JJ Hanrahan boots Connacht to victory over Munster

JJ Hanrahan’s right boot ensured Connacht ended a run of five defeats in all competitions as injury-ravaged Munster went down 22-9 at the Sportsground.

The unrelenting rain made for a dour BKT United Rugby Championship derby, with Munster leading 6-3 at half-time after Tony Butler’s brace of penalties.

Connacht, who had Byron Ralston sin-binned just before the break, had the better of the second half despite Butler briefly giving Munster a 9-6 advantage.

Adding to his opening 16th-minute kick, a wind-backed Hanrahan fired over four more penalties before converting replacement Jack Aungier’s clinching 77th-minute try.

Held try-less for the second game running, first-half injuries for Oli Jager and Jack O’Donoghue added to Munster’s mid-season woes.

Having missed out on an early try due to Gavin Coombes’ knee touching the end-line, the visitors suffered another setback when prop Jager was stretched off following a double tackle.

Connacht also lost the services of Cathal Forde, with Jack Carty slotting in at fly-half and Hanrahan, who opened the scoring from the Munster 22-metre line, moving to centre.

A Hanrahan fumble, coupled with a sliced Mack Hansen kick, gave Munster the platform to draw level through Butler in the 22nd minute.

A brilliant 50:22 kick from Butler was followed up by a crooked throw from Scott Buckley – Munster’s lineout struggled at key stages – and Connacht absorbed some more pressure after a Carty kick was blocked by Tom Ahern.

Butler’s 31st-minute penalty did edge Munster in front for the first time, but O’Donoghue had to be replaced after his knee was damaged by Ralston’s dangerous entry at a breakdown.

The Connacht winger returned from his sin-binning, nine minutes into the second period, with