Carbery shines as Munster cruise to bonus point after Cipriani red card

Munster 36

Gloucester 22

Sean Farrell reports from Thomond Park

FOR THE BEST part of half an hour, Gloucester made a pretty good fist of the challenge facing them in Limerick.

But their day changed irrevocably on 28 minutes when Danny Cipriani became the latest victim of tighter controls around high tackles. The 30-year-old out-half, by no means a heavy hitter, was issued a red card as his shoulder came into contact with Rory Scannell’s head while the centre carried in the opposition 22.

Straight red: Cipriani’s hit on Scannell. Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO

On first viewing, referee Alexandre Ruiz did not even signal a penalty for the collision, but a delayed call for the TMO review made it clear that Cipriani was in trouble. For this was a textbook case of the kind of impact World Rugby are trying to reduce in the game.

It was avoidable for Cipriani, he is agile enough to get his knees bent and enter the tackle lower, but he must have wore a sour smile when seeing his team-mate Billy Twelvetrees escape sanction for a far more violent high tackle on Dan Goggin minutes later.

Munster already led  by the time the prodigiously talented 10 was sent off, taking advantage of Tom Savage’s yellow card to stretch 14 Gloucester men. Peter O’Mahony popped a clean pass left to set Darren Sweetnam raiding. The wing hit Duncan Williams inside, and though the scrum-half couldn’t detect Tommy O’Donnell in space on his right, from that platform Munster whipped the ball left-to-right with Joey Carbery, Sweetnam and Andrew Conway linking to put Mike Haley over in the corner.

In truth, that 21st minute score to break the deadlock was worth a sigh of relief after Johan Ackermann’s side had dominated early territory and disrupted line-out ball.

Alexandre Ruiz issues the game-changer. Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO

Cipriani’s final positive influence on the contest was a supremely sweet penalty strike from 45 metres to narrow the gap back to 5-3 for Gloucester.

There were signs that Munster were moving through the gears, with Tadhg Beirne poaching line-outs and forcing the visitors’ frustration to out itself within a scuffle. 

The faithful could sense Munster were gathering control and the sense was verified minutes later when Cipriani was handed his marching orders. Carbery kicked the straightforward penalty offered up after the hit, but from there on in Munster had bonus point in mind.

A rolling maul allowed Rhys Marshall to rumble over for Munster’s second try on 35th minute, but there was a most bittersweet feeling when the teams untangled from another scuffle to depart for half-time.

Though there was a 15-3 interval advantage to celebrate, the sight of O’Donnell writhing in agony on the turf stirred a wealth of sympathy inside the 23,068 watching on.

Carbery celebrates his try. Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO

Marshall hobbled to the dressing room at the halfway mark too, but it was his replacement Kevin O’Byrne who lit the match on the second half with an offload to meet a rampaging Beirne. No ordinary second row, the former Scarlet opted to kick and chase beyond the last defender. Although he didn’t win the race against the Gloucester back three, the field position was reward enough for Munster. And they didn’t leave until Carbery, shunning the two-man overlap on his left cut his way over the try-line.

Three down, one to go.

Inevitably Carbery was at the heart of the bonus point try when it arrived. First, releasing glorious behind-the-back offload and then delaying a pass to perfection to set Sammy Arnold through the gap to rapturous applause.