Munster A tasted defeat for the first time this season as they went down 17-7 to Plymouth Albion in the British and Irish Cup on Friday night.
Tommy O’Donnell made his first appearance since injuring his knee in September as a second half substitute but he was unable to inspire a comeback.
Munster A trailed by 10-7 at the break and a Tom Bowen try for Plymouth midway through the second half secured the win for Albion.
Plymouth missed an early chance to go in front when Dan Mugford was off target with a penalty but the out-half made amends after a Munster offside on 21 minutes to give his side a 3-0 lead.
The lead was increased five minutes later when Fijian back-row forward Sam Matavesi crossed for the game’s first try with Mugford adding the extras to give the hosts a 10-0 lead.
Peter Malone’s side fought back before the break and Ronan O’Mahony touched down underneath the posts with Johnny Holland easily kicking the conversion to make it 10-7 at half-time.
Ian Nagle was sin-binned shortly after the restart and, to make matters worse for the visitors, winger Bowen touched down with just over 20 minutes remaining.
Former Munster player Declan Cusack added the conversion to push Plymouth into a 17-7 lead and that's how it stayed as the English side moved out on their own at the top of Pool 4 in the British and Irish Cup.
Munster A have an immediate chance to make amends as they host Plymouth next weekend at Waterford’s Regional Sports Centre.
The game takes place on Friday, December 13th, ko 7:30pm and tickets can be purchased online here.
