Munster complete miserable day for Irish rugby as Glasgow progress to URC final

Hours after Leinster fell short in Pretoria, Munster also exited the tournament, as Glasgow caused another shock to set up a final date with the Bulls at the same venue next Saturday.

Hopes of a dream all-Irish decider were quashed early in the day and knowing that a home final decider was at stake, Munster relinquished their URC crown with an error-strewn performance that they will live to regret.

Glasgow were full value for their win, as Graham Rowntree’s side were nowhere near their best – poor decision-making, sloppy handling errors, mistakes out of touch and defensive slips ending their reign as champions.

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell and his assistant Paul O’Connell watched on from the stand in Limerick. A penny for their thoughts as they look to pick up the pieces ahead of what is increasingly looking like a daunting two-Test summer tour to South Africa.

Just as Leinster were well short of their best, Munster picked a bad time to deliver a poor display that they will feel was as much down to their sloppiness, as it was Glasgow’s strong play.

The visitors had two men sent to the bin and on both occasions, Munster were unable to take advantage, as they paid the ultimate price for their poor game-management.

Tries from flying wingers Kyle Steyn and Sebastián Cancelliere cancelled out Antoine Frisch’s effort for Munster, who like Leinster, will be watching next weekend’s final from their couch.

Alex Nankivell’s late red card capped a miserable day for the home side whose 10-game winning run went up in flames.

It had all started so well for Munster, as they laid down an early marker at scrum time but Jack Crowley was unable to make it count, as he missed a shot in front of the posts.

It was a big let off for the visitors who went down the other end of the pitch and almost scored but for a crucial intervention by Mike Haley.

Glasgow’s penalty count was quickly racking up and after a sixth offence inside the opening 10 minutes, referee Andrea Piardi was left with little option but to yellow card Scotland lock Richie Gray.

This time Crowley made no mistake with the easy kick, and just as you expected Munster to kick on and make their numerical advantage count even more, sloppy, unforced errors began to creep into their game, much to the frustration of the natives.

Tadhg Beirne had come up with a couple of important trademark steals before Glasgow struck completely against the run of play. Nankivell knocked on in midfield and Steyn was the quickest to react, as the speedy Glasgow captain gathered the loose ball and ran clear from halfway to score, with George Horne making it a seven-pointer.

As Gray returned from the bin, the home crowd were stunned, as Glasgow came out on top 7-3 in a 10-minute period that Munster were left to rue a host of uncharacteristic mistakes.

That theme continued for the remainder of the half, as despite dominating territory (71pc) and possession (63pc), Munster could not find that all-important final pass to unlock Glasgow’s stubborn defence that was reduced to 14 men just before the break when Matt Fagerson saw yellow for a swinging arm on Peter O'Mahony.

Things didn’t get much better for Rowntree’s men after the restart, as they coughed up a couple of cheap penalties with Fagerson off the pitch, before Beirne stepped up to bring a brief sense of calm to proceedings, as the Munster skipper followed up a lineout steal close to his own line with another breakdown turnover.

Rowntree wasted no time looking to his bench, as he made a triple change, including introducing RG Snyman. Horne missed the chance to extend Glasgow’s advantage, but having seen out another sin bin period unscathed, the momentum was firmly in their favour.

And they soon made the most of that, as Huw Jones carved open the Munster defence and found the lightning-quick Cancelliere on his shoulder and there was no stopping the Argentinian winger. Horne added the difficult extras from out wide for a 14-3 advantage.

Munster needed a spark from somewhere and it arrived right on cue just before the hour mark, as Snyman got his hands on the ball and released Jeremy Loughman, who did brilliantly.

The rampaging prop was hauled down just shy of the line, but Peter O’Mahony and Craig Casey combined to put Frisch over in the corner. Crowley found his shooting boots to bisect the posts in the swirling breeze to cut the gap to four points.

Munster continued to huff and puff without much conviction, as further mistakes stunted their momentum. But Glasgow were smart in their approach and as they worked their way into the Munster 22 looking to kill the game, Nankivell saw red for a dangerous clear-out. Horne took his time over the kick before nudging his side 17-10 in front.

Munster had one last roll of the dice but yet another knock-on ended their hopes of a late comeback, as Glasgow joined the Bulls in next weekend’s final on a miserable day for Irish rugby.

Scorers – Munster: Frisch try, Crowley con, pen. Glasgow Warriors: Steyn, Cancelliere try each, Horne 2 cons, pen.

Munster: M Haley; S Daly, A Frisch, A Nankivell (S O'Brien 47-57), S Zebo (O’Brien 62); J Crowley, C Casey (C Murray 57); J Loughman (J Ryan 66), N Scannell (D Barron 46), S Archer (O Jager 46); F Wycherley (RG Snyman 46), T Beirne (capt); P O'Mahony, J Hodnett (A Kendellen 72), J O'Donoghue (G Coombes 54).

Glasgow Warriors: J McKay; S Cancelliere (J Dobie 57), H Jones, S Tuipulotu, K Steyn (capt); T Jordan, G Horne; J Bhatti (O Kebble 71), J Matthews (G Turner 57), Z Fagerson; S Cummings, R Gray (M Williamson 57); M Fagerson (E Ferrie 61-71), R Darge (H Venter, 57), J Dempsey.

Referee: A Piardi (Italy).