Munster into top eight after crucial bonus-point win over Connacht

Munster ground out a crucial derby win over Connacht to move up to eighth in the BKT United Rugby Championship table.

Having been beaten by Connacht in Galway last month, Graham Rowntree's men righted that wrong as they scored two tries in each half to register their third win of the season.

The sides were deadlocked at 10-10 at the end of an error-strewn first half, tries from Calvin Nash and Roman Salanoa cancelling out a Byron Ralston intercept and a Jack Carty penalty.

Connacht failed to utilise a strong wind advantage during that first period and they were punished after the restart, replacement front-rowers John Ryan and Niall Scannell touching down, the latter’s score coming while John Porch was in the sin bin.

A late Kieran Marmion try gave Connacht a losing bonus point but it was another patchy performance from Andy Friend’s men, who impressed in the scrum yet struggled in phase play, as they gifted Munster tries and lost their discipline in the second half.

Munster, meanwhile, continue to show a marked improvement in their attacking game. They carved Connacht open on a number of occasions with slick handling and running lines, with Joey Carbery impressing at out-half and centre Antoine Frisch producing some lovely touches on his first URC start.

Connacht had won three of their last four meetings with Munster but they struggled to adapt to the windy conditions early on, with hooker Dave Heffernan overthrowing two lineouts.

Carty opened the scoring after a scratchy 10 minutes but Munster’s response was almost immediate after the visitors made a hash of the restart.

Craig Casey caught Connacht napping when he sniped down the blindside off a scrum and put Calvin Nash over in the corner for a try. Joey Carbery was unable to