Munster scored a late try to beat the DHL Stormers in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship final in Cape Town on Saturday and end a 12-year trophy drought.
Loose forward John Hodnett wrote himself into Munster folklore by scoring the winning try in the 74th minute to earn the visitors a 19-14 victory in front of more than 56,000 spectators at DHL Stadium.
.@MUNSTERRUGBY ARE THE UNITED RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP CHAMPIONS!@Vodacom #URC | #UnitedWeRise | #STOvMUN pic.twitter.com/fjMDXfGRFZ
— Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial_RSA) May 27, 2023
It was Munster’s first major title since the 2010-2011 season, built on a masterful kicking game in the first half and dogged defending in the second.
The Stormers had their opportunities, especially in the second half when they appeared to have Munster on the ropes, but the defending champions could not land the all-important knockout blow and it came back to bite them.
The first half was a war of attrition, with Munster working out a seemingly perfect formula to create opportunity after opportunity, while the Stormers had to live on scraps.
This came after the hosts had made a bright start, knocking the visitors backwards and forcing them into risky plays through excellent defence. That led to the opening try, where Manie Libbok intercepted and ran 60 metres to score off a Munster offload.
Fast start by Manie Libbok and the DHL @TheStormers are first to add to their tally this evening!@Vodacom #URC | #UnitedWeRise | #STOvMUN pic.twitter.com/SuiWXUJQU7
— Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial_RSA) May 27, 2023
However, from there it was one-way traffic as Munster pressured the Stormers through excellent kicking from veteran scrumhalf Conor Murray, while also relentlessly bashing holes into the blue wall.
The pressure on the Stormers went up a notch when Evan Roos was sent to the sin bin for cynical play. During this 10-minute period, Munster wasted three clear-cut scoring opportunities, before Crowley set up Nash with a brilliant cross-field kick that gave the away side a 12-7 lead at the break.
Jack Crowley ➡️ Calvin Nash, but make it GRAND ✨@Vodacom #URC | #UnitedWeRise | #STOvMUN pic.twitter.com/ppcWq7ViT3
— Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial_RSA) May 27, 2023
The Stormers came out of the half-time team talk fired up and were given an early boost in the second half when Munster fullback Mike Haley was yellow-carded for a cynical tackle.
The record crowd roared with delight when a powerful maul put Deon Fourie over for a try, with Libbok landing the conversion to give the Stormers the lead.
That seemed to give the Stormers the boost they needed, but when push came to shove, they lacked the accuracy to make the most of their momentum.
Instead, it was Munster, who with one of their few chances in the second half, made it count, when Hodnett crossed from an overlap for the title-winning score.
Photo: Shaun Roy/BackpagePix