Munster player ratings: Lions pick Tadhg Beirne ‘inspires’ but last-man replacement cruelly becomes ‘fall guy’ in Durban

Lawrence Nolan
Tadgh Beirne Munster

Munster captain Tadgh Beirne

Here are the Munster player ratings following Saturday’s cruel penalty shootout elimination.

The Irish side bravely drew 24-all after extra time in Durban, only to lose their United Rugby Championship quarter-final to the Sharks 6-4 on kicks.

Munster player ratings v Sharks

15 Thaakir Abrahams: No opportunity to show attacking polish; getting whistled for a holding on 20-minute penalty highlighted how scarce his go-forward ball was. Was defensively sound in shutting the first-half door but damningly fell off the try-scoring Ethan Hooker six minutes into the second half. Subbed off six minutes later. 5 

14 Calvin Nash: Lost a couple of possessions but was accuracy personified when he most needed to be, beating Makazole Mapimpi to the bouncing ball from a Jack Crowley crosskick to open the score in the 10th minute. Defensively exposed for the life-giving 68th-minute Sharks try from Aphelele Fasi but he quickly resettled with an aerial catch. 7

13 Tom Farrell: Easily Munster’s player of the season with his levels of consistency. There was a missed first-half tackle on Hooker, but that anguish was only fleeting. Showed wheels and awareness to dash into space in the creation of the Josh Wycherley 56th-minute try. 8

12 Alex Nankivell: Up against Andre Esterhuizen, the head-to-head battle didn’t cause headaches but pain was sustained elsewhere. Let himself down when failing to stop Vincent Tshituka off-loading to the try-scoring Hooker. Then threw a terrible forward pass with Munster 21-17 up and also couldn’t stop Fez Mbatha from grounding minutes later. 5

11 Diarmuid Kilgallen: This excellent summer 2024 acquisition from Connacht continued to wildly impress. There was his superb one-half-to-the-other break in the creation of the Nash try. A follow-up gallop from his half then became the spark for his team’s second try, and he capped it by scoring himself in 61 minutes, brilliantly fastening onto the kick in behind from sub Mike Haley. 9

10 Jack Crowley: Produced a mixed bag of impacts. For example, he kicked sweetly to set up Nash for his early try but blotted his copybook by missing a 16th-minute penalty kick. There were some other inaccuracies, such as having a first-half clearance kick charged down by Esterhuizen and the loose kick that invited the Sharks to counter for their 46th-minute try. However, he stuck at it and ultimately guided his team to a commendable draw after extra time. Also deserves credit for calling out the Sharks for their penalty shootout s***housery.  7

9 Craig Casey: Contributed smartly during the first half, taking the ball on himself on occasion to keep the Sharks guessing. His best moment was a superb touch-finder on 14 minutes when probing from scrum ball. Then produced a superb pass assist to allow sub Wycherley to dive in for his second-half score. 7

Planet Rugby player ratings key 10 - Career defining performance 9 - Outright blockbuster effort 8 - Significantly influenced the result of the game 7 - Committed and effective outing 6 - Flashes of brilliance outside of executing fundamentals 5 - Fulfilling the role required by position (base level) 4 - Poor execution of fundamentals 3 - Costly errors and/or discipline in the game 2 - Poor performance that directly impacted the result 1 - Grossly ineffective throughout 0 - Should have carried water instead

8 Gavin Coombes: Led the carries chart for his team during the regulation 80 minutes and trucked hard in numerous other facets of play. Was cruelly blown for the penalty that allowed the Sharks to go to the corner and take a 24-21 lead. 7

7 John Hodnett: Started excellently in defence where he enjoyed a turnover to add to his handsome tackle count. Gave it his all across his exhausting 66 minutes, ensuring his team were deservedly in the fight. 8

6 Peter O’Mahony: With his playing career now officially over, the Irish legend can get on with tending to his pristine lawn in Cork. The farewell 55 minutes delivered here were full of heart and endeavour, a reason why Munster were competitive in the unseen areas of a suffocating wrestle. 7

5 Tadhg Beirne: Produced a performance that would have British and Irish fans thrilled if this was the Test series in Australia and not a league quarter-final in Durban. Brilliantly skippered his team, inspiring them to stick at it with sublime defending-his-line moments such as his 35th-minute interception and a super penalty turnover win seven minutes into extra time. 8

4 Jean Kleyn: Eben Etzebeth mischievously mentioned in the build-up how he was looking forward to meeting up with his South African compatriot at the breakdown. Safe to say, Kleyn more than enjoyed this reunion and everything else that went with it as his energetic effort was crucial in making Munster so, so competitive. Tackled his heart out. 8

3 Stephen Archer: Another retiring player, he gave it socks in his lung-bursting 69 minutes. Endured plenty of scrum problems but there were credits earned elsewhere. He didn’t shirk his tackles. Also look at the canny way he got over a breakdown to ensure possession came back on the Munster side in the lead-up for the 56th-minute Wycherley try. 6

2 Niall Scannell: His throwing all season hadn’t been the most reliable, but the Munster lineout wasn’t an issue here. Was an enormously busy tackler, topping his team’s chart during his two-part contribution either side of Diarmuid Barron’s short cameo. 7

1 Michael Milne: His fourth straight start, it was his carry that helped to win the 16th-minute penalty chance that Crowley missed. Gave up the offside penalty that gave Sharks their 10-7 lead 15 minutes into the second half and then exited, only to soon return as the try-scoring Wycherley was injured. 6

Replacements: Munster’s bench use was crucial in keeping them in this contest after falling behind to the Sharks’ early second-half surge.

Haley, the first change, was an encouraging influence, Wycherley was a try-scorer with his first involvement, but he and fellow front-rower Barron weren’t around for long due to injury which didn’t help later on when a tired scrum disintegrated.

Veteran Conor Murray exhibited leadership with his game-levelling penalty kick from distance on 77 minutes, while Tom Ahern enjoyed an inspired moment with his 100th-minute drop goal charge down.

Last man Rory Scannell cruelly became the fall guy, missing from the 22-metre line with Munster’s second kick in the penalty shootout. He showed super courage, though, to land his second attempt from the 10-metre line. 6

READ MORE: Leinster player ratings: Lions fullback shines as the ‘out of sorts’ Irish side scrape past Scarlets

Features Rory Scannell Tadhg Beirne

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