Of the five defeats in six games Glasgow have suffered at the start of this PRO14 campaign – their worst start to a season in 15 years – this will almost certainly be the one that sticks in the craw most, because they battled well against the elements and high flying opposition, but poor discipline at key moments cost them dearly. 

Skipper Ryan Wilson was particularly culpable for getting himself a yellow card with just over 10 minutes to go. His team had worked hard to claw it back to a two-point match, but this killed them off. 

Munster then powered in two late tries to secure the bonus point and bolster their position at top of PRO14 Conference B. Glasgow, meanwhile, languish fourth in Conference A, eight points of the play-off placings. 

With the stands at Scotstoun were empty, and their canvas roofs being pummelled by the wind and rain, this was exactly the sort of miserable night Munster would have been hoping for – and it got off to a promising start for the Irishmen when a period of sustained forward pressure culminated in captain Billy Holland rumbling over the try-line from a line-out drive, with Ben Healy nailing the conversion for good measure. 

It was an ominous moment for a Glasgow team coming into the match with a distinct lack of momentum after just one win in five matches so far in this PRO14 campaign, but Danny Wilson’s side wasted little time in demonstrating that while they are having to hang tough at the moment, their spirit is intact – and they struck back in fine style. 

Tommy Seymour came off his wing to break the line in the middle of the park off an excellently delayed pass from scrum-half Sean Kennedy. Having hooked the full-back, Seymour’s pass left was wayward, but Robbie Nairn did well to scoop the ball up and keep momentum going, before offloading out of contact for Glenn Bryce to dive over in the corner. 

Pete Horne couldn’t manage the touchline conversion but Munster sent the restart straight out, and Warriors then forced a penalty from the scrum in the middle park, which Brandon Thomson – on for Nick Grigg who suffered an early head-knock – fired home the monstrous penalty from halfway to put the hosts ahead. 

Glasgow were clearly energised and they looked the more dangerous side for the next 10 minutes, but they struggled to hold onto the ball in the strike zone, while Munster were reliably ruthless the next time they got in range, with their old kick-to-the-corner then maul-it-over-the-line routine delivering a second try, this time for blindside flanker Fineen Wycherley, although Healy couldn’t manage the supplementary two points this time.  

The second half was as scrappy as the first, cheap penalties, kicks going dead and knock-ons all conspiring to kill continuity – but Munster’s scrum was now totally dominant, which gave Healy a chance to send home another penalty which stretched his team seven points ahead. 

Warriors eventually managed to find their way into opposition territory with an excellent kick from Bryce, and after a series of penalties conceded Munster on their own line leading to a yellow card for Holland, the home team finally got their reward when a mass of black jerseys powered over the line for Grant Stewart to touch down. 

Brandon Thomson couldn’t manage the conversion so Warriors still trailed by two with 15 minutes to go, and home skipper Ryan Wilson didn’t do his team any favours when he flew into Craig Casey on the ground and picked up a deserved yellow card. Munster took full advantage with No8 Gavin Coombes piling over for his team’s third try 30 seconds later – which took the game away from Glasgow. 

Munster secured the bonus point with two minutes left to play when Jean Kleyn peeled off another maul in the corner and bustled over the whitewash. 

Teams
Glasgow Warriors: G Bryce; T Seymour (N Matawalu 30), N Grigg (B Thomson 9), R Fergusson, R Nairn; P Horne, S Kennedy; A Seiuli (A Allan 52), G Stewart, E Pieretto (D Rae 52), L Bean (H Bain 70), R Harley, R Wilson, T Gordon, T Ioane (F Lokotui 53).  
Munster:  M Haley; C Nash, R Scannell, D de Allende, M Gallagher (D Goggin 70); B Healy (J Hanrahan 70), C Casey (N McCarthy 77); J Cronin (J Wycherley 68), K O’Byrne (R Marshall 61), S Archer (K Knox 68), J Kleyn, W Holland, F Wycherley (J O’Donoghue 61), J O’Sullivan (T O’Donnell 68), G Coombes.  
Referee: A Jones (Wales). 

Scorers 
Glasgow: Try: Bryce; Pen: Thomson. 
Munster: Try: Holland, Wycherley, Coombes; Con: Healy 2; Pen: Healy 2 
Scoring sequence (Glasgow first): 0-5; 0-7; 5-7; 8-7; 8-12 (h-t) 8-15; 13-15; 13-20; 13-22; 13-27. 

Yellow cards
Glasgow: Wilson 
Munster: Holland