Munster Rugby fall to Champions Cup defeat away to Exeter Chiefs

MUNSTER'S hopes of reaching the knockout stages of the Investec Champions Cup took a major blow after a 32-24 loss to Exeter Chiefs at Sandy Park.

Graham Rowntree's men looked in a good position leading by 11-points heading into the final 25 minutes but shipped three tries late on and remain without a win from their opening two group games. 

Tries from Calvin Nash, Thomas Ahern and Antoine Frisch had Munster leading by nine points at the break and Shane Daly's early score in the second half secured a try bonus point. However, the late collapse ensured victory for the home side.

Munster made an excellent start to the game with Crowley's kick in behind putting Exeter on the back foot. Sean O'Brien then won the turnover penalty that was kicked to touch.

Exeter held out the initial Munster darts but a floated skip pass from Casey saw Nash ghost in for the first try of the game. Crowley added a superb conversion to put Munster 7-0 up after seven minutes.

The home side responded well when they ran back a poor Frisch clearing kick. Tommy Wyatt, Rusi Tuima and Dafydd Jenkins brought Exeter inside the '22 and they were awarded a penalty for Munster straying offside. 

Exeter kicked to the corner and hooker Dan Frost touched down following a powerful attacking phase by the Chiefs. Henry Slade's conversion squared the game.

Munster were soon back in front with a deft Crowley chip right was perfectly timed for Ahern, who did brilliantly to collect and race away from the home defence to score their second try on 23 minutes.

John Hodnett was harshly penalised at the breakdown a couple of minutes later for Slade to convert the penalty but Munster were causing issues all throughout the opening 40.

They were rewarded close to the break with a third five-pointer. Casey offloaded to Ahern, who fed Daly on the inside channel. The Munster full back floated a pass right to Frisch and he touched down in the corner. Crowley added a superb touchline conversion to give Munster a 19-10 lead.

The score remained in Munster's favour despite severe Exeter pressure with Tadhg Beirne winning a turnover penalty on his own line right on half time.

Slade opened the second half scoring for Exeter after Beirne was pinged, harshly, at the breakdown but Munster were soon back on the front foot.

The Exeter blitz defence was caught out again with Crowley's skip pass to Frisch. The centre brought play into the Exeter half before sliding the ball left to O'Brien.

Munster recycled with Frisch in the middle of things again when freeing his hands to offload onto Diarmuid Barron. The hooker went close to the line but Munster stayed patient. Nankivell using the overlap to send Daly over for an easy finish that saw Munster to a 24-13 lead.

There was still plenty of time for Exeter to get back into the game and that's exactly what they did on 63 minutes. Munster gave away a penalty at a lineout. Slade kicked to the corner and Vintcent powered over. Slade added the extras to make it a four-point game.

The home side were in for another moments later when Nash failed to deal with a Stu Townsend kick and former Leinster second row Jack Dunne took full advantage to score their third try. Slade again hit the target with the resultant kick to put his side 27-24 ahead.

Munster pushed hard in the final quarter to get back into the game but were caught when Conor Murray's pass was intercepted by Slade and he took off to score the game-winning try and give his side an eight-point winning margin.

EXETER CHIEFS: Tommy Wyatt; Olly Woodburn, Henry Slade, Joe Hawkins, Ben Hammersley; Harvey Skinner, Tom Cairns; Scott Sio, Dan Frost, Ehren Painter; Rusi Tuima, Dafydd Jenkins; Lewis Pearson, Jacques Vermuelen, Greg Fisilau.

Replacements: Max Norey for Frost (51 mins), Nika Abuladze for Sio (51 mins), Marcus Street for Painter (51 mins), Stu Townsend for Cairns (51 mins), Rory O'Loughlin for Woodburn (51 mins), Ross Vintcent for Vermeulen (54 mins), Jack Dunne for Tuima (54 mins), Olly Devoto for Hawkins (60 mins).

MUNSTER RUGBY: Shane Daly; Calvin Nash, Antoine Frisch, Alex Nankivell, Sean O'Brien; Jack Crowley, Craig Casey; Jeremy Lougman, Diarmuid Barron, Stephen Archer; Gavin Coombes, Tadhg Beirne; Thomas, John Hodnett, Jack O'Donoghue.

Replacements: Oli Jager for Archer (58 mins), Conor Murray for Casey (58 mins), Josh Wycherley for Loughman (66 mins), Brian Gleeson for O'Donoghue (69 mins), Alex Kendellan for Hodnett (71 mins), Ben O'Connor for O'Brien (77 mins).

REFEREE: Mathieu Raynal (France)