions.

Having missed a penalty and a drop-goal attempt, Manning eventually broke the deadlock after 18 minutes with three points.

That lead did not last long, though, New Zealander Doug Howlett becoming isolated on the restart, allowing his compatriot Blair to kick the Blues level.

An accidental offside by Dafydd Hewitt allowed Munster to grab the opening try, Leamy surging forward from the resulting scrum before the ball was worked out for Horan to burrow his way over.

Manning kicked the conversion and then fired over a 30-metre penalty, pushing Munster 16-3 ahead.

But the Blues stunned their opponents with a try of their own, Rush going past Peter Stringer on a fantastic run to the line after Blair's chip and chase had split the defence.

Small gap

The conversion was successfully slotted over and a penalty from full-back Blair cut the gap down to just three points shortly after the break.

Munster were in no mood to lose in front of their own fans, though, and a Manning penalty after he had been hit by a shoulder charge made it 19-13.

Eventually a second try arrived when a barnstorming run from replacement Tony Buckley led to Leamy twisting his way over to score.

Munster lost centre Lifeimi Mafi to the sin-bin for interfering at a Cardiff ruck six minutes from the end, but the Blues found no way of mounting a comeback.