Pro14: Cardiff Blues 37-13 Munster

Willis Halaholo led Cardiff Blues to a thrilling Pro14 win over Munster at the Arms Park on Friday night.

The centre created two tries - for Nick Williams and Tomos Williams - before deservedly claiming a score of his own with another blistering line break.

Munster only trailed by a point at half-time thanks to a brace of tries from wing Andrew Conway.

Gareth Anscombe's boot helped Blues edge away and Tomos Williams' late second try claimed a bonus point.

Jarrod Evans (illness) and Blaine Scully (throat injury) were late withdrawals from the home side, with Anscombe moved to fly-half, Matthew Morgan starting at 15 and Owen Lane handed the right-wing berth.

Lane almost made an immediate impact when he was sent under the posts by Halaholo's inside ball, only for referee Quinton Immelman to rule it out for crossing.

It was only a temporary reprieve for Munster, however, as Halaholo burst through the middle to get within a whisker, allowing Nick Williams to dive over.

Anscombe added the easy conversion but Munster struck back with two Conway tries in quick succession.

The first came from a steal at a ruck that allowed the winger to chip ahead and re-gather to score.

Munster wing Andrew Conway showed his predatory instincts with two tries

The second owed everything to a brilliant Joey Carbery break from deep inside his own half, jinking clear to race down the left wing, before the ball was recycled back across the pitch where the predatory Conway was waiting.

Fly-half Carbery missed both the tricky conversions from tight on the touchline, but Munster led 10-7.

There had been some harsh words in the Blues camp following their lacklustre defeat to Zebre last weekend, following their opening losses to Leinster and Benetton, and John Mulvihill's side responded to going behind in thrilling fashion.

Halaholo was again the catalyst, the New Zealander's quick feet bamboozling Munster's defence before sending the scoring pass to scrum-half Tomos Williams on his shoulder.

Anscombe again converted, although a Carbery penalty trimmed the Blues' lead to a single point.

Halaholo gave Blues a flying start to the second half when the centre claimed the score his performance deserved, showing raw pace to go outside Jaco Taute for a third home try.

Anscombe kicked the conversion and followed that with his first penalty of the night to give Blues some breathing space on the scoreboard.

Blues captain Ellis Jenkins was playing his 100th game for the Welsh region, and the flanker and his back-row colleagues battled fiercely with a Munster breakaway trio that included Ireland and British and Irish Lions number eight CJ Stander making his first start of the season.

Munster camped on Blues' try line through half-a-dozen phases as the visiting forwards tried to bull over from close range, but an immense defensive effort kept the red shirts out before Kristian Dacey forced the turnover.

Two Anscombe penalties stretched the home side's advantage to 30-13 with 10 minutes remaining, crucially taking Blues three scores clear.

And a second try for scrum-half Williams crowned a perfect night for the Blues, who could also celebrate forward Macauley Cook coming off the bench to make his 150th appearance for the Welsh capital side.

Cardiff Blues John Mulvihill told BBC Radio Wales:

"Tonight we put in an 80-minute performance. We were physical from the start to the end.

"The senior players really stepped up and controlled that game; we kept knocking it over and getting two scores in front, three scores in front and I know the boys were really chasing that bonus point at the end.

"The intent is there, we've got a really good rugby team and I said to the boys that we've been to hell and back in the last three weeks... but we've kept faith in what we're trying to achieve."

Cardiff Blues: Matthew Morgan; Owen Lane, Willis Halaholo, Rey Lee-Lo, Jason Harries; Gareth Anscombe, Tomos Williams; Rhys Gill, Kristian Dacey, Dmitri Arhip, George Earle, Josh Turnbull, Josh Navidi, Ellis Jenkins (capt), Nick Williams.

Replacements: Kirby Myhill, Rhys Carre, Scott Andrews, Macauley Cook, Olly Robinson, Lloyd Williams, Garyn Smith, Tom Williams.

Munster: JJ Hanrahan; Andrew Conway, Jaco Taute, Rory Scannell, Darren Sweetnam; Joey Carbery, Duncan Williams; James Cronin, Mike Sherry, Stephen Archer, Jean Kleyn, Tadhg Beirne, Peter O'Mahony (capt), Chris Cloete, CJ Stander.

Replacements: Diarmuid Barron, Dave Kilcoyne, Brian Scott, Darren O'Shea, Tommy O'Donnell, Jack Stafford, Bill Johnston, Shane Daly.

Referee: Quinton Immelman (RSA).

Touch judges: Rhys Thomas (WRU), Gareth John (WRU).

TMO: Ian Davies (WRU).

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