Munster's tour of South Africa ended in a second consecutive defeat, though two losing bonus-points will come as a good consolation after a thrilling 34-31 United Rugby Championship loss to the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld.
Clayton McMillan's side looked a different team compared to last week's 45-0 thrashing in Pretoria, as five tries saw them repeatedly stay in touch with the Bulls, every time the hosts threatened to pull away.
Munster outscored the home side five tries to four, but out-half Jack Crowley saw two of his conversion attempts miss, while Handre Pollard went six from six, two of those being second-half penalties to get his team over the line and dent Munster's play-off ambitions.
Aside from those conversions, Crowley was integral to everything good his side did in Pretoria, along with captain Craig Casey, and it contributed to a fluid attacking game, where Tom Ahern crossed for two tries, along with Sean O'Brien, Ben O'Connor and Edwin Edogbo.
Unlike last week, Munster started brightly, with Crowley and Brian Gleeson connecting well on an early attack, while some aggressive defence forced the Bulls into multiple knock-ons in good attacking positions in the opening quarter.
Crowley and Casey were putting speed onto the Munster attack, and after a Canan Moodie knock-on, the province quickly moved wide which resulted in a deliberate knock-on from Kurt-Lee Arendse, allowing Munster a shot at the 22.
It was the best chance of the opening quarter, and Munster made it count as Alex Nankivell's hard carry through the middle sucked in the defenders, before quick hands between Gleeson and Crowley got the ball to Alex Kendellen. The backrower sprayed a brilliant pass on the run to O'Brien, sending the wing in for a try, and a 7-0 Munster lead.
It was a level game 10 minute later however. JJ Hanrahan - on for the injured Calvin Nash - saw a kick go out on the full, and from that lineout the Bulls moved infield. Embrose Papier spotted a gap down the blindside, sidestepping Ahern, beating O'Connor for pace and then skipping inside Hanrahan to run in under the posts for the equalising try, converted by Pollard for 7-7.
Nortje's high shot on Barron saw the Bulls lock sent to the sin-bin, but Munster failed to take advantage of that opportunity as Crowley missed touch, and the visitors compounded that by losing a lineout shortly after, before Stedman Gans shook off a tame Nankivell tackle to send Moodie in for the second Bulls try, and a 14-7 half time lead.
Munster came out firing upon the resumption, and needed just over a minute before getting in for their second try, Ahern fighting his way over the line after a brilliant break from Kendellen allowed Sean Edogbo and Michael Ala'alatoa rumble through the 22.
Crowley's conversion missed the target though, leaving two points between the sides.
The Bulls discipline was crumbling as Munster were handed another opportunity in the 22, but momentum completely flipped on 46 minutes when Niall Scannell took his eyes off a pass, the Bulls hacking the bobbling ball forward and Papier outpacing everyone on the pitch to run in for his team's third try, a suckerpunch of a score to move the Bulls 21-12 in front.
Again, Munster came back, and once again a penalty was the currency needed to get them into the 22, as a series of strong, close carries saw Ahern force his way over to cut the Bulls' lead back to two points.
They should have got in for their fourth try moments later, as a beautiful Crowley grubber kick finished with a great chance for Dan Kelly, but he bobbled the ball with the line at his mercy, and three minutes later the Munster centre found himself sidestepped by Cheswill Jooste in midfield, as the 20-year-old Bulls sub scampered away for their bonus score.
Pollard converted, and added a penalty on 60 minutes to make it a 12-point game heading into the final quarter, but just as it looked like the contest was drifting away from Munster, another moment of brilliance from Crowley opened a gap for O'Connor to run in and score, securing a bonus-point for the visitors on 67 minutes.
With seven minutes left, Pollard kept the scoreboard ticking over with his second penalty after an infringement from Jeremy Loughman at a maul, which took Munster out of range for a losing bonus-point.
However, a simple knock-on handed the province another opportunity to attack, and they made it count when Edwin Edogbo forced his way over, securing his side two points on the road, as attention turns to the Challenge Cup in Exeter next weekend.
Listen to the RTÉ Rugby podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts, and email us at sportpodcasts@rte.ie
