Munster finished a nine-week preseason campaign with a hard fought encounter against Worcester Warriors at the Sixways Stadium tonight.
In defeating the English Premiership side 35-26 the Munster men kept the hosts scoreless in the second half with a much improved defensive effort after four tries were leaked in the opening forty.
However, it wasn’t all one-way traffic with Erasmus’s charges adding two through Tommy O’Donnell and Duncan Williams.
The scrumhalf added a second after the break to reduce the margin further before converted tries from Brian Scott and James Hart sealed the victory.
Far from flawless there are plenty of work-ons before Benetton arrive in Cork on Friday week but the Director of Rugby was happy to see his side come out of a scrappy affair with the winning result.
Notably it was a night of returns and firsts with Mike Sherry and Sean McCarthy both seeing game-time after missing out on the 2016/17 season due to respective back and knee injuries. The Limerick hooker secured 20 minutes of rugby while McCarthy was introduced just after the opening quarter, taking the place of try scorer Tommy O’Donnell who sustained a head knock.
In making their first appearance for the province, Chris Farrell and Gerbrandt Grobler started, while James Hart and the sub academy’s Ronan Coffey featured from the replacements. Disappointingly Grobler was forced off with an ankle injury in the closing minutes and the South African lock will need to be assessed further over the coming days.
Referee: Luke Pearce.
Tickets are now on sale for Munster’s opening games of the season in Cork and Limerick.
In Round 1, Rassie Erasmus’ men face Treviso under Friday Night Lights at Irish Independent on September 1st, while the following Saturday at Thomond Park, Munster host South African opposition, The Cheetahs, for the first time in the newly expanded Guinness PRO14.
