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Peter O'Mahony stars on Thomond Park farewell as Munster power past Ulster

Updated / Friday, 9 May 2025 21:35
Peter O'Mahony celebrates his try
Peter O'Mahony celebrates his try

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As Munster's play-off ambitions took a shot in the arm, Ulster’s now look in deep trouble.

There has rarely been so much on the line in a meeting of Munster and Ulster, but after a thrilling first half at Thomond Park, Ian Costello’s side proved too good for their provincial rivals, taking a big leap towards securing Champions Cup rugby with a 38-20 win.

With Peter O’Mahony, Stephen Archer and Conor Murray making what will almost certainly be their final appearances at Thomond Park, the trio made sure it would be a memorable farewell, with O’Mahony, in particular, at the centre of everything.

The flanker’s try just before the hour mark effectively killed off the game and lifted the roof off the stadium, a fitting way for the 35-year-old to cap off his final Thomond appearance.

For 40 minutes, Ulster looked capable of causing a shock. They were 17-10 ahead after 25 minutes following tries for Stuart McCloskey and Jude Postlethwaite, while Munster’s lineout issues were continuing.

Michael Milne and Tom Farrell’s tries had kept Munster in touch, but Jack Crowley had some early struggles off the tee, missing both conversions.

An opportunistic Tadhg Beirne (above) try got Munster back level before Niall Scannell’s bonus-point try made it 24-20 at the break following a chaotic first half.

But the home side showed their composure down the stretch, with Farrell adding his second try of the game shortly before O’Mahony stole the show, sealing a priceless win for Munster, who know against Benetton in Cork next week will secure Champions Cup rugby for another season.

O’Mahony was on it from the opening whistle, haring after Crowley’s kick-off, while he came up with a stolen lineout and a crunching tackle on Cormac Izuchukwu inside the opening 140 seconds.

It was Ulster who struck first though, as McCloskey dived in from a couple of meters out with five minutes played.

A penalty against Alex Nankivell for clearing beyond the ruck gave them the field position to launch the attack, and after a series of phases close to the Munster line, Iain Henderson picked and occupied two defenders, before popping the ball into McCloskey, who was charging into the empty space for a well-worked try.

Murphy’s conversion made it 7-0, but it didn’t take Munster long to reply, and a couple of quick penalties gave them a lineout five metres from the Ulster line.

They did have an element of fortune on their side, as Izuchukwu stole the throw before it landed back in Niall Scannell’s hands, and after Stephen Archer came within inches scoring a rare try, new signing Milne spotted a gap to squeeze over and score his first in a Munster shirt, although Crowley couldn’t level the game from the tee, leaving Ulster 7-5 in front.

On 15 minutes, Ulster were reduced to 14 men when Scott Wilson’s high tackle on Gavin Coombes was spotted by the TMO, but another lost lineout – one of three in the first half - saw the visitors get the ball back, leading to a penalty which Murphy put between the posts for a 10-5 lead.

The next 10 minutes was chaos, a mix of glorious skill and dreadful mistakes.

Brilliant work down the left side by Calvin Nash and Diarmuid Kilgallen put Munster back on the attack before Thaakir Abrahams put O’Mahony into space down the right wing, and while the Munster flanker could well have finished the score on his own, his unselfish pass back inside to Farrell gave the centre a walk-in score to get Munster level.

Crowley’s conversion was pulled wide, and the out-half had further problems moments later when he allowed himself get stripped of the ball by Izuchukwu, and Ulster punished that error as they moved the ball wide through Murphy and Henderson, as Postlethwaite skittled Abrahams as he crashed over the line.

Murphy nailed his touchline conversion to make it 17-10, but this time it was the Ulster out-half who made a mess of the restart, with his kick charged down by Beirne, and the Munster captain collected the bobbling ball to score his team’s third try, which Crowley finally converted to draw the sides level at 17-17.

On 34 minutes, Munster brought up the bonus-point and took the lead for the first time in the game as they mauled their way over in the corner for a Niall Scannell try, again converted by Crowley, but there was still time for Murphy to knock over a penalty with the final play of a breathless half, with Munster 24-20 ahead.

Two quick penalties early in the second half put Munster back within striking range on 44 minutes, but they couldn't execute from a five-metre tap and go as Rob Herring’s crunching tackle on Milne forced the prop into a knock-on.

The game grew cagey as the pair swapped scrum penalties and Munster’s lineout continued to prove unreliable, but a big turnover from Gavin Coombes on 53 minutes led to a sweeping transition attack from the home side, one that had a big swing on the game.

The attack ended with a second Ulster yellow card, McCloskey binned for cynical play at the breakdown, and from the resulting lineout Munster mauled infield, before Farrell hit a direct line off Nankivell to crash in under the posts, with Crowley converting the try to make it 31-20.

It would get even better on 57 minutes after great work from Tom Ahern put Munster back on the attack, with Crowley’s crossfield kick sitting up beautifully for O’Mahony, who leaped above Doak to collect and score a try that brought the 17,684 at Thomond Park to its feet.

Crowley’s conversion made it 38-20, and the noise was still ringing moments later when O’Mahony was called ashore for another memorable ovation.

Ulster didn’t quit on the game, chasing tries which could have got them in bonus-point range, but there was no way past a composed Munster defence.

Munster scorers: Tries: Michael Milne, Tom Farrell (2), Tadhg Beirne, Niall Scannell, Peter O’Mahony

Cons: Jack Crowley (4)

Ulster scorers: Tries: Stuart McCloskey, Jude Postlethwaite

Cons: Jack Murphy (2)

Pens: Jack Murphy (2)

Munster: Thaakir Abrahams; Calvin Nash, Tom Farrell, Alex Nankivell, Diarmuid Kilgallen; Jack Crowley, Craig Casey; Michael Milne, Niall Scannell, Stephen Archer; Jean Kleyn, Tadhg Beirne (capt); Peter O'Mahony, John Hodnett, Gavin Coombes.

Replacements: Lee Barron (for Scannell, 55), Josh Wycherley (for Milne, 55), John Ryan (for Archer, 63), Fineen Wycherley (for O’Mahony, 60), Tom Ahern (for Kleyn, 48), Conor Murray (for Casey, 66), Seán O’Brien (for Beirne, 77), Alex Kendellen (for Hodnett, 55).

Ulster: Michael Lowry; Rob Baloucoune, Jude Postlethwaite, Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale; Jack Murphy, Nathan Doak; Andrew Warwick, Rob Herring, Scott Wilson; Iain Henderson (capt), Cormac Izuchukwu; Matty Rea, Nick Timoney, James McNabney

Replacements: Tom Stewart (for Herring, 63), Callum Reid (for Warwick, 50), Tom O'Toole (for Wilson, 53), Alan O’Connor (for Henderson, 60), David McCann (for Rea, 48), Dave Shanahan (for Doak, 64), Stewart Moore (for McCloskey), Werner Kok (for Baloucoune, 60)

Referee: Adam Jones (WRU)

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Watch Munster v Ulster in the URC on Friday from 7pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to live commentary on RTÉ Radio 1 Extra

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