Gloucester did not so much bow out of Europe last night as sink without trace on another bruising evening for English self-esteem. Munster may not be quite the force of old but they were still comfortably too strong for the Cherry and Whites, this bonus-point victory all but ensuring the Irish province a place in the tournament’s last eight.
Long before the end the hosts had been chewed up and spat out by their visiting tormentors in spearmint green, whose outstanding fly-half Joey Carbery contributed 26 points including two of his side’s five tries. If Johnny Sexton’s sore calf does not clear up swiftly, Ireland have a ready-made pedigree alternative; as if his all-round game was not impressive enough, the 23-year-old has now landed every one of his last 17 kicks at goal.
Danny Cipriani, sent off in the reverse fixture at Thomond Park and just back after a month out with a pectoral muscle injury, could only look on wistfully behind a retreating pack. Gloucester could conceivably have lost by even more, with Conor Murray enjoying an armchair ride at scrum-half. Tadhg Beirne had another influential game in the Munster second row and, in the back row too, this developed into another Irish masterclass around the tackle area.
The wing Andrew Conway scored one try, this time from a deft left-footed Carbery chip, and almost collected another before his outside-half rounded off a classy night with a 60-metre interception try. In terms of close-quarters physicality and killer instinct, Munster were a cut above as they registered the most points Gloucester have ever conceded at home in Europe. The home side were slightly weakened by injury and their coach, Johan Ackermann, with his available players looking increasingly battered, would love to have had the same freedom to rest players as Munster did last weekend. The message to Eddie Jones’s England, heading to Dublin for the opening round of the Six Nations in three weeks’ time, was clear enough.
Despite the atmospheric buzz around the stadium for a game the hosts simply could not afford to lose, Gloucester were forced to play catch-up from an early stage. Three psychologically important scrum penalties to Munster plus a glaring dropped high ball by Charlie Sharples did little to boost morale and gradually Munster’s pack began to exert more consistent pressure. A prolonged spell of possession ended with Murray throwing a lovely pass to allow Carbery to skip over unopposed after 23 minutes and worse soon followed.
The visiting loosehead Dave Kilcoyne, already enjoying himself opposite Fraser Balmain, put in a fine tackle to down his opposite number Josh Hohneck and, when Gloucester were subsequently pinged on the floor, Carbery’s long penalty put his side 13-3 up after 27 minutes.
The odd neat touch from Cipriani was never going to be enough. Before half-time Munster strung together another brutal 26 phases before Rory Scannell, cutting back against the grain and spinning out of Sharples’s tackle split the home defence with ominous ease. The interval scoreline of 20-3 did not entirely reflect Gloucester’s efforts but Munster’s ceaseless commitment deserved its reward.
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This was their sixth successive win over Gloucester and on each occasion the margin has been at least 12 points. Even when the Cherry and Whites did finally score their first try of the evening, after 52 minutes through Ollie Thorley, the wing’s sharp finish was rather less memorable than the 35 phases it took to construct the score, Munster’s defence close to their own line bordering on the extraordinary.
Typically Munster, despite losing their captain, Peter O’Mahony, with a popped rib which might threaten his availability against England, went straight back up the other end to create a score for the ever-reliable Keith Earls. A consolation try for Balmain was nowhere near enough to save Gloucester from the European scrapheap along with their compatriots Bath, Wasps, Leicester and, potentially, Exeter and Newcastle as well. Saracens could well be the only Premiership survivors in the last eight, food for thought for all connected with the English club game.
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