Munster suffered their first defeat against Cardiff in four years as the Graham Rowntree era got off to a disappointing start.
Tries from Max Llewellyn, Kristian Dacey and Aled Summerhill saw Cardiff over the line, while Jarrod Evans contributed five points from the kicking tee.
Jack O'Sullivan scored Munster’s only try, with Ben Healy and Jack Crowley kicking eight points between them.
URC FT: Cardiff 20 Munster 13 A late Aled Summerhill try sealed the win for the hosts as Munster's campaign begins with a defeat. #URC #CARvMUN pic.twitter.com/bJTSOiiat7
It took Cardiff just four minutes to score the opening try, with a weak tackle from Munster lock Fineen Wycherley allowing Llewellyn to get back up on his feet to run in unopposed from 25 metres out.
Munster’s game was littered with handling errors, but they finally got on the board when Healy smashed over a difficult penalty.
Cardiff were dealt a significant blow when summer signing Liam Williams was forced off the field with his arm in a sling.
The Irish province then looked almost certain to score after Shane Daly danced his way past Evans before offloading to Liam Coombes, who was stopped centimetres short of the line.
Cardiff’s scramble defence was excellent, meaning Munster had to make do with three points from Healy’s boot which put them into the lead against the run of play.
HT: Cardiff 12 Munster 6 - Krsitian Dacey gets over for Cardiff's second just before the interval. Live on RTÉ2 and the RTÉ Player. #URC #CARvMUN pic.twitter.com/67FxhOaTgX
But Cardiff hit back on the stroke of half-time when a well-timed inside ball from hooker Dacey sent Llewellyn charging through a gap.
The big centre proceeded to draw in the last Munster defender to put Dacey over for the try. Evans
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