Hart and Wycherley lay foundations as Munster remain in the hunt
NOTTINGHAM 12
MUNSTER ‘A’ 17
BRITISH & IRISH CUP POOL ONE
MUNSTER ‘A’ kept their British & Irish Cup hopes alive with a narrow victory over Nottingham Rugby in Lady Bay last night.
Munster remain two points adrift of Bedford Blues at the top of the table with another round of games left to play in Pool One.
Yet, thanks largely to first-half tries from James Hart and Fineen Wycherley, they are still in contention for a quarter-final spot.
Gerbrandt Grobler played his first game in red after a week in the spotlight since Johann Van Graan confirmed the South African, who has served a two-year doping ban, was finally ready for action after recovering from injury. After his successful recovery from ankle surgery, he featured in the second-row alongside Wycherley.
It was Nottingham who hit the ground running though, as hooker Jimmy Stevens crossed over for a ninth-minute try.
However, after Bill Johnston added conversions to fine finishes from scrum-half Hart and Wycherley, Munster ‘A’ developed a 14-5 interval advantage.
Nottingham fired back three minutes into the second period with a Joe Cobden try, which placed Munster on high alert for the remainder of the contest.
The English Championship outfit pushed hard for a game-changing score, but following a successful penalty by Conor Fitzgerald in the closing stages, Munster ‘A’ won out with five points to spare.
Scorers – Nottingham: J Stevens, J Cobden try each, T Eden con. Munster ‘A’: J Hart, F Wycherley try each, B Johnston 2 cons.
NOTTINGHAM – S Scanlon; B Robinson, W Millett, G Lyons, J Cobden; T Eden, M McConnell; A Sio, J Stevens, R Burke; T Cardall, B Morris; S Buckley, J Coghlan, J Poullet. REPS: B Brownlie, J Jack, B Hooper, S Cecil, M Everard, D Veenendaal, V Hakalo.
MUNSTER ‘A’ – D Johnston; C Nash, S Daly, D McCarthy, S Fitzgerald; B Johnston, J Hart; J Loughman, M Sherry, B Scott; F Wycherley, G Grobler; S O’Connor, C Oliver, G Coombes. REPS: D Casey, C Parker, S McCarthy, J Foley, J Poland, C Fitzgerald, R O’Mahony.