High drama at Thomond Park as Munster win with last kick of the game
Rory Scannell was Munster's last-minute saviour as his monster penalty from halfway completed a stirring 25-24 Guinness PRO14 comeback win over Glasgow at Thomond Park.
Glasgow were on the cusp of their first victory at the Limerick venue since April 2014, with two counter-attacking tries from scrum-half George Horne.
That gave them a 12-7 half-time lead and Horne's brother Pete then bagged the bonus-point score, on the back of a Matt Fagerson try.
However, Munster rallied superbly against the Conference A leaders as tries from replacement Alex Wootton and Alby Mathewson made it a two-point game entering the final seven minutes.
While winding down the clock, Glasgow coughed up a penalty at the breakdown and centre Scannell, who missed out on Ireland squad selection this week, delivered a peach of a strike from 55 metres out.
Rory Scannell 👊👊👊 pic.twitter.com/ggbzMz26Ww
— eir Sport (@eirSport) October 27, 2018
Munster, knocked down to fifth in the table before kick-off, have had some ding-dong battles with Glasgow in recent seasons and it was no surprise that tempers flared early on.
Captain Peter O'Mahony and Keith Earls soon marched the hosts forward with a line-out steal and slashing break respectively, before an eighth-minute penalty was sent to touch and James Cronin drove over with support from fellow prop John Ryan.
09: TRY Munster!
— eir Sport (@eirSport) October 27, 2018
Great start for @Munsterrugby at Thomond as James Cronin powers over.
LIVE now on eir sport 1! #GuinnessPRO14 pic.twitter.com/BgJ7tZ72gp
JJ Hanrahan converted the try but Glasgow gradually gained a foothold, holding firm after a ball had squirted out of a Munster five-metre scrum.
A scintillating 23rd-minute try from deep in their own 22 got the Scots on the board, the home defence caught cold as 23-year-old George Horne finished off a thrilling 70-metre team move.
Fly-half Pete Horne was unable to convert from out wide and also missed a penalty, with Ireland call-up Sam Arnold going off his feet.
It was Arnold's missed tackle which opened the way for George Horne's second touchdown, with Ruaridh Jackson making the initial break and Nick Grigg running an intelligent line as the link man.
Munster's task grew more difficult when flanker Chris Cloete saw yellow, five minutes into the second half, for tackling a player without the ball.
O'Mahony did enough to deny Jackson a try but a second wave resulted in number eight Fagerson breaking through from a penalty-winning five-metre scrum.
A 17-7 scoreline became 24-10 by the end of the third quarter as Hanrahan's lone penalty was cancelled out by Pete Horne's converted try from his brother George's chip ahead.
But Munster's bench had the desired impact and winger Wootton grabbed five points back in the 65th minute after Warriors were caught for numbers out wide.
They heaped further pressure on Glasgow when All Black Mathewson burrowed over in between two defenders.
Replacement Ian Keatley converted to make it 24-22 and despite being starved of possession in the final minutes, Munster had the final say thanks to Scannell's classy left boot.
WATCH:
— eir Sport (@eirSport) October 27, 2018
Full-time highlights from a sensational game at Thomond Park as Munster seal victory with the last kick of the game. #GuinnessPRO14 pic.twitter.com/e1B4XkcBRi
