FULL-TIME: Munster 27 Northampton 23
Gavin Coombes a deserved Heineken Star of the Match, two tries and some great defence. Munster were cruising until Jack O’Donoghue’s red card and Northampton had a tremendous fightback in the second half. But in the end, Munster hung on for the crucial win in Pool B.
That’s all from me. Gerry Thornley’s match report to come.
80 mins: Northampton catch the ball from the restart but Coombes refuses to budge and the ref blows the whistle. Munster win!
79 mins: Another penalty for Northampton which Smith converts. Northampton need possession again if they’re to win this.
Munster 27 Northampton 23
78 mins: Freeman bursts through with great handling and holds onto the ball, well into the 22. Overlamp on the wing but Shane Daly makes a fantastic tackle and forces the knock-on. Munster survive!
Munster 27 Northampton 20
75 mins: Munster win penalty, turning the ball over from Ramm. Jack Crowley opts for the posts. Drills it over! Back to seven points. Five minutes left.
Munster 27 Northampton 20
72 mins: Penalty for Northampton scored by Smith again, another beautiful strike. That’s four in it now. Twenty unanswered points this half. The red card has really had an effect on Munster, can they hang on?
Munster 24 Northampton 20
68 mins: Northampton win another penalty within Munster’s half. Northampton edge towards the line, Ramm nearly over, Munster hang on... and it’s a penalty for Munster! Waller penalised for a high tackle.
Munster 24 Northampton 17
65 mins: Great steal by John Ryan and Munster turn it over, the crowd loved that! Mitchell gets stuck. Kicked into the corner. Munster push for the line but face a brick wall. Beirne gets isolated, Munster concede a penalty and Northampton survive.
Munster 24 Northampton 17
62 mins: Loss of momentum for Northampton as they knock the ball on sloppily. Frisch kicks into the opponent 22, a reprieve.
Munster 24 Northampton 17
58 mins: TRY FOR NORTHAMPTON! Out of nothing, Munster don’t protect the ball, kick is chased and they put them under pressure. James Ramm taking advantage and scores the try in the corner. Fantastic conversion by Smith. What a turnaround.
Munster 24 Northampton 17
55 mins: Munster win a penalty for Lawes not releasing. Big turnover by Munster. Carbery kicks to the corner. Clean lineout caught by Beirne but Munster can’t find a way through and Northampton clear to the middle of the pitch.
Munster 24 Northampton 10
50 mins: Another penalty won by Northampton, driving through and Munster penalised for standing up in the scrum. Smith goes for more points from the middle of the pitch, medium-length kick... and it’s straight over the middle. Some nervousness in Thomond Park now.
Munster 24 Northampton 10
47 mins: TRY FOR NORTHAMPTON! Maul by Northampton, Waller just short of the line. Smith releases Tommy Freeman who scores on the wing isolated under no pressure. Nice conversion by Smith. Game on.
Munster 24 Northampton 7
43 mins: Munster penalised for a collapsing scrum. Penalty kicked to the corner. Lawes nearly to the line and Mitchell’s pass was intercepted... but it was offside. Back into the corner.
Munster 24 Northampton 0
HALF-TIME: Munster 24 Northampton 0
Munster dominant in that half, despite the red card to O’Donoghue, who had just earlier scored a try. Northampton could not break through once, despite the extra man for much of the half. Comfortable for Munster, with Coombes standing out in particular. Here’s his first try.
37 mins: Frisch makes a nice break but Tommy Freeman intercepts the pass. His grubber kick goes out of play. Chance for Northampton but big tackle by Casey. Penalty given away though and they kick for touch. Terrible lineout though, ball not thrown straight by Haywood. Poor.
Munster 24 Northampton 0
33 mins: Daly with a nice catch from a Carbery kick. Then a big kick from Haley gets well into Northampton territory. Northampton not using the extra man advantage at all so far and can’t find any way through.
Munster 24 Northampton 0
29 mins: TRY FOR MUNSTER! Munster get a penalty for offside. Craig Casey tried to tap penalty and run it but the referee didn’t allow it. They go again and it’s Gavin Coombes again! Fine game he’s had so far. Third try of the day. Easily converted by Carbery.
