GLASGOW provided stiff resistance but couldn't prevent Munster going to the summit of the Magners League at a raucous Thomond Park.
This match marked the opening of the new Thomond, resplendent under lights, and Munster celebrated the occasion with their fifth league win in a row. But they met a Glasgow side intent on spoiling the party and Sean Lineen's men will be disappointed
not to have taken at least a bonus from a sprightly encounter in front of 19,220 spectators.
Lineen said: "We gave away seven easy points at the start. It was a frustrating but I was proud of the way they stuck in. We missed a few kicks at goal, but the scrum was strong. Munster played a territory game; we made too many mistakes."
Glasgow, lying sixth, arrived in Limerick having won five of their last six meetings with the Heineken Cup champions, including an impressive win in the old Thomond two years ago.
Ally Kellock had the honour of running first into the new arena, and his side didn't panic on a night when it was difficult to control a greasy ball.
A heavy hit from Doug Howlett on Bernardo Stortoni set the tone for an exciting physical first-half battle. And Munster, eager to get some points on the board early, pounced on a Glasgow mistake. Stortoni took a quick lineout from five metres inside the try line to John Beattie, who fumbled and Peter Stringer rushed up to apply the pressure and dot down – though not until after referee Andrew Small consulted the TMO.
A clearly rattled Stortoni was targeted by one of Ronan O'Gara's aerial bombs in the 16th minute, the Argentine, after fumbling, was penalised for holding on and the Munster stand-off posted the three points. Colin Gregor got Glasgow off the mark with a 20th minute penalty as they continued to grow in confidence in what was an impressive opening 40,
Munster will not be pleased with their high penalty count from this match and from another infringement at the ruck Gregor punished the hosts, potting a straightforward penalty.
Munster increased their lead on 52 minutes with an O'Gara penalty and, after unremitting pressure, the Reds struck for their second try two minutes later. Keith Earls made the first incision showing great strength to bring play up to the 22. From the recycle, Stringer fed Tipoki who grubbered for Barry Murphy who came steaming up on the left wing to complete a fine move.
Gregor kept his side in touch with penalties in the 62nd and 65th miniutes before Munster struck again. Earls again was the instigator, bursting on to Tipoki's flat pass before feeding left handed to Howlett who finished. O'Gara added the extras.
Glasgow were awarded for a gutsy display when Hefin O'Hare dived in at the corner in the 78th minute following great work from Stortoni and Max Evans, but a shanked conversion denied the Scots a deserved bonus point.
Munster: K Earls; D Howlett, R Tipoki, B Murphy, A Horgan, R O'Gara, P Stringer; M Horan, F Sheahan, J Hayes; P O'Connell (capt), D O'Callaghan, A Quinlan, J Melck, D Wallace. Replacements: D Fogarty for F Sheahan (half time), T Buckley for Horan (64), M Prendergast for Stringer and N Ronan for Melck (both 71), P Warwick for O'Gara (73), M O'Driscoll for O'Connell (80).
Glasgow Warriors: B Stortoni; L Fa'atau, M Evans, A Henderson, T Evans; C Gregor, M McMillan; J Va'a, D Hall, M Low; O Palepoi, A Kellock (capt); K Brown, J Barclay, J Beattie. Replacements: H O'Hare for Evans (inj 40 + 2 injured), S Swindall for Beattie (51), E Kalman for Low, T Barker for Palepoi, G Morrison for Fa-atu (all 56), R Jackson for McMillan (65), Beattie for Barclay (67), K Tkachuk for Va'a (69).
Scorers. Munster: Tries: Stringer, Murphy, Howlett. Pens: O'Gara 2. Cons: O'Gara 2. Glasgow: Try: O'Hare. Pens: Gregor 4.
Referee: A Small (RFU)
The full article contains 668 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
