Munster 18-13 Ulster: Hosts claim gritty derby win despite Zebo red card

Alex Kendellen's 75th-minute try gave 14-man Munster a memorable win against Ulster at Thomond Park.

The hosts were a man short for 65 minutes following Simon Zebo's early red card but edged a physical derby.

Ulster led through Rob Herring's eighth-minute try but could not make their advantage count and were on the back foot for much of the second half.

The northern province lost their way after John Cooney was forced off with a leg injury after 24 minutes.

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While the scrum-half's withdrawal interrupted the visitors' flow, Munster also had to contend with considerable disruption before kick-off, with captain Peter O'Mahony pulling out of the starting line-up having picked up an injury in the warm-up.

Tadhg Beirne was promoted from the bench to replace O'Mahony and delivered a sensational individual performance, personifying Munster's grit with a technical masterclass at the breakdown.

After a Covid-19 outbreak saw interpros against Connacht and Leinster called off, Ulster relieved some of their pent-up energy with a ferocious start in Limerick.

Their brightest spell of the game came before Zebo's red card, by which point they were already seven points to the good after Herring went over at the back of yet another well-constructed maul.

Simon Zebo's 15th-minute red card put Munster on the back foot early at Thomond Park

The visitors carried with purpose, employing a tactic similar to the one that yielded a win over Leinster at the RDS with the forwards more often than not acting as first receiver on short lines and maintaining constant forward progress.

Munster had not yet found a footing in the contest when they were reduced to 14 as Zebo was shown a straight red for a shoulder to the head of Michael Lowry that left referee Mike Adamson with little choice.

The sending off appeared to galvanise Munster, who produced a strong defensive set to deny Ulster a second score before driving forward themselves for the first time in the game.

They had to settle for three points from the boot of Jack Crowley though, after their attempts to score a try were repelled by a stubborn Ulster defence.

Crowley kicked his side to within a point just before the interval, but just as Munster looked to be heading into the sheds with their tails up they conceded a penalty that allowed Nathan Doak, on for the injured Cooney, to push Ulster's lead back out to four points.

Alex Kendellen's late try was reward for a gritty Munster display

Replacements swing game in Munster's favour

After the break Doak further extended his side's lead with another penalty awarded following a dominant Ulster scrum.

The northern province were in front but never comfortable, and they did not exploit the extra space on offer and instead continued to pursue a narrow attack.

By contrast Munster were more prepared to move the ball out to the edge and found their reward just a minute after numerical parity was temporarily restored following Kieran Treadwell's yellow card when Craig Casey sprayed a pass out wide for Mike Haley to stroll in and bring the hosts to within two points.

Substitute Kendellen, only introduced to the matchday 23 following O'Mahony's injury, was one of a number of Munster replacements to make a considerable impression as the home side began to control the final 20 minutes.

The decisive try came five minutes from the end as Haley and Jack O'Donoghue made linebreaks to bring the hosts to within a metre of the Ulster line before Kendellen produced the final burst, diving over for Munster's first lead of the game.

The hosts were then able to see out the match in relative comfort, with Beirne fittingly producing the final turnover in midfield to bring an absorbing contest to a close.

Ulster: Lowry, Gilroy, Moxham, Hume, McIlroy, Burns, Cooney; McGrath, Herring, O'Toole, O'Connor (captain), Carter, Jones, Timoney, Vermeulen.

Replacements: Andrew, Warwick, Kane, Treadwell, Marcus Rea, Doak, Curtis, Lyttle.

Munster: Haley; French, Farrell, Scannell, Zebo; Crowley, Casey; Kilcoyne, Scannell, Archer; Ahern, Wycherley; Beirne, Hodnett, Coombes.

Replacements: Barron, Wycherley, Ryan, Kendellen, O'Donoghue, Cronin, Healy, Daly.