Munster head into the Heineken Champions Cup knockout stages as Pool B third seeds after a dominant bonus-point victory over Wasps at Thomond Park in Limerick; Conor Murray, Simon Zebo (two), Jack O’Donoghue, Jeremy Loughman each score tries; Wasps knocked out with defeat
By Michael Cantillon
Last Updated: 23/01/22 5:23pm
Munster rounded off their Heineken Champions Cup pool stage campaign with a resounding 45-7 success over Wasps at Thomond Park, knocking the Premiership side out in the process.
The hosts scored six tries in the bonus-point victory through scrum-half Conor Murray, wing Simon Zebo (two), flanker Jack O’Donoghue, loosehead Jeremy Loughman and centre Rory Scanell, with Ben Healy adding four conversions and a penalty and Jack Crowley two conversions.
Wasps, who arrived needing a losing bonus-point to qualify into the round of 16, scored their only points through a Dan Robson try as they were thoroughly outplayed in Limerick, suffering elimination from the tournament as a consequence.
Indeed, the margin of victory could and probably should have been even larger for Munster, but a scrappy and profligate final quarter in particular saw them pass up a number of further promising chances.
Having finished as third seeds in Pool B, Munster must now wait to see who they will face in April’s two-legged round of 16 ties, with the result of Sunday’s late game between Exeter and Montpellier deciding whether it is to be Sale Sharks or Exeter.
More to follow…