Munster came out on top with a narrow 21-19 win in front of more than 40,000 Cork supporters in the Clash of the Champions match at Pairc Uí Chaoimh on Saturday. .
In the match between the United Rugby Championship holders and the Super Rugby Pacific champions, the northern hemisphere defeated their southern club rivals to take the lead.
coombs double
Two tries from second-row Gavin Coombs were joined by one from hooker Scott Buckley, while fly-half Joey Carbery scored three goals for the home side.
In response, the Crusaders' tries came from scrum-half Mitch Drummond, center Dallas McLeod and lock Jamie Hanna. Taha Kemara and Ribeth Reihana added four points.
The Crusaders, who had former Wales full-back Leigh Halfpenny in their starting XI, were 14-0 down after 35 minutes but somehow managed to go into the break with a seven-point lead.
Coombs scored two tries for Munster in the opening match, as his ability to crash in from close range was evident when the Crusaders could not cope with his power.
However, wingers Chey Fihaki and Makka Springer combined and McLeod put scrum-half Drummond over to score, before fly-half Kemara converted to make it 14-7.
After a scoreless game at the end of the interval, center McLeod scored on the left and Reihana added another goal for Páirc Uí Chaoimh to equalize.
However, Munster restored their seven-point advantage in the 70th minute when substitute hooker Buckley powered over from close range after a string of Munster carries.
70 norm #MUNvCRU
@Munster Rugby twenty one@Crusaders Rugby 14Faygian Scott Buckley gave a great performance 👌
Buckley puts Munster back in front with this great try!@IrishRugby @Pinagy
#rugby pic.twitter.com/Y5yrmL4i35— Sport TG4 (@SportTG4) February 3, 2024
However, the Crusaders were not defeated and Reihana had a tough shot to seal the tie with substitute Hanna in the dying minutes, but his try went wide.
The Super Rugby Pacific champions will regroup for the second and final leg of their pre-season tour against Bristol Bears at Ashton Gate on Friday.
team
Munster: 15 Shane Daly, 14 Sean O'Brien, 13 Antoine Frisch, 12 Alex Nankibel, 11 Shea McCarthy, 10 Joey Carbery, 9 Ethan Coughlan, 8 Jack O'Sullivan, 7 Alex Kenderen (c), 6 Ruadhan Quinn, 5 Finnen Wycherley, 4 Gavin Coombs, 3 Stephen Archer, 2 Eoghan Clarke, 1 Josh Wycherley
Replacement: 16 Scott Buckley, 17 Mark Donnelly, 18 John Ryan, 19 Kamil Nowak, 20 Jack Daly, 21 Daniel Okeke, 22 Neil Cronin, 23 Tony Butler, 24 Rory Scannell, 25 Colm Hogan
Crusade: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Chey Fihaki, 13 Levi Ohmua, 12 Dallas McLeod, 11 Makka Springer, 10 Taha Kemara, 9 Mitch Drummond, 8 Karen Grace, 7 Tom Christie, 6 Dominic Garr. Dinner, 5 Tarah Cahill, 4 Quinten Strange (c), 3 Owen Franks, 2 George Bell, 1 George Bauer
Replacement: 16 Ioan Moananu, 17 Kershawl Sykesmartin, 18 Seb Calder, 19 Jamie Hanna, 20 Christian Rio-Willi, 21 Noah Hotsam, 22 Ribeth Rehana, 23 Ryan Crotty, 24 Josh Southall, 25 heremaia murray
Referee: Chris Buzby (IRFU)
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