It was a strong start for the Cardiff Blues who found themselves 10-0 ahead after 25 minutes despite missing three penalty attempts.

Cardiff Blues looked to be the first team on the scoreboard when Munster were penalised at the breakdown. Patchell opted to take on a monster kick but the ball fell just short of the posts.

Cardiff Blues got a second chance when Munster were again penalised for further misdemeanours. This time Patchell kicked the ball wide.

After ten minutes, Patchell had a third attempt to get the visitors on the scoreboard. Munster this time were penalised for holding on. Unfortunately, once again his effort was wide.

Cardiff Blues were however, making the Munster defence work very hard. Sherry conceded a penalty for being off his feet, giving Cardiff Blues a fourth kickable penalty. This time Patchell made no mistake and the ball sailed over the posts.

Shortly after, Cardiff Blues claimed the game’s first try as they worked the ball inside from the right before Patchell found Tavis Knoyle who dived over the white wash under the posts for a well worked try. Patchell’s conversion made it 10-0.

This seemed to jolt Munster into action. Minutes later, Sherry found space on the wing to run in and over the line. Keatley’s conversion moved the men in red to within three. 10- 7

It seemed as if the Irish men had found their form. Keatley ensured that they moved into the lead, with a try of his own on 36 minutes and added the extras to give Munster the lead for the first time in the match. 17- 14.

However, Cardiff Blues came back fighting. A well worked wrap around from Patchell found Fish in space. Smith recycled the ball and found some space to dot the ball down in the corner. Patchell secured the lead once again for Cardiff Blues at the half time whistle.

After the break, Cardiff Blues picked up where they had left off. Patchell made a break through the middle and once again found Fish.

This time Isaacs was there to support. Isaacs showed good footwork and stretched over from close range for the third try. Their lead was extended when Patchell kicked the conversion.

Once again Munster fought back. A kick for the corner brought a lineout and a driving maul that got Sherry over for his second score of the afternoon. Keatley’s conversion brought them within three.

Munster had the chance to level things but opted to kick for the corner. They began to exert extended pressure on the Cardiff Blues line.

Munster got their reward with a strong drive on the Cardiff scrum that saw Coghlan pick up a loose ball to cross the try line. Keatley added the extras for the home side.

With ten minutes left to play Patchell made it a one-point match when he turned over a penalty to bring the scores to 28-27.

However, in a to and fro encounter, Munster finished with a flourish when Conway scored for Munster. Keatley kicked his fifth conversion of the game.

A yellow card for Jevon Groves in the dying minutes of the game did not dampen the visitor’s spirits as they kept the pressure on the home side. However, the men in red held the visitors at bay and sealed the win to deny the Cardiff Blues. 35- 27

Timeline:

15m Patchell p 0-3

23m Knoyle t Patchell c 0-10

27m Sherry t Keatley c 7-10

36m Keatley t Keatley c 14-10

40m Smith t Patchell c 14-17

42m Isaacs t Patchell c 14-24

52m Sherry t Keatley c 21-24

61m Coghlan t Keatley c 28-24

69m Patchell p 28-27

72m Conway t Keatley c 35-27

Cardiff Blues: 15 Dan Fish, 14 Garyn Smith, 13 Tom Isaacs, 12 Gavin Evans (G Davies 57), 11 Richard Smith, 10 Rhys Patchell, 9 Tavis Knoyle (L Jones 74); 1 Sam Hobbs (T Davies 62), 2 Matthew Rees (Dacey 49), 3 Craig Mitchell (D Lewis 76), 4 Lou Reed (Cook 64), 5 James Down, 6 Josh Turnbull, 7 Ellis Jenkins (Groves 51), 8 Manoa Vosawai

Replacements: 16 Kristian Dacey, 17 Thomas Davies, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Macauley Cook, 20 Jevon Groves, 21 Lewis Jones, 22 Gareth Davies, 23 Harry Davies