United Rugby Championship: Munster bounce back with maximum against Bulls while Scarlets, Edinburgh and Cardiff also win

Munster put in a much-improved performance as they picked up a 31-17 bonus-point victory over the Bulls at Thomond Park on Saturday.

After losing three of their first four games in the new United Rugby Championship season, this result is a major shot in the arm for Graham Rowntree’s outfit.

A brace of tries from Gavin Coombes led the way while Jeremy Loughman and Tadhg Beirne also crossed the whitewash, with Joey Carbery kicking 11 points.

The Bulls’ try scorers were WJ Steenkamp and David Kriel while Johan Goosen and Chris Smith added points off the tee on a disappointing night for them.

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Teenage lock Edwin Edogbo was lively on his first Munster start, and a double movement prevented Craig Casey from scoring early on from a quickly-taken penalty.

Kurt-Lee Arendse’s jinking run drew a high tackle from Coombes, allowing fly-half Goosen to kick the Bulls ahead in the 10th minute.

However, Munster’s territorial control of the game increased as the second quarter wore on. Calvin Nash regularly made ground and fly-half Carbery landed a straightforward penalty.

Peter O’Mahony pressurised the Bulls lineout and a Nash kick chase set up a five-metre scrum. Munster’s maul was stopped short but Coombes burrowed over a few phases later.

Carbery converted and then threaded a terrific kick into the 22 where, supported by O’Mahony, Coombes was unstoppable again from close range. Carbery’s conversion made it 17 points without reply.

Munster swallowed up a late Bulls maul and added an opportunist third try early on the restart. Chris Smith failed to gather a chip kick from Carbery, allowing Loughman to dribble through and dive on the ball.

Despite Mornay Smith’s sin-binning for a no-arms tackle on Jack Crowley, openside Steenkamp crossed in the right corner from replacement Kriel’s assist.

Chris Smith’s superb conversion made it 24-10, Jean Kleyn almost firing back with a try soon after as replacement Crowley’s dancing feet exposed defensive gaps.

A clever Crowley kick saw the South Africans concede a five-metre scrum, the pressure telling when Beirne plunged over from Conor Murray’s flicked pass.

Kriel’s 60-metre run-in, after a ruck ball had squirted loose, pulled back seven points but Munster’s resolute defence prevented the Bulls forwards from picking up a late losing bonus point.

Scarlets claim maximum against Zebre Parma

Elsewhere, Scarlets secured their first United Rugby Championship triumph of the 2022/23 season as they saw off Zebre Parma 36-12 in Llanelli.

Dwayne Peel’s outfit crossed for five tries in total courtesy of Sam Costelow (2), Sam Lousi, Jonathan Davies and Ryan Conbeer while Leigh Halfpenny added 11 points via the kicking tee.

MJ Pelser and Lorenzo Pani went over for the Italian side, with Geronimo Prisciantelli kicking two points.

Duhan van der Merwe scores two on Edinburgh return

Duhan van der Merwe crossed for two tries on his Edinburgh return as the Scottish side triumphed 53-8 over Benetton in the United Rugby Championship.

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British and Irish Lions wing Van der Merwe rejoined the club from crisis-hit Worcester Warriors earlier this month and scored twice in the second half as Mike Blair’s men ran in nine tries in total at the DAM Health Stadium.

There was also a brace for URC top try-scorer Darcy Graham, who took his season tally to eight, helping Edinburgh get back to winning ways after three straight defeats to South African opposition.

Sam Skinner, Luke Crosbie, Pierre Schoeman, Willem Nel and Emiliano Boffelli also went over for Edinburgh, with Toa Halafihi crossing for Benetton’s only try.

Cardiff claim bonus-point victory over Dragons

Finally, Cardiff continued their fine record against the Dragons by taking their winning streak in the fixture to 15 matches thanks to a 31-14 triumph at the Arms Park.

The Dragons have not defeated the capital region since Boxing Day 2014 and their unhappy night was compounded by a serious injury to flanker Taine Basham.

Fellow international Josh Adams also left the action with an injury to cause watching Wales head coach Wayne Pivac some concern ahead of the Autumn Nations Series.

Adams was among the try-scorers for Cardiff, with Rhys Carre, James Botham and Thomas Young also going over. Jarrod Evans converted all four and added a penalty.

Angus O’Brien and Bradley Roberts claimed the Dragons’ crossings, with JJ Hanrahan converting both.