Munster 17–15 Connacht: O’Donoghue Double Keeps Munster Unbeaten as Missed Kicks and Ralston Injury Haunt Connacht

URC Round 5 | Thomond Park | 25 October 2025

Munster finished the opening block of the BKT URC season unbeaten after edging Connacht 17–15 in a bruising interprovincial decided, yet again, by the narrowest of margins.

For the second straight week, Connacht’s goal-kicking proved their undoing. Three tries on the board but no conversions left them two points short — following last week’s one-point defeat after another missed kick.

Grit Over Glamour

It was not a night for highlight reels but rather for grit, patience, and sheer will. Captain Jack O’Donoghue embodied all three, powering over for two tries — including the match-winner — to secure Munster’s fifth straight victory and send them into the international break joint-top of the table with the Stormers.

Connacht’s Byron Ralston crossed twice while skipper Paul Boyle crashed over before half-time, yet without accuracy from the tee they could not translate effort into points.

First-Half Fireworks

Connacht started brightly, enjoying long spells of early possession and forcing Munster to defend for over twenty phases. The hosts survived that onslaught and counter-attacked decisively. When Josh Ioane failed to find touch, Munster countered through Shane Daly and Diarmuid Kilgallen before Dan Kelly burst the defensive line and put O’Donoghue away for the opening try.

Five minutes later, Ioane atoned for his error with a sublime offload to Ralston, who scored to level the contest. Connacht stayed on the front foot and soon added another, Ioane again central with a perfectly timed skip-pass that allowed Ralston to complete his brace.

Momentum then flipped in an instant. Reading Ioane’s next pass, Diarmuid Kilgallen intercepted and sprinted the length of Thomond Park to touch down under the posts on his return from injury. JJ Hanrahan added the extras for a 12–10 lead.

But Connacht finished the half stronger. A maul try awarded to Paul Boyle, confirmed by the TMO, nudged them ahead 15–12 at the interval — all three tries unconverted but enough to keep the visitors in front.

Second-Half Arm-Wrestle

The second half was defined by stoppages and collisions. Connacht lost Byron Ralston to what looked like a serious knee injury shortly after the restart — one of seven players withdrawn in a bruising encounter — while Munster dominated territory and possession (69% possession, 83% territory in the second half).

Still, the breakthrough refused to come until the 67th minute. After a series of short carries from the pack, replacement prop Ronan Foxe drove close and fed O’Donoghue, who powered over for his second try. Replacement Tony Butler narrowly missed the conversion, leaving Munster 17–15 ahead.

Connacht pressed late on but handling errors and Munster’s suffocating defence — led by Gavin Coombes (20 carries, 18 tackles) and Jean Kleyn (13 tackles) — ensured the home side closed out yet another nail-biter.

Match Stats

Top Performers
Alex Nankivell – 47 m, 15 carries, 12 passes
Jack O’Donoghue – 2 tries, 23 m, 8 carries, 10 tackles
Diarmuid Kilgallen – 107 m, 4 defenders beaten, 2 offloads
Gavin Coombes – 61 m, 20 carries, 18 tackles
Jean Kleyn – 13 carries, 13 tackles
Paul Boyle (C) – 1 try, 20 tackles, 8 carries

Scorers

Munster: Tries – Jack O’Donoghue (2), Diarmuid Kilgallen | Conversion – JJ Hanrahan (1)
Connacht: Tries – Byron Ralston (2), Paul Boyle | Conversions – None

Line-Ups

Munster: Shane Daly; Diarmuid Kilgallen, Dan Kelly, Alex Nankivell, Thaakir Abrahams; JJ Hanrahan, Ethan Coughlan; Michael Milne, Lee Barron, John Ryan; Jean Kleyn, Fineen Wycherley; Jack O’Donoghue (C), John Hodnett, Gavin Coombes.
Replacements: Niall Scannell, Jeremy Loughman, Ronan Foxe, Evan O’Connell, Ruadhan Quinn, Jake O’Riordan, Tony Butler, Shay McCarthy.

Connacht: Harry West; Byron Ralston, Hugh Gavin, Cathal Forde, Finn Treacy; Josh Ioane, Ben Murphy; Jordan Duggan, Dave Heffernan, Sam Illo; Joe Joyce, Darragh Murray; Josh Murphy, Paul Boyle (C), Sean Jansen.
Replacements: Dylan Tierney-Martin, Peter Dooley, Fiachna Barrett, Niall Murray, David O’Connor, Matthew Devine, Sean Naughton, Seán O’Brien.

Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR)

Aftermath

Munster remain joint-top of the URC on 23 points, unbeaten across their first five games. Connacht, now 12th, are left frustrated after consecutive narrow losses decided by missed kicks.

They will hope for reinforcements when the league resumes. Byron Ralston’s knee injury looked serious and could sideline him for several weeks, but Connacht are expected to welcome new signing Sam Gilbert from the Highlanders by the time they face the Sharks at home on 29 November. Gilbert, who can play full-back or centre, is also a proven goal-kicker and should take over kicking duties as Stuart Lancaster’s side look to steady their season.