Cup rugby order of the day as Munster get ‘job done’

Cup rugby was the order of the day and Graham Rowntree hailed his Munster side for getting the “job done”.

The defending BKT URC champions are back into the semi-finals after a routine if uninspiring 23-7 win over Ospreys.

Munster will host the winner of tomorrow evening’s Glasgow v Stormers clash next Saturday at 6pm in Limerick.

Early tries from Simon Zebo (below) and Niall Scannell set Munster on their way, while player of the match Jack Crowley kicked 13 points.

“Job done, job done,” Rowntee, who confirmed forward Tom Ahern would miss the rest of the season, told RTÉ Sport after the game.

“We improved our discipline at half-time, third quarter, camped on their line, [it was] a bit frustrating.

“We played cup rugby, taken points when we could, kicked well in second half, greasy conditions but it was just our composure, really good in that second half.

“Again that third quarter, we couldn’t break them down which gave them a bit of energy but we kept the heads, tactically, kicked well and a couple of key moments when we took points, took the sting out of the game.

“We’ve got to win, it’s not always glamorous, again, this is knockout rugby.

“There are elements to a game we’ll always review. You’ll get it on a Monday morning.

“I’m delighted with us there, we got the job done.”

Crowley (above), meanwhile, admitted that they were areas for improvement but said that getting over the line was the only thing that mattered as Munster won their tenth game in succession in the league.

“Delighted that we could get our first play-off [win] for this group in front of a home stadium, a win and the important thing is we are through to next week,” said the out-half.

“There are a few areas we’ll look at improving, in our attack and a small bit in our discipline but delighted we could get the win here and move onto the next stage.”

Toby Booth’s side levelled the game through a fine Keelan Giles try in the fifth minute but that was the end of their scoring.

“It’s a credit to Ospreys, we knew they are a team that play for each other a lot and they never give up,” he said.

“We’ve seen that throughout the URC with their results, away from home as well. It’s a credit to them and then also a few errors we need to tidy up and be better at for next week.”

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