SAM DAVIES struck the first penalty for the Ospreys after just two minutes, setting the rhythm for a game in which they played with a spring in their step as they leapt back into contention for a top-four spot in the Guinness Pro-12 League.
Munster, in miserable contrast, were mired a million miles even from mediocrity. They arrived at the Liberty stadium late because of a car crash on the M4, they left the game prematurely, behind 17-0 at half-time. Pre-match rituals are a prerequisite of the modern professional and to make it to the stadium with less than an hour to kick-off surely did unseen damage to Munster.
That’s the excuse out of the way. Once the game started there were to be very few others for the Irish visitors. Take Ian Keatley for example. His first touch of the ball was an inexplicable up-and-under from beneath the shadow of his own posts.
His counterpart, Sam Davies, caught the ball and Ospreys held onto it in excess of 20 phases until those first three points were on the board. The start emphasised the muddled nature of Munster’s performance and the measured control exercised by the young fly-half and his teammates for 70 minutes in this game.
In the opening 20 minutes of this game both teams played with width but a lack of penetration. It took a Ryan Bevington turnover for the Ospreys to create the disarray needed in Munster’s ranks for another penalty to be awarded and another goal to be kicked. That was in the 22nd minute. Two minutes later Munster’s hopes disappeared.
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When a team is playing as miserably as Munster were Lady Luck needs to smile on you. Unfortunately, she was looking the other way, along with the referee Marius Mitrea when Hanno Dirksen flapped his arm at the ball which was heading into Munster arms, a two-man overlap and an inevitable try. Somehow the Italian referee only saw a knock-on and instead of Munster being 7-6 ahead with a one-man advantage for 10 minutes they remained six points behind. The indignity of this awful decision was only magnified when the Ospreys won a penalty at the resultant scrum.
After just 28 minutes of play not only were Munster 6-0 down on the scoreboard, they were 5-0 down on the penalty count. Mitrea warned Munster but two minutes later a high tackle by Dave O’Callaghan resulted in another penalty and a yellow card. Now it was Munster down to 14 men and they failed to manage the situation. The extra man enabled the Ospreys to play with a little more pace and when the first try came it was a beauty that this mediocre first half did not deserve.
Tyler Ardron pulled back a delightful pass to Davies — giving the fly-half the extra time required for Munster’s defence before floating a fine pass out to Dan Baker. The Welsh international No 8, who went on to have a field day, galloped over for the try.
Still the penalties rained down upon a Munster team whose understanding of the Italian referee was obviously lost in translation. Three minutes from half-time an eighth penalty was conceded and a third Davies penalty kicked. On the brink of half-time a typical Justin Tipuric breakout almost opened Munster up again. The hapless visitors could only concede yet another penalty and another three points to Davies. At half-time the score read 17-0 in terms of points and 8-0 in terms of penalties.
It is worth noting that Munster did not gain their first penalty until the 43rd minute. From it, they drove a lineout in typical Ireland fashion, close to the tryline but unlike their more efficient national team found themselves held up. Munster did get the shove on at the 5m scrum but a fine hook of the ball by Scott Otten and a driving run by Baker lifted the mini-siege. It cheered the soul to see one team push, the other hooker strike the ball and a No 8 carry for all he was worth. The death of scrums, it appears, is premature.
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Having weathered that brief storm, the Ospreys again regained command with Davies pinning Munster in their own corner. Munster did not have the capacity to strike from 90m and with the Ospreys applying a defensive squeeze, another penalty was inevitable as Munster tried to force the game from deep. Davies made it 20-0, the match was up for Munster.
In the final quarter Munster did score two consolation tries as the Osprey effort in defence dropped off.
A second lineout drive this time did result in a try and Keith Earls later touched down in the corner. But between these tries Davies kicked another two penalties to keep Munster at a safe distance. If the truth be told, Munster never got close.
Star man: Dan Baker
Ospreys: Evans (John 11-25min, 25-39min), Grabham, Spratt, Matavesi, Dirksen; Davies, Habberfield (Roberts 69min); Bevington (Smith 47min), Otten (Dwyer 70min), Jarvis (Arhip 47min), Peers (Thornton 47min), Ardron, King, Tipuric (capt), Baker (Allen 72min)
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Munster: Hanrahan; (Smith 51min), Jones, Earls, Hurley (capt), O’Mahony (Conway 70min); Keatley, Williams; Kilcoyne (Ryan 51min), Guinazu (O’Byrne 60min), Botha (Archer 61min); O’Callaghan (Ryan 60min), Holland, O’Callaghan, Dougall (O’Donoghue 47min), CJ Stander