Munster player ratings: ‘Blockbuster’ Tadhg Beirne shines in defeat to Northampton Saints
Munster's Tadhg Beirne on the charge against Northampton.
Following Northampton Saints’ 24-14 win over Munster in the Champions Cup, here are our ratings for the Irish side.
Ratings
15 Mike Haley: The full-back ran the ball back where he could and managed an important try before half-time. He also beat three defenders and made seven tackles in a committed outing. 6
Great awareness from Mike Haley to go over for our second try 🙌#NORvMUN #InvestecChampionsCup #SUAF 🔴
— Munster Rugby (@Munsterrugby) April 7, 2024
14 Sean O’Brien: Often looked sharp with ball in hand scoring a try off a lovely crash ball. Defensively not quite sound, missing five tackles and making some costly defensive reads at times. 5
13 Antoine Frisch: A quiet day by his standards in a frenetic match where he managed very few carries but did manage seven tackles on the day. 5
12 Alex Nankivell: Continues to look so well suited to Munster since joining the club as he carried strongly where he could and played a well-timed ball to O’Brien for his try. 6
11 Simon Zebo: Positional play in both attacking and defensive shapes was solid throughout but the veteran wing missed a costly tackle in the Northampton try that ultimately buried his team. 4
10 Jack Crowley: Struggled at times in the windy conditions with kick-offs out on the full and some scrambling play in the backfield. He also missed a costly tackle in the build-up to the final try. However, he did control the attack quite well for the most part. 5
9 Craig Casey: The livewire was busy and effective throughout his time on the park and made some valuable contributions before being replaced. 6
Planet Rugby’s player ratings key.
Forwards
8 Gavin Coombes: A brilliant effort from the number eight who led his team in carries with 15 on the day whilst also making nine tackles. Coombes also contributed to Munster’s control of the breakdown with a key steal. 7
7 John Hodnett: Never short of work as always. The flank managed yet another double-digit tackle count with 10 on the day as he worked as hard as possible. Carried the ball nine times but did not make too much ground with ball in hand. 6
6 Peter O’Mahony: The veteran had a clutch line-out steal on his team’s five-metre line which crucially kept them in the game at that point. Elsewhere he was typically busy on both sides on the ball in his hour or so on the park. 6
5 Tadhg Beirne: Blockbuster. The Munsterman was everywhere in this game with a solid number of tackles whilst also being very effective in the carry. Add in his very influential breakdown skills and line-out influence for good measure and it is clear to see why he is ranked amongst the best in the world. 8
4 Thomas Ahern: It was lovely to see the second-row find some space and stretch his legs down the left-hand touchline, although his chip in behind did not yield results. Still, Ahern was committed through and was one of the key elements to Munster staying in the game. 7
3 Stephen Archer: A mixed effort in the scrums where some of the calls went his way but he was relatively quiet outside of that with few carries and few tackles. 5
2 Niall Scannell: Unfortunately had a skew throw at a crucial time but did not make many other errors making 100% of his tackles with a final count of 11. He also managed to get his hands on the ball in a decent effort. 6
1 Jeremy Loughman: The big man topped the tackle charts for his team with an impressive 15 hits in this one. The scrum was also mixed on his end but his defensive commitment earned him a solid rating. 7
Replacements: The changes did not necessarily raise Munster’s tempo and arguably struggled to match the intensity of the game. 5
