Cardiff move closer to URC play-off place after beating Munster

Cardiff took a huge step towards a United Rugby Championship play-off spot with a hard-fought 26-21 victory over Munster at Arms Park.

There was little between the sides but two yellow cards for Munster proved crucial as Cardiff beat an Irish province for the first time since September 2022.

Cardiff’s tries came from Gabriel Hamer-Webb, Harri Millard and Johan Mulder. There was also a penalty try award with a conversion apiece for Ben Thomas and Callum Sheedy.

Calvin Nash, Mike Haley and Tom Farrell scored Munster’s tries with Jack Crowley converting all three.

Forward pass

Cardiff looked to have taken an early lead when Mulder raced over but TMO replays showed the scoring pass to be forward.

That decision meant Munster were first on the scoreboard with Craig Casey making a dart before sending out a long pass to Nash, who strolled over.

Munster suffered a blow when lock Fineen Wycherley was yellow-carded for a deliberate knock-on with the Welsh side quickly capitalising.

Thomas was the catalyst with first a well-timed pass to send Liam Belcher through a gap and when the ball was recycled, his quick transfer resulted in a try for Hamer-Webb, his fourth in two games.

Munster were quickly hit by a second try when a strong burst from Taulupe Faletau down the left-hand touchline provided Millard with the run-in.

Wycherley returned from the sin-bin and in time to see his side regain the lead with a well-created try from Haley which Crowley converted for a 14-12 half-time advantage.

The Irish side dominated the early stages of the second half and were rewarded with a try from Farrell, who evaded Mulder’s attempted tackle to score under the posts.

Penalty try

Cardiff immediately responded when a penalty try was awarded after Munster’s Jack O’Donoghue was yellow-carded for preventing Belcher from touching down when the Irish flanker was in an offside position.

In Donoghue’s absence, Cardiff took the lead with their bonus-point try from Mulder and despite two misses at goal from Sheedy, they were able to hang on for a crucial win.