Munster 24 Northampton 0
26 mins: Coombes turns over the ball in midfield and then keeps the ball in well from a Northampton kick. A bit of kicking back and forth and a Munster lineout.
Munster 17 Northampton 0
23 mins: RED CARD FOR JACK O’DONOGHUE! Only a few minutes after scoring a try. Contact to the head on David Ribbans. Too high into contact. Big blow and takes the momentum from Munster.
Munster 17 Northampton 0
20 mins: TRY FOR MUNSTER! Haley kicks ahead after Munster intercept. Northampton clear but Munster edge closer. Several phases and brilliant patience from side to side and then Coombes is free near the wing, offloads to O’Donoghue and an easy try. Only one team in this one today. Carbery converts.
Munster 17 Northampton 0
16 mins: Munster make a few errors running with the ball, a knock on and penalised for an illegal tackle. Northampton put pressure on the Munster defence and get into their 22 but Fin Smith gives away the ball with a poor pass.
Munster 10 Northampton 0
11 mins: Awful hit on Carbery, straight in the face with the forearm and reckless. Well deserved yellow card for Mikey Haywood. Terrible start by Northampton.
Munster 10 Northampton 0
10 mins: TRY FOR MUNSTER! Quick tap and Munster go again, It’s Coombes who gets it down. Niall Scannell made ground and Coombes finishes. Conversion by Carbery. Great start for Munster.
Munster 10 Northampton 0
8 mins: Waller penalised for wheeling the scrum. Carbery decides against kicking for goal and puts it into the corner. Successful lineout, Munster push through. Northampton give away another penalty.
Munster 3 Northampton 0
6 mins: Northampton lose the line-out and Munster get running. Then a poor kick by Northampton’s Furbank, nervy start. Coombes knocks the ball forward though and a reprieve for Northampton.
Munster 3 Northampton 0
2 mins: Early penalty for Munster scored by Joey Carbery as the wind dies down. Perfect start
Munster 3 Northampton 0
Kickoff now. Demanding conditions at Thomond Park as you’d expect. Earlier, Leinster ran out comfortable winners against Gloucester, scoring seven tries
Earlier, Munster took a giant leap towards retaining the Vodafone Women’s Interprovincial Championship title thanks to a 26-17 bonus-point win over Leinster at Musgrave Park. Replacement Stephanie Carroll’s last-minute try, set up by captain Nicole Cronin, moved Niamh Briggs’s side five points clear at the top of the table ahead of next Saturday’s final round trip to Connacht.
Munster’s discernible increase in fitness paying dividends, writes Gerry Thornley in preview to the game. The province are far from the finished article with the scrum still a concern, but by every measure progress is notable. “Despite trailing for 64 minutes in the Kingspan Stadium, they were able to keep the ball for 21 phases in the last play of the game for Healy’s match-winning try and conversion.”
[ Gerry Thornley: Munster’s discernible increase in fitness paying dividendsOpens in new window ]
The teams for today’s game:
MUNSTER: Mike Haley; Calvin Nash, Antoine Frisch, Jack Crowley, Shane Daly; Joey Carbery, Craig Casey; Dave Kilcoyne, Niall Scannell, Roman Salanoa; Jean Kleyn, Tadhg Beirne; Jack O’Donoghue, Peter O’Mahony (capt), Gavin Coombes.
Replacements: Scott Buckley, Josh Wycherley, John Ryan, John Hodnett, Alex Kendellen, Paddy Patterson, Rory Scannell, Liam Coombes.
NORTHAMPTON SAINTS: George Furbank; Tommy Freeman, Matt Proctor, Rory Hutchinson, James Ramm; Fin Smith, Alex Mitchell; Alex Waller, Mikey Haywood, Paul Hill; David Ribbans, Alex Moon; Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Courtney Lawes, Lewis Ludlam (capt).
Replacements: Robbie Smith, Ethan Waller, Alfie Petch, Alex Coles, Angus Scott-Young, Callum Braley, Fraser Dingwall, Courtnall Skosan.
Referee: Tual Trainini (France).
Hello, welcome to live coverage of Munster against Northampton Saints from Thomond Park in Pool B of the Champions Cup. A must-win game for both sides, Northampton are bottom of the pool, while Munster are seventh, looking to put themselves in a strong position to qualify. Kickoff is at 3.15pm.
