Match-winner: Casey Laulala
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Casey Laulala's 78th-minute try snatched a 24-28 victory for Munster against Cardiff Blues following a nip-and-tuck contest.
Munster headed to Cardiff in search of a third consecutive win following convincing victories over Edinburgh and Zebre, while the Blues were looking to end a torrid run of form.
But on the night there was little between the two teams. Jason Tovey's penalty goal on eight minutes gave Cardiff the lead but Munster responded quickly, as Tommy O'Donnell crossed for a try converted by Ronan O' Gara after Ian Keatley had made the initial break.
O'Gara's penalty on the half-hour put seven points between the teams and it remained that way until half-time, though the Blues could take heart from a strong effort in the first period.
It was Cardiff who started the second half the brighter of the two teams, and, when Ceri Sweeney converted Dafydd Hewitt's try on 48 minutes, the scores were level.
The concession appeared to shake the visitors into action, but it was the Blues who went ahead courtesy of a Sweeney penalty two minutes before the hour.
As the kick sailed over, the hosts were starting to believe, but their hopes were dented just minutes later when O'Donnell dove over under the posts for his second try.
The conversion made it 13-17 to Munster but the drama continued, and the lead changed hands once again less than five minutes later when Lewis Jones crossed for Cardiff after Peter Stringer's kick was charged down.
This time the conversion was wayward, but the Blues were able to hold on to their lead until the dying moments, when the stage was set for Laulala to crash over and break Welsh hearts to seal a dramatic win for Munster.
The scorers:
For Cardiff Blues:
Tries: Hewitt, Jones
Con: Sweeney
Pens: Sweeney, Tovey
For Munster:
Tries: Laulala, O'Donnell 2
Cons: O'Gara 3
Pen: O'Gara
Cardiff Blues: 15 Dan Fish, 14 Tom Williams, 13 Gavin Evans, 12 Dafydd Hewitt, 11 Tom James, 10 Jason Tovey, 9 Lewis Jones, 8 Robin Copeland, 7 Josh Navidi, 6 Luke Hamilton , 5 James Down, 4 Lou Reed, 3 Taufa'ao Filise, 2 Rhys Williams, 1 Campese Ma'afu.
Replacements: 16 Andi Kyriacou, 17 Sam Hobbs, 18 Ryan Harford, 19 Macauley Cook, 20 Thomas Young , 21 Rob Lewis, 22 Ceri Sweeney, 23 Owen Williams.
Munster: 15 Felix Jones, 14 Doug Howlett (captain), 13 Casey Laulala, 12 Ian Keatley, 11 Luke O'Dea, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 9 Duncan Williams, 8 Tommy O'Donnell, 7 Sean Dougall, 6 Dave O'Callaghan, 5 Billy Holland, 4 Dave Foley, 3 Stephen Archer, 2 Mike Sherry, 1 Marcus Horan.
Replacements: 16 Damian Varley, 17 John Ryan, 18 Wian du Preez, 19 Ian Nagle, 20 Patrick Butler, 21 Peter Stringer, 22 Danny Barnes, 23 Johne Murphy.
Referee: Andrew McMenemy (Scotland)
Comments
mcdb06 says...
Terrible match to watch, conditions didnt help. Thought Keatley was good going forward at 12 but his defense is still suspect. Stringer added speed and better service when he came on, shame about charge down. Hoping Dougal injury isnt too serious
Posted 17:47 03rd November 2012
curates_egg says...
Maybe I am misreading this article but I can't find the final score anywhere. Based on the reporting it ended 18-24 - it would nice to not have to do the maths though.
Posted 11:12 03rd November 2012
melkdave says...
That was a decent game to watch,and the good news from a Pro12 perpective was Cardiff even without there welsh players matched Munsters 2nd team ,even if they still lost..So maybe now the big 3 irish teams cant reley on wining so many matches with the 2nd team ,as they have in the past.Just a thought ,and hoping it can make the Pro12 just a bit more competative than usual.
Posted 11:08 03rd November 2012
makemehappy says...
Going into the game I could only see a Munster win. At the end of the day however I thought the Blues were very unlucky and hard done by. Munster had 2 penalties at the end to get them up the field, both of which baffled me and one of which (the scrum) was a clear Blues penalty. Very disappointed with the Munster performance in general.
Posted 08:59 03rd November 2012