Munster vs Zebre

Province 21-0 up at half-time but fails to trouble the scorers in second half.

Munster went to the left corner with a penalty and the drive again ended with Scannell scoring and Ben Healy adding his third conversion. All three opening half tries came from lineout mauls, with hooker Niall Scannell getting two of them. That sort of wastage meant Munster were not overly stretched in defence and they were much sharper in attack, cutting out a lot of the basic errors which were evident in their opening losses away to Cardiff and Dragons. Munster dominated a stop-start opening half which took 55 minutes to complete and they were well on their way to their first win of the season when they led by 21-0. Two preseason losses at the Cork venue and a couple of URC defeats in Wales meant there was a bit of pressure on Rowntree’s men to shake off their shoddiness and get their first win on the board, and while they managed to secure the victory there clearly is a lot of work to do. It was far from flawless but the win was all that mattered for Munster as they finally got their season, and Graham Rowntree’s reign, up and running with their first win of the URC campaign in an error-ridden encounter at Musgrave Park.

Graham Rowntree got his first win in a game which won't live long in the memory.

- 23. - 22. - 13. - 14. - 15. This also heralded a 250th Munster appearance for Stephen Archer, who replaced try-scorer Knox. Munster’s pack was affording them total control of the contest. Musgrave Park frowns were turned upside down only moments later, however, when Scannell crossed for his second, Munster’s third, off the back of another lineout maul while Zebre lock Gabriele Venditti sat in the bin. Munster’s attacking lineout was flaky in a first quarter which lacked any kind of real pattern but it was a Tadhg Beirne steal off Zebre ball which led to the hosts’ third assault on the Italians’ line. Keynan Knox crashed over for their second after a brief spell of pressure inside the Zebre five, and Healy again was spot-on with the boot. Moments later, off a home penalty, Healy blasted Munster to within five of the Zebre line and, from the resulting lineout maul, they crossed with relative ease for the game’s first score, Niall Scannell dotting down. Six minutes in, it was Ben Healy who showed his cojones and foiled Zebre’s first effort in Munster’s red zone.

When the fixtures were announced you looked at the decision to pitch this game in Musgrave Park and reckoned it suited Munster's well-established pecking ...

With zero to show for the first half, they faced a step climb for the second. Haley had countered well again and somehow Munster had kept the ball alive only for Peter O’Mahony - he looked sluggish by that point - to spill the ball under moderate pressure. For Zebre the only good news was that with Gabriele Venditti in the bin in the first half, they managed not to concede a point. Could we be looking at a comeback to change the mood from unease to open native unrest? If the Zebre lineout was a virtual comedy act then at least Munster’s was capable of delivering on the scoreboard. Their line out was a rough copy of Connacht’s from the previous night in Pretoria, and they had lost both centres by the half hour mark.

Munster have lost their first games of the United Rugby Championship and will be looking to make it a first win in three. Academy duo Conor Phillips and Patrick ...

Jack O’Sullivan Jack O’Donoghue, 7. Winger. Academy duo Conor Phillips & Patrick Campbell start with Phillips making his Munster debut. Academy duo Conor Phillips and Patrick Campbell start on the wings. Jeremy Loughman, Conor Murray and Rory Scannell all start on the bench

Niall Scannell opened the scoring for Munster against Zebre Parma on Saturday afternoon albeit in controversial fashion at Musgrave Park.

The score sent Munster on their way to their first win of the new United Rugby Championship season, after defeats in Cardiff and Newport. However, the referee had already deemed the effort to be a try, meaning that there had to be clear and obvious proof in the footage for it to be disallowed. As Lenihan explained: 'The referee has dug a whole for himself in saying that he has awarded the try.

Peter O'Mahony and Tadhg Beirne performed admirably, but there were few other highlights on an outing at Musgrave Park that flattered to deceive.

In a post-match interview with RTE that was short and sweet, Peter O'Mahony cut a frustrated figure. Zebre winger Jacopo Trulla, who had forced the error, gave O'Mahony a goading pat on the arse, and sparked an angry reaction that saw several players from both sides get involved. The television mics picked up the Munster captain proclaiming, "Go, go, go!"

Hooker Niall Scannell scores two tries as Munster secure their first win of the new URC season by defeating Zebre 21-5 at Musgrave Park.

A muddled Munster lineout summed up a game that had disintegrated as a spectacle, the biggest cheer coming when 18-year-old back-rower Ruadhan Quinn came on to become Munster's youngster player of the professional era. Jack O'Donoghue had a subsequent score ruled out, for 'clear separation' on this occasion, but Zebre lost Venditti to the bin for a cynical offside. It came from a well-driven lineout maul and good initial work before that from Patrick Campbell, on a kick chase, and Tadhg Beirne at the breakdown. Zebre captain Enrico Lucchin and Pierre Bruno provided the running threat before prop Juan Pittinari knocked on in a try-scoring position. The visitors suffered a couple of injury blows and had lock Gabriele Venditti sin-binned. Munster secured their first win of the United Rugby Championship season by defeating Zebre 21-5 at Musgrave Park.

It was all Munster early on and the pressure told when Niall Scannell went over after just nine minutes of play. The build up to the score was initially ...

Replacements: Scott Buckley, Jeremy Loughman, Stephen Archer, Edwin Edogbo, Ruadhan Quinn, Conor Murray, Joey Carbery, Rory Scannell The conversion attempt is missed, however, and there remains a 16 point gap for the Italian outfit to swallow up. Munster really put the foot down before the half hour mark as Scannell once again streaked through to grab his second try of the day. Healy added the extras. Ben Healy added the extras to make it 7-0 early on. Munster 21 Zebre 5