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Hat-trick hero Gavin Coombes was in unstoppable form in Munster’s 38-22 Guinness Pro14 win over the Ospreys at Thomond Park.
The young man from Skibbereen starred as Johann van Graan’s men earned a bonus point to go eight points clear at the top of Conference B.
Munster built a 24-10 lead at halftime with converted attempts from number eight Coombes, Mike Haley and Kevin O’Byrne canceling an early effort by Luke Morgan.
After making a second attempt during Luke Morgan’s knockdown period, Coombes completed his hat-trick in the 53rd minute. It was five attempts to three at the end, with Ospreys forcing a late penalty attempt to add to Dewi’s maul score. Lake.
The Ospreys rebounded from Bradley Davies’ departure with a shoulder injury to take a lead in the sixth minute.
The bright spark Mat Protheroe cut brilliantly into a kick recoil to send Morgan out.
Stephen Myler’s precise conversion made it a full seven points, but Munster was level at the quarter-hour mark. Coombes, who recently pocketed a double against Cardiff Blues, took three defenders with him over the line, giving JJ Hanrahan a single conversion.
Things got even better for the hosts in the 18th minute, when winger Haley picked up a fumble and passed a pair of defenders to score just to the right of the posts.
With Hanrahan recovering from injury, Rory Scannell converted before replacement Ben Healy rewarded Stephen Archer’s scrum with a penalty in the 23rd minute.
An interception by Tiaan Thomas-Wheeler led the Ospreys to threaten again over the scorching pace of Protheroe and Morgan, only for Damian de Allende to earn a damage penalty.
Better play from the road group led Myler to close the gap to 17-10 in the 33rd minute. However, Munster hooker O’Byrne, who had waived that penalty, responded with a try from a rising line. output that contained back and forth.
Healy converted for a 14-point margin at halftime, and with Ospreys winger Morgan having been eliminated by a deliberate knock-on, Munster took even more advantage when Craig Casey approached the line and Coombes slipped out of the ruck.
Munster made up for Jean Kleyn’s near miss by crossing again with a quick touch from Coombes, man of the match. Healy added the extras for a score of 38-10.
The Ospreys rallied to dominate the fourth quarter, receiving encouragement from replacement hooker Lake’s well-finished attempt in the 64th minute. Their scrum earned a penalty try after an increasingly careless Munster had lost captain Jack O ‘Donoghue in the trash can.
Full match details
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