Munster ………. 10
Stormers ……….. 3
JACK Crowley led from the front to steer Munster to victory over the Stormers in a repeat of last year's URC final. Conditions could hardly be more different from that final in Cape Town and both sides struggled in the wind and rain at Thomond Park.
But it was Munster who maintained their winning record over the Stormers as Edwin Edogbo's second try for his native province was the difference between them after a tough tussle.
Crowley said that Munster mastered the conditions better than the South Africans but they have plenty of room for improvement as they made it three wins from five.
“Conditions were unbelievably tough in terms of the wind and the rain,” said Crowley. “Stormers really put it up to us and there is a lot we can look back on and review.”
Scores were scarce in front of a crowd of 15,044 at Thomond Park but Munster eventually took the lead after 14 minutes when Crowley slotted a penalty.
They increased their lead just before the break when a Crowley penalty to the corner led to an onslaught that led to three penalties in a row.
Stormers' captain Neethling Fouche was binned and Munster pounced with the extra man, driving home for Edogbo to get the touchdown.
The South Africans hit back after the restart despite being down a man with a penalty from Sasha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
Both sides were forced to defend for long periods and both did well to prevent tries by holding the ball up over the line with Gavin Coombes particularly prominent in the home defence as they got to winning ways on a night when tighthead Stephen Archer came on to equal Donnacha O'Callaghan's record 268 appearances for Munster.
