Ulster Rugby vs Munster

Disappointingly their first home defeat of the season came by way of their interprovincial neighbours Connacht in Thomond Park in November. It was to be the first league loss at the Limerick venue in over a year. Crucially, the men in red did secure a losing bonus point and with only eight points separating the top five teams before round ten, the race for points was as tight as ever. Munster’s season started in Cork at the beginning of September as Anthony Foley’s men ground out an 18-13 win over Benetton Treviso in Irish Independent Park. Last season’s Player of the Year, CJ Stander, picked up where he left off with a man-of-the-match performance in the opener and it was his two tries that eventually broke a stubborn Treviso resistance in Cork. Stander came up trumps again the following week as he scored a last- minute try, with Ian Keatley converting, to claim a 20-18 win over Ospreys. Keatley then kicked a late penalty against Glasgow Warriors to earn a 23-21 win in Munster’s first outing at Thomond Park in round 3. In all, the out-half kicked 13 points, with tries from Dave O’Callaghan and BJ Botha crucial in the narrow victory over a depleted but determined Glasgow team. Round 4 saw Munster claim their first bonus-point win of the season at Irish Independent Park as they scored five tries in a 35-27 victory over Cardiff Blues. Mike Sherry touched down twice, with tries from Keatley, summer arrival Jordan Coghlan and Andrew Conway securing an entertaining victory. Having won their opening four PRO12 games for the first time since 2011, Munster’s winning run came to an end at Scarlets in October. Steve Shingler’s last-gasp penalty gave the table-topping Welsh outfit a 25-22 victory. Keatley continued his impressive start to the season at the Welsh venue with 17 points in difficult conditions and Conway notched his second try of the season. But Munster were denied a rare away victory at Parc y Scarlets in the final five minutes as Shingler kicked two late penalties, the latter a monster kick under pressure, to secure a thrilling victory with the clock deep in red. For round 6 today’s opposition were the beaten opponents in a heavily contested encounter in Limerick that went right down to the wire with the hosts claiming a bonus-point 32-28 victory in the first Irish derby of the season. Andrew Conway, Robin Copeland, Gerhard van den Heever, Denis Hurley and Simon Zebo were the try-scorers at a windswept Thomond Park, as Munster survived a late Ulster comeback. The southern province just about maintained their winning ways in Murrayfield a week laterwith a dramatic 14-16 win over Edinburgh in round 7. The game’s sole try came the way of John Ryan while Ian Keatley kicked 11 points from the tee, but it was a final charge-down from CJ Stander on Hidalgo-Clyne’s drop-goal attempt that denied victory for the home side in additional time. With the defeat against Connacht, next Munster were unable to turn things around the following week at Rodney Parade and fell to a second successive defeat in the PRO12. Munster’s only points came through the boot of academy player Rory Scannell after he kicked two penalties, and a dominant second half Dragons performance ensured Anthony Foley’s men came away empty handed. The festive fixture sees Munster play Leinster in Thomond Park and then Ulster are first up in the New Year at Kingspan Stadium, where the southern province face the stiffest of tests against a side so dominant in front of their home support. MUNSTER SEASON SO FAR Opening round wins for Munster saw them among the early pacesetters in the Guinness PRO12 with Anthony Foley’s side in third place in the league table after round nine.

OPPOSITION

CLUB STATS //Location Limerick, Ireland //Founded 1879 //Ground Thomond Park Irish Independent Park //Capacity Thomond Park 25,600 Irish Independent Park 9,251 //Last Game Leinster Rugby(H) Sun 27th Dec 2015 at 17:15 //Next Game Zebre Rugby (A) 29/30/31 Jan 2016 TBC

STAFF // Coach Anthony Foley //Captain CJ Stander

CONTACT Thomond Park Stadium Limerick, Cork Tel +353 21 432 3563

TICKET OFFICE Tel +353 61421103 MERCHANDISE Tel +353 61318080

www.munsterrugby.ie

@Munsterrugby MunsterRugby

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