Munster punish underwhelming Bulls

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Gavin Coombes scored two tries as Munster streaked to a convincing victory against the Vodacom Bulls in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship match in Limerick on Saturday night.

The No 8 accounted for half of Munster’s tries as the hosts claimed the bonus point in a 31-17 result that consigned the Bulls to their second defeat of a three-match tour that ends at Benetton next week.

A solitary Johan Goosen penalty in the first quarter gave the tourists a lead they relinquished for good when Coombes crossed for the first of two quickfire tries near the half-hour mark, Joey Carbery kicking the extras for a 17-3 lead at the break.

The hole got deeper for the visitors after the restart, Munster loosehead prop Jeremy Loughman dotting down to extend their lead to 24-3 before Loughman’s scrum rival Mornay Smith was yellow-carded for foul play.

The Bulls pulled it together to score twice in the final 30, through flanker WJ Steenkamp and replacement back David Kriel, but those strikes bookended a try from Munster flanker Tadhg Beirne, and when the Bulls spilt the ball on goal-line attack in the dying moments, the hosts cleared their lines for the win.

Photo: Twitter/@URCOfficial_RSA

 

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Rienk De Beer