Munster rallied from a 10-point deficit to beat Ulster 29-24 in a dramatic victory to finish the regular season at the top of the United Rugby Championship.
The defending champions had twice lost by that margin but a 69th-minute maul try from substitute Eoghan Clarke and a late penalty from Jack Crowley sealed victory.
Trys from Rob Herring and David McCann cancelled out RG Snyman’s seventh-minute opener and gave quarter-final-bound Ulster a 17-7 lead at half-time.
Calvin Nash and Shane Daly both scored touchdowns, sandwiching a Matthew Ray score in a spectacular seven minutes, while Crowley and John Cooney showed their kicking prowess, scoring three conversions and a penalty each.
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Graham Rowntree’s side used a strong reserve side to win in front of a home crowd of 17,496 and will host the Ospreys in next weekend’s quarter-final, with sixth-placed Ulster travelling to Leinster.
The Ulstermen were forced to relinquish Stuart McCloskey and Ethan McIlroy with injuries before kick-off, with Jude Postlethwaite and Stewart Moore replacing them, and were also hurt by the early withdrawal of Kieran Treadwell (ankle).
Snyman was lucky to avoid a card for a high tackle on Will Addison and, much to Ulster’s annoyance, the Springbok star scored minutes later, allowing Crowley an easy conversion.
But Ulster hit back with a neat maul try from Herring and soon afterwards Cooney put his team ahead 10-7 with a 22nd minute penalty.
Munster’s play was disappointing and a late error from Crowley forced Ulster into a five-metre scrum, which they then won a penalty, which flanker McCann broke free for Cooney to score.
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The momentum shifted as the home side’s forward-heavy bench dispersed after a rare penalty miss from Cooney, before Nash scored from Craig Casey’s pass and Crawley’s touchline conversion reduced the deficit to just three points.
A menacing breakthrough from Cormac Izuchukwu put Ulster within striking distance again and a short pass from Cooney set up a Leah power play, with Cooney also scoring with a curling shot in extra time to make the score 24-14.
Crucially, Munster were seven points back by the 60th minute when a quick ball from substitute Joey Carbery’s half-break produced a fine pass which Casey picked up with one hand and passed down the left to Daly, who smashed it in for Crawley to slot home.
Clarke fired the ball powerfully into the left corner, making up for an inaccurate pass earlier, and Munster maintained their momentum until Crowley’s final penalty put the goal just out of reach.
Ospreys unexpectedly secure playoff spot
The Ospreys secured a 33-29 bonus-point victory over struggling Cardiff to slip into the United Rugby Championship play-offs and set up a trip to Munster next weekend.
Cardiff fought hard throughout but two tries from international prop Nicky Smith, Justin Tipuric and Luke Morgan were enough for Cardiff, who were also awarded a penalty try and Dan Edwards converted three conversions.
Two of Cardiff’s tries were scored by Mason Grady, with tries also scored by Theo Cabango and Gabriel Hamer-Webb. Ben Thomas took a penalty and converted two, with Tinus de Beer adding another conversion.
The Ospreys began to take an early lead with a strong try from close range by Smith, but Cardiff equalised moments later with a brilliant individual try in the corner after a quick run by Cabango.
However, Cabango’s joy was short-lived as he was soon forced off with a hamstring injury and replaced by Hammer Webb.
With both teams looking to play attacking, it was an exciting match with the Ospreys scoring the next goal thanks to some great work from Tipuric.
First the captain won a penalty for not releasing the ball to Cameron Winnett, then he quickly took the penalty to push the Cardiff defence back and Kieran Giles raced past several defenders before scoring after receiving a difficult pass from Edwards.
Cardiff soon came close to hitting back, with Grady winning the race with a chip lead but failing to secure a touchdown, but it didn’t matter too much as a supporting break for Ben Thomas saw the wing soon get on the score table.
De Beer missed the conversion from the touchline and the scores were level at 12-12 at half-time, but the South African fly-half limped off five minutes after play resumed.
To make matters worse, the Ospreys had a third try after Smith had finished off successive forward runs, but their opponents were close to scoring a try from a penalty by captain Thomas.
Thomas missed another difficult kick and Ospreys broke through with a kick and chase from Edwards.
The pressure was maintained and from a close-set scrum, Morgan Morris and Max Nagy created space for Morgan to charge through.
Full of spirit, Cardiff refused to give up and beat Hammer Webb with some clever passing, but Seb Davies was red carded for a head-height tackle on Owen Watkin late on, and a penalty try was awarded shortly afterwards, ending Cardiff’s challenge.
Cardiff had the final say though, and Grady’s second goal after Osprey’s Luke Davies was yellow carded gave the home side two well-deserved bonus points.
read more: The Scarlets finished off a disappointing season on a high with a bonus-point win over the Dragons and a win over the Sharks.
