Scrappy SA A come unstuck in Cork

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South Africa A leaked four tries in the first hour of a disappointing defeat to Munster in Cork on Thursday night.

It took the South Africans 10 minutes to finally fire a shot and it came via a couple of powerful scrums, which proved their best weapon of the night.

Skipper Thomas du Toit favoured the set piece and from the second of those, it was Aphelele Fassi who went over in the right corner, with a good pass by Johan Goosen giving the fullback the space needed to score.

The hosts led 21-7 at the break and scored a fourth try early in the second half for a 28-7 score, but the men in green and gold fought back to finish strong.

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Du Toit opted for yet another scrum, this time 5m out and against 14 men. The call proved to be a good one as replacement Sikhumbuzo Notshe’s pick-and-go was decisive. Gianni Lombard, on for Goosen, converted to cut the lead to 14 points with just under 20 minutes to play.

The last 10 were frustrating for the visitors as they just could not get the next score needed to buckle Munster, but credit to the hosts who managed to hang on against a SA A side that showed a real hunger for the win, but sadly not the skill to do so.

It is clear that more time together on the training field will benefit the side next week when they face English Premiership side Bristol Bears, as they started off with a stutter, but finished more composed in trying conditions against their Irish powerhouse opponents.

Scorers:
Munster 28 (21) – Tries: Shane Daly, Diarmuid Barron, Simon Zebo, Mike Haley. Conversions: Ben Healy (4).
SA A 14 (7) – Tries: Aphelele Fassi, Sikhumbuzo Notshe. Conversions: Johan Goosen, Gianni Lombard.

Photo: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile/Gallo Images

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Devin Hermanus