Advertisement League of Ireland Horse Racing TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture Rugby Weekly Extra Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week The Football Family Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points Advertisement More Stories Peter O'Mahony celebrates his try.James Crombie/INPHO A beautiful moment for O'Mahony as Munster muscle past Ulster The retiring Munster legend landed the killer blow at Thomond Park after a thrilling first half. 9.20pm, 9 May 2025 Share options Murray Kinsella Reports from Thomond Park HOW FITTING IT was that Peter O’Mahony landed the killer blow. This was one of the most popular tries ever at Thomond Park. In what was almost certainly the great Munster man’s final appearance here, he took great delight in rising to meet Jack Crowley’s cross-field kick on the bounce, then slam the ball down into the Limerick turf. With a red sun setting in the background, it was a beautiful moment for O’Mahony. 13 of his team-mates sprinted across to envelop him in celebration, but it was also a little fitting that Stephen Archer took his time to stroll across. The most-capped Munster player in history, Archer has carried a heavy load for the southern province for 302 caps. He deserved to take his time. The Cork duo were soon replaced and got a huge reception from the Munster faithful, as did Conor Murray when he came on for his farewell. A bonus-point win for Munster gives their play-off hopes a massive boost and they will back themselves to seal the deal against Benetton in Cork in their final regular-season game next weekend. For tonight at least, Munster are up to fifth in the URC. Advertisement James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO O’Mahony’s 59th-minute try was probably the nail in the coffin for Ulster’s season. Richie Murphy’s men visit Edinburgh next weekend but their race is almost certainly run now. We were told that these two provinces would trade blow for blow tonight, and they lived up to the pre-match promise for 40 minutes. It was warfare as Munster and Ulster went toe-to-toe, but the home side had the muscle to pull clear in the second half. The momentum swings were relentless in the opening half. It wasn’t a time for blinking. Anyone who tried to duck out for a quick pint was in danger of missing not only one score, but quite possibly two. A fine crowd of 17,684 got plenty of bang for their buck. The thrills were relentless and though both sides delivered plenty of spills too, this was a cracker of an inter-provincial derby for 50 minutes. Munster and Ulster’s seasons have been chaotic and this game was sometimes the perfect encapsulation. There were six tries in the first half alone, four for Munster to secure a bonus point by the interval to Ulster’s two. But the home side only led 24-20 at the break in Thomond Park. Crucially, Munster had the composure and nous to pull clear in the second quarter as they scored twice more while Stuart McCloskey was in the sin bin. First, Tom Farrell soared over off a clever Alex Nankivell pass. Then it was O’Mahony’s moment. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO Munster had crossed four times in the first half, with Michael Milne barging over, Farrell finishing off a nice inside pass from O’Mahony, Tadhg Beirne producing a blockdown try, and Niall Scannell sealing the deal off a powerful maul. But they couldn’t shake Ulster, who had set the pace early on by scoring through McCloskey as some good kicking by out-half Jack Murphy helped them to settle. Outside centre Jude Postlethwaite notched their second score while Murphy kicked superbly off the tee, but they didn’t have the firepower to kick on in the second half as Munster turned up the heat. Ulster went scoreless after the break. It didn’t help their cause that tighthead prop Scott Wilson spent 10 minutes in the sin bin in the first half for a high tackle on the influential Gavin Coombes, while Munster took full advantage when McCloskey was yellow-carded in the 53rd minute. By the time he returned, it was game over and the Munster fans were serenading O’Mahony. Munster scorers: Tries: Michael Milne, Tom Farrell [2], Tadhg Beirne, Niall Scannell, Peter O’Mahony Conversions: Jack Crowley [4 from 6] Ulster scorers: Tries: Stuart McCloskey, Jude Postlethwaite Conversions: Jack Murphy [2 from 2] Penalties: Jack Murphy [2 from 2] MUNSTER: Thaakir Abrahams; Calvin Nash, Tom Farrell, Alex Nankivell, Diarmuid Kilgallen; Jack Crowