Ospreys Leave Munster Trailing

Had the likes of Ronan O'Gara and Donnacha O'Callaghan been playing, possibly another two thousand supporters may have made their way through the gates, a relatively poor gate of 4,000 turned up for a match that was also being televised.

The absence of internationals from either sides was a telling factor in a scrappy encounter, that only really began to get going after a flurry of scores at the end of the first half. Debutants Jason Spice and David Bishop both touched down after sloppy defending from Munster. Two Gavin Henson penalties gave the home side a 20-0 break at half time.

Munster hooker Jerry Flannery saw yellow after a scuffle with Ospreys' prop Andrew Millward just before the interval. Although a tad unfortunate, Flannery perhaps received his just deserves after a deliberate trip on Gavin Henson earlier in the half.

The second-half degenerated into a scrappy stalemate before a late flurry. Full back Cullen edged his side back into contention when Henson failed to gather an awkwardly bouncing fly hack, reducing the deficit to ten points.

With just a minute of normal time replacement Adrian Durston put the game out of doubt after replacing Shane Williams, after the wing picked up a deep cut to his hand. Durston finished a move largely thanks to an excellent break from another replacement Andy Williams.

A well collected cross kick by Cullen added a little more respect to the score line, however continuing on from where they left off last season, Lyndon Bateman snatched a bonus point for the home side five minutes into injury time.

Conditions: Good underfoot, late evening sun with a light breeze.

Key Moments: Former Wales A international James Storey's poorly placed pass that Stefan Terblanche intercepted before sending David Bishop over for to make it 17-0 at a time when the match was still very much in the balance. It was fairly evident that Munsters's head clearly dropped.

Man of the Match: In a scrappy game that only rarely made it of first gear, Stefan Terblanche always looked like a potent threat and looked creative in an otherwise miss-firing Ospreys backline.

OSPREYS - G Henson; S Terblanche, D Bishop, E Sevalai'i (S Parker, 59), S Williams (A Durston, 65); M Jones (A Williams, 76), J Spice; P James, B Williams (capt), A Millward (D Jones, 78), A Newman (B Cockbain, 63), L Bateman, J Thomas, R Jones, R Pugh.

MUNSTER - C Cullen; S Payne, M Mullins, J Storey (J Holland, 59), A Horgan; P Burke (J Holland, 33-ht), M Prendergast; F Roche, J Flannery, G McIlwham, S O'Connor, T Hogan, S Keogh (J Blaney, 40-50), J Williams, D Leamy.

REF - R Dickson (Scotland).