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After Ireland’s winless start to the Six Nations, head coach Andy Farrell needs a cause for joy and some can be found in Cardiff, where Joey Carbery made his long-awaited return from injury.
As Farrell and his team prepared for Saturday’s must-see match with Italy in Rome, Carbery was testing his first action since January 2020 after recovering from a persistent ankle problem.
Carbery got off the bench to play 17 minutes in Munster’s win over Cardiff Blues and any Irish rugby fan would have been happy to see the talented 25-year-old playmaker return.
Farrell surely will be. Munster’s head coach Johann van Graan is certainly in that field, but he wouldn’t have been delighted with his team’s display when they beat the Blues.
Jean Kleyn’s try in the second half was the turning point as Munster remained on top of Conference B but were in debt to Cardiff’s missed shots for their victory.
Munster got off to a lively and powerful start as Damian de Allende had plenty of early possession.
Cardiff winger Shane Lewis-Hughes produced a key piece in the breakdown work and his teammate Jamie Hill intercepted a Munster pass. Local center Mason Grady also made a clean break and laid the groundwork for an early try for the Blues.
Ben Thomas had sent Grady away and it was his pass that put Seb Davies on an easy finish. Thomas’s conversion hit the post.
Shortly after his attempt, Davies received a yellow card for getting into a ruck after a big hit from Thomas. A fight ensued in which Davies was deemed to be the instigator.
Munster’s lineout had not had the best of openings and a crucial inning by Ellis Jenkins stopped an Irish marker and earned Cardiff a penalty. Kleyn was also lucky enough to escape a card for a poor ruck elimination in the first half by Jenkins, the man of the match, which also produced a signature fumble. It was a frustrating first 27 minutes for Munster, but JJ Hanrahan took a simple penalty.
Thomas and Hanrahan exchanged penalties before the break to leave two points between the teams. Hanrahan’s tremendous penalty hit the corner of the post and the crossbar early in the second half and caused a massive panic in the home defense.
Van Graan would have been frustrated by his team’s inability to convert their pressure into points both in the first 40 and when play resumed.
Cardiff continued to ruin Munster’s near constant possession in impressive fashion with the Lewis-Hughes flanks and standout Jenkins a thorn in the visiting side.
Thomas took a huge penalty to send Munster five points behind. Van Graan immediately replaced his entire front row and it worked when they collided between the sticks.
Kleyn was the scorer from close range after some excellent approach work from Hanrahan who couldn’t miss the simple conversion. Thomas attempted a penalty from midway that came up short in response.
Thomas’ next penalty attempt saw him hit the post for the second time that night and lost points were always going to be crucial in such a tight game.
Carbery entered the field in place of Rory Scannell and moved to center, where King Lee-Lo instantly crushed him. It was something of a welcome for Carbery.
Cardiff pressed for a response, but their attacking game that shot in the first half didn’t do the same in the second. Munster was also on top at the time of the scrum in the eyes of referee Adam Jones.
And with just a couple of minutes to go, the Munster forwards got to work and crossed the line to seal victory. Niall Scannell was the scorer and Carbery proved he has lost nothing of his kind by nailing the touchdown conversion to deny Cardiff an extra losing point.
Test: Davies 11; Pens: Thomas 37, 53. Try: Kleyn 54, N Scannell 77; Cons: Hanrahan 55, Carbery 78; Pens: Hanrahan 27, 38.
Morgan, Lane, Grady, Lee-Lo, Summerhill; Thomas, Hill (Jones 67); Domachowski (Bevacqua 73), Myhill (Belcher 40), Arhip (Assiratti 66), Davies (Ratti 62), Thornton, Lewis-Hughes (Robinson 62), Jenkins, Turnbull (capt).
Fish, Llewellyn.
Haley; Nash (Sweetnam 75), R Scannell (Carbery 63), De Allende, Daly; Hanrahan, McCarthy; Cronin (O’Connor 53), O’Byrne (N Scannell 53), Ryan (Salanoa 53) (Ryan 73), Kleyn, Wycherley (Netherlands 63); O’Donoghue (captain) (Coombes 63), Cloete, O’Sullivan.
Patterson.
Adam Jones (WRU)
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