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Munster No.8 Gavin Coombes matches England's Jamie George in routine win over Ospreys
By PA
Hat-trick hero Gavin Coombes was in unstoppable form in Munster’s 38-22 Guinness PRO14 win over Ospreys at Thomond Park.
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The Skibbereen youngster starred as Johann van Graan’s men bagged a bonus point to go eight points clear at the top of Conference B.
Munster built a 24-10 half-time lead with converted tries from number 8 Coombes, Mike Haley and Kevin O’Byrne cancelling out an early Luke Morgan effort.
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After grabbing a second try during Luke Morgan’s sin-bin period, Coombes completed his hat-trick in the 53rd minute. It was five tries to three in the end, with Ospreys forcing a late penalty try to add to Dewi Lake’s maul score.
Ospreys bounced back from Bradley Davies’ departure with a shoulder injury to seize a sixth-minute lead. Bright spark Mat Protheroe brilliantly sliced through on a kick return to send Morgan over out wide.
Stephen Myler’s pinpoint conversion made it the full seven points, but Munster were level by the quarter hour mark. Coombes, who bagged a brace recently against Cardiff Blues, took three defenders with him over the line, handing JJ Hanrahan a simple conversion.
It got even better for the hosts in the 18th minute, full-back Haley tidying up a loose ball and gliding past a couple of defenders to score just to the right of the posts.
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With Hanrahan nursing an injury, Rory Scannell converted before replacement Ben Healy rewarded Stephen Archer’s scrummaging with a 23rd-minute penalty.
A Tiaan Thomas-Wheeler interception led to Ospreys threatening again from the searing pace of Protheroe and Morgan, only for Damian de Allende to win a breakdown penalty.
Better play from the visitors’ pack led to Myler closing the gap to 17-10 in the 33rd minute. However, Munster hooker O’Byrne, who had given up that penalty, responded with a try from a surging lineout drive that contained backs and forwards.
Healy converted for a 14-point margin at the break, and with Ospreys winger Morgan having been binned for a deliberate knock-on, Munster took further advantage when Craig Casey wriggled up close to the line and Coombes burrowed over from the ruck.
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Munster made up for Jean Kleyn’s near miss by crossing again through a quick tap by player-of-the-match Coombes. Healy added the extras for a 38-10 scoreline.
Ospreys rallied to dominate the final quarter, drawing encouragement from replacement hooker Lake’s well-finished 64th-minute try. Their scrum earned a penalty try after an increasingly sloppy Munster had lost captain Jack O’Donoghue to the bin.
