Munster v Ulster: Five takeaways as John Hodnett ‘steals the show’ as hosts bolster play-off hopes with emphatic win
Munster openside flanker John Hodnett and Ulster outside centre Ethan McIlroy (inset).
Following Munster’s 41-14 over Ulster in their United Rugby Championship (URC) clash at Thomond Park on Saturday, Planet Rugby picks out five takeaways from the thrilling action.
The top line
After clinching a morale-boosting away victory against Benetton last weekend, Munster returned home for this inter-provincial derby and clinched a deserved win over their under-strength opponents.
Although the visitors were fastest out of the blocks and held an early lead after Aitzol King crossed for the opening try in the 13th minute, Munster struck back midway through the opening half when John Hodnett dotted down.
On the half-hour mark, the home side’s openside flanker went over for his second try with JJ Hanrahan adding the extras, and the match was evenly poised at half-time with Munster holding a 12-7 lead.
Alex Kendellen came on to replace Tom Farrell early in the second half and the hosts’ replacement was soon in the thick of the action as he was rewarded with two converted tries in quick succession, which meant Munster were up 24-7 after 53 minutes.
Clayton McMillan’s troops went in search of their bonus-point try and achieved that goal two minutes later when Hodnett scored his third five-pointer before Ulster struck back via a John Andrew try in the 65th minute.
That would be the last time the visitors would score points as it was all-Munster in the game’s closing stages with Hodnett crossing for his fourth try in the 68th minute before secured his hat-trick an emphatic win for his side soon after.
John Hodnett steals the show
Munster’s 27-year-old openside flanker stole the show as he crossed for four well-taken tries and it was just reward for his efforts as he delivered an outstanding all-round performance.
Apart from his try-scoring heroics, the hardworking tearaway also impressed with his breakdown work, while he also did his bit in the execution of his defensive duties, where he made eight tackles.
From the outset, Hodnett took the fight to the Ulstermen and after crossing for his first five-pointer off the back of a lineout drive deep inside Ulster territory, he also dotted from close range in the 30th minute.
Hodnett continued to shine with ball in hand after the interval and his third try was the best of the lot as he showed a superb turn of speed to round of after good work from Craig Casey, Tom Ahern and Gavin Coombes in the build-up.
And when he crossed for his last five-pointer in the 68th minute, it was a significant achievement as he joined an elite club at Munster by becoming only the third player in the Irish province’s history to score four tries in a league match.
Tough day at the office for Ulster second-stringers
The men from Belfast came into this encounter after suffering a hard-fought home defeat against Leinster, and that fixture took its toll on their players and their head coach Richie Murphy was forced to make some injury-enforced changes.
In fact, Murphy also rested several first-choice players which meant Ulster took to the field with a very youthful side with academy players James McKillop, Tom Brigg, and Aitzol Arenzana-King all making their senior debuts.
They were competitive early on and held the upper hand for most of the first half, but Munster soon took control of proceedings, although Ulster must have fancied their chances with the hosts only leading by five points at the interval.
However, it was a different story in the second half as things went pear-shaped for Ulster second stringers and their inexperience showed as Munster dominated throughout.
Play-off race far from over
The sides came into this fixture with just one point separating them in the URC standings with Ulster occupying sixth position and Munster sitting in seventh place.
However, this result sees Munster moving up to fifth spot while Ulster are now seventh place, although Murphy’s troops could drop further down the pecking order if the Bulls beat the Scarlets in Saturday’s late game.
With two rounds of the URC’s regular season still left both sides can ill afford defeats at this stage of the campaign.
Munster still have an outside chance of securing a home quarter-final but they have to beat Connacht (away) and the Lions (home) to achieve that goal.
Meanwhile, Ulster have home matches against the Stormers and Glasgow Warriors looming on the horizon and Murphy is expected to welcome back his first-choice players against the men from the Cape next weekend as they look to advance to the play-offs.
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Some positives for Ulster
Although they came off second best in most facets of play, there were some players in Ulster’s ranks who came to the fore with impressive performances.
From the kick off, back-row duo Lorcan McLoughlin (number eight) and Brigg (openside flanker) got through plenty of work at the coalface of the visitors’ forward effort.
Despite receiving a yellow card early on, Brigg was competitive at the breakdowns while McLoughlin emptied the tank on attack and finished the match with a match-high 15 carries made.
Meanwhile, outside centre Ethan McIlroy was not far behind with 14 carries made while experienced back-row replacement Marcus Rea also made his presence felt when he replaced Brigg in the 57th minute and won three crucial turnovers in the game’s closing stages.