Munster hammer dismal Kings
MATCH REPORT: Munster claimed a commanding 68-3 PRO14 bonus-point victory as they thrashed Southern Kings at Irish Independent Park.
Four first-half tries set the home side on their way to a resounding win as they dominated at the breakdown and set pieces to control proceedings throughout.
They continued to take the game to a lacklustre Kings in the second 40 minutes and added six further tries to put the seal on an excellent display.
A sixth-minute yellow card for Kings' man Andell Loubser immediately put Munster on the front foot and they made the most of their extra man just two minutes later.
The opening try was simple in its execution as Arno Botha pulled away at the back of a scrum and went over under the posts before JJ Hanrahan added the extras.
Kings responded well to the early setback and showed good energy to force their way into the Munster 22 and close the deficit to four through a Demetri Catrakilis penalty before being returned to 15, but that was as good as it got for the visitors.
If Munster’s first try was a simple case of power, their second was all about the quick hands of the backs as the hosts shifted the ball to the right-wing.
Calvin Nash was the beneficiary as he collected a wide pass and dotted down for what proved to be a maximum score thanks to the metronomic boot of Hanrahan.
The Irish side scored their third just before the half-hour as Botha ran a superb line to collect the ball at pace, drove through a sea of space and powered over from the 22 as Munster made it 21-3.
With a healthy lead in their favour, a bonus-point was now the priority for Munster and they secured it before the half-time break arrived.
Once again, they changed the point of attack to catch the Kings defence napping as Hanrahan’s chipped kick over the top bounced invitingly for Jack O’Donoghue to collect and score.
Hanrahan was typically clinical from the kicking tee and made sure Munster extended their advantage to 25 points by the interval.
With the second period still in its infancy, Munster had their fifth as John Hodnett marked his debut with a superb score on the back of an excellent break by Nash.
The winger weaved past three men before shifting the ball on and Hodnett was then on hand to collect a simple pass and score under the posts.
Neil Cronin then helped himself to the simplest of scores and Hanrahan slotted both conversions as Munster moved into a 42-3 lead.
By now Kings were proving their own worst enemies as a panicked pass inside failed to find its man and Shane Daly had the simplest of tasks to touch down.
Kings would end the game with 14 men after Lusanda Badiyana was shown a yellow card after a coming together with Chris Cloete.
Munster made full use of the extra man as they scored three more tries in the final 10 minutes – first through Dan Goggin and then thanks to Botha’s hat-trick score and a final try from Daly.
The scorers:
For Munster:
Tries: Botha 3, Nash, O'Donoghue 2, Cronin, Daly 2, Goggin
Cons: Hanrahan 6, Healy 3
For Southern Kings:
Pen: Catrakils
Yellow cards: Andell Loubser (Southern Kings, 6), Lusanda Badiyana (Southern Kings, 70)
Teams:
Munster: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Chris Farrell, 12 Dan Goggin, 11 Shane Daly, 10 JJ Hanrahan, 9 Neil Cronin, 8 Arno Botha, 7 John Hodnett, 6 Jack O’Donoghue, 5 Billy Holland (captain), 4 Fineen Wycherley, 3 John Ryan, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 James Cronin.
Replacements: 16 Kevin O’Byrne, 17 Jeremy Loughman, 18 Keynan Knox, 19 Gavin Coombes, 20 Chris Cloete, 21 Nick McCarthy, 22 Ben Healy, 23 Rory Scannell.
Southern Kings: 15 Andell Loubser, 14 Chris Hollis, 13 Sibusiso Sithole, 12 Erich Cronje, 11 Eddie Ludick, 10 Demetri Catrakils, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Ruaan Lerm, 7 Bobby de Wee, 6 Lusanda Badiyana, 5 JC Astle (captain), 4 Jerry Sexton, 3 Rossouw de Klerk, 2 Jacques du Toit, 1 Schalk Ferreira.
Replacements: 16 Alandre van Rooyen, 17 Xandre Vos, 18 Ignatius Prinsloo, 19 Aston Fortuin, 20 Thembelani Bholi, 221 Luyolo Dapula, 22 Josh Allderman, 23 Courtney Winnaar.
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
Assistant referees: Sean Gallagher (Ireland), Johnny Erskine (Ireland)
TMO: Charles Samson (Scotland)
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