Munster fought back from 24-10 down to claim a dramatic 26-24 Pro14 win with a huge Rory Scannell penalty claiming the spoils with the clock in the red.
Keith Earls gave early indications that he meant business with a blistering run in the opening minutes of the game as Munster dominated the opening territory and possession with good running lines and ball retention.
That early pressure was rewarded in the 9th minute as the home team turned down the chance for three points and instead kicked for the corner. The lineout was secured and following several phases of pressure, James Cronin crashed over for the try. Hanrahan added the extras and Munster enjoyed a deserved 7-0 lead.
09: TRY Munster!
Great start for @Munsterrugby at Thomond as James Cronin powers over.
Munster continued to apply pressure forcing Glasgow into conceding a five metre scrum and charging down a clearance kick but the pressure amounted to nothing. Some questionable refereeing at the scrum allowed Glasgow to clear and the danger was averted.
Having dominated the opening 20 minutes Munster would have been disappointed with their showing on the scoreboard. Their lack of efficiency would come back to haunt them as Glasgow scored an excellent try on transition through scrum half George Horne.
Horne would strike again in the 36th minute as Sam Arnold rushed out of the defensive line, failed to make the tackle and left space behind to exploit. The scrum half was on the end of some fine handling to score under the posts with the extras added to make it Glasgow 12 Munster 7 heading into the break.
If the last twenty minutes of the first half were hard watching for Munster fans then the opening ten of the second half were just a bad. Glasgow should have made it three tries on the night but a knock on brought play back. Cloete was given a yellow card for an off the ball tackle.
Minutes later and the visitors did indeed get their third try with Munster’s scrum under pressure and having penalty advantage Matt Ferguson picked and drove over from close range. The extras were missed and Munster trailed by only ten points despite being out played
JJ Hanrahan brought the crowd to life with a searing break but despite crossing the line, was unable to ground the ball after some excellent scrambling defence from Glasgow held him up. Hanrahan did add a 55th minute penalty to reduce the arrears to just seven points. The penalty meant Munster shipped a net of 2 points during Cloete’s yellow card.
Glasgow added their bonus point try through Peter Horne with 20 minutes remaining to take a 24-10 lead and leave a seemingly listless Munster struggling for answers.
Munster need to throw a punch and responded with a second try of the night coming through Alex Wootton on the 66th minute after some decent phase play eventually created a two on one. Keatley missed the conversion meaning it remained a two score game at 24-15 to the visitors.
Johann van Graan’s side were now finally converting pressure into points and when Alby Mathewson scrambled over from close range for Munster’s third try, Keatley’s conversion reduced the arrears to just two.
With Glasgow trying to run down the clock they were eventually penalised for sealing off presenting Munster with one last possession with the clock in the red. Rory Scannell stepped up for a long range attempt for a full 50 metres plus. Scannell nailed the kick to the delight of the home crowd and Munster had somehow managed to get the win.
The win will serve as a huge boost for morale but will give Johann van Graan plenty think about as his side head to South Africa to take on the Cheetahs.
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