Munster dish out Champions Cup thrashing to Gloucester

Munster produced a dominant display to secure a bonus-point win over Gloucester as they got their European Champions Cup campaign back on track.

Johann van Graan’s men were beaten by Castres in the previous round of Pool 2 matches, but they built a commanding lead at the summit by completing the double over their Premiership opponents with a 41-15 triumph. 

The Irish province endured a slow start at Kingsholm and did not get off the mark until Joey Carbery’s 19th-minute penalty cancelled out Billy Twelvetrees’ three-pointer.

But from there it was all one-way traffic, with Carbery converting his own try, kicking another penalty and adding the extras to a Rory Scannell score before the interval.

A Gloucester side featuring the returning Danny Cipriani offered greater resistance in the second half as Ollie Thorley and Fraser Balmain touched down, but Munster – beaten semi-finalists last season – were simply too strong, with Keith Earls, Andrew Conway and Carbery going over to complete the rout.

Wow! A massive bonus-point win over Gloucester at Kingsholm keeps Munster at the top of Champions Cup Pool 2!

Tries from @JoeyCarbery (2), @Scannell_Rory12, @KeithEarls87 & Andrew Conway seal the win with Carbery kicking another 16 points off the tee!#GLOvMUN #SUAF pic.twitter.com/adrp7ooPiG

— Munster Rugby (@Munsterrugby) January 11, 2019

The only sour note for the visitors was an injury for captain Peter O’Mahony, with an otherwise delighted Van Graan telling BT Sport: “I’m very proud of the lads after that performance. I thought we were clinical and I’m very happy with that bonus point.

“It’s a bit early to say on Pete’s involvement for next week, he’ll need to be assessed.”

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