Munster failed to get the better of fellow URC play-off chasers Cardiff after leaving Arms Park with a losing bonus-point 26-21 defeat at Arms Park.
When Ian Costello's side kept 15 men on the pitch, they scored 21 unanswered points. The problem was, when down to 14, they conceded 26 without scoring, falling to a five-point defeat, a result that leaves them perilously close to falling out of the URC's top eight, depending on results across the weekend.
Both sides traded two tries apiece in a lively first half, Munster guilty of their defensive mishaps while Fineen Wycherley was in the bin. When it was 15 vs 15, the province outscored Cardiff 0-14, Calvin Nash and Mike Haley crossing to earn a half-time lead.
Cardiff could, and should, have hit the front with just five minutes on the clock.
Loosehead prop Danny Southworth burst through a weak tackle in the middle of the Munster line, offloading to Johan Mulder for what everyone thought was a score. After the missed conversion, with Munster ambling back to halfway, the referee glanced at the big screen. The last pass was forward.
Eight minutes later, the visitors instead opened the scoring. The try was straightforward, a series of forward carries sucking Cardiff in off the back of a lineout before Craig Casey threw a long, floated pass for Nash to touch down out wide.
The momentum that should have built from such a clinical score never arrived. Cardiff used a clever maul play, quickly shifting the ball from one jumper to another, to go close. Minutes later, Wycherley slapped the ball down, making no attempt to catch. Yellow card.
Against 14 men, Cardiff’s attack kicked back into gear after previously being knocked back by Munster’s impressive - if borderline illegal - line speed.
Gabriel Hamer-Webb, who up until this point had been limited to winning a number of aerial contests, scored in the corner after Cardiff narrowed the understaffed red defence.
Just three minutes later, Munster’s backfield allowed Ben Thomas’ kick to bounce. The chasing Hamer-Webb cashed in, claiming possession before offloading to Toby Faletau. He could well have had the speed and power to beat last man Jack Crowley, but he passed inside to Harri Millard to be sure of the score.
Trailing as Wycherley returned, Munster did recover to lead at the break. Another penalty into the 22 came good, this time the maul sucking in defenders before Crowley and Tom Farrell combined to send Haley barrelling over.
Cardiff could have had the first score of the second half when Josh Adams outpaced Nash with an intercept-try on the cards. Munster again took advantage of the wasted Cardiff opportunity, some more clinical play inside the 22 resulted in Tom Farrell taking a scoring pass from Crowley.
A nine-point lead looked somewhat comfortable at this stage until another yellow card was brandished. Jack O’Donoghue was the guilty party this time, stopping Liam Belcher from peeling off a maul from an offside position. The penalty try trimmed the gap to just two.
That quickly turned to a five-point lead for the hosts, with Mulder diving over from close range. Munster once again conceded twice with a man in the bin.
A last Munster attack, building through countless phases from their own half up towards the 22, came up short. The last two home games against Ulster and Benetton now look like must-wins.
Cardiff: Winnett; Adams, Millard, Thomas, Hamer-Webb; Sheedy, Mulder; Southworth, Belcher (capt), Assiratti; McNally, Williams; Botham, Young, Faletau.
Replacements: Litterick for Assirati (22-34, HIA), Domachowski for Southworth, Donnell for Young (both 49), Lloyd for Belcher, Litterick for Assiratti (both 60), , Lawrence for Faletau (64), Thornton for McNally (66), Davies for Mulder (75).
Munster: Haley; Nash, Farrell, Nankivell, Abrahams; Crowley, Casey; Milne, Scannell, Ryan; Wycherley, Beirne (capt); O’Donoghue, Kendellen, Coombes.
Replacements: Barron for Scannell (50), Donnelly, Foxe, Kleyn for Wycherley, Quinn for Kendellen, O’Brien for Nankivell (all 60), Donnelly for Milne (65), Foxe for Ryan, Butler for Haley (both 75).
Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)
