Glasgow Warriors on the brink after thrilling URC victory over Munster

Glasgow players celebrate at the full time whistle during a United Rugby Championship match between Glasgow Warriors and Munster at Scotstoun Stadium, on February 11, 2022, in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)

A Scott Cummings try and some defiant defending gave Glasgow a hard-fought victory last night that has taken them to within a point of the URC summit. They had to fight right the way to the end but did just enough to claim a fourth consecutive win in the league.

Duncan Weir had the first scoring chance of the night after Munster conceded a penalty just inside their own half, but his long-range effort was just off target. The stand-off then opted to go to the corner when Glasgow got another penalty in a similar position, and when the attack off the lineout was ended by a high tackle, he made no mistake from right in front of the posts.

Munster had looked a bit ragged in those opening 15 minutes, and although they mounted a dynamic attack from the kick-off, they were held out by a well-organised home defence. That pattern persisted for much of the following quarter-hour, with the Irish province enjoying a lot of possession and the Warriors ensuring they could make nothing of it.

With just over two minutes to play in the half the Irish side forced their way upfield, then equalised through a Ben Healy penalty after the Warriors had been caught offside. Right from the kick-off the Warriors went back in front. Scott Cummings charged down an attempted clearance from Munster scrum-half Neil Cronin, and the Scotland lock raced on to collect the loose ball and touched down. Weir converted to give his team a seven-point lead at the break.

Player of the match Scott Cummings. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)

Glasgow captain Fraser Brown was yellow-carded for a deliberate knock-on 15 minutes into the second half, but Healy missed the penalty attempt. The 14 men fought back, and when they got a penalty on the edge of the Munster 22, up stepped Weir to make it 13-3.

A Healy penalty cut the gap back to seven points a couple of minutes later with Brown still in the bin. Munster kept up the pressure even when the Warriors were back to 15 men, and inside the final 10 minutes Jean Kleyn crashed over from a couple of metres out. Healy missed the conversion to leave the score at 13-11, and Glasgow held on.

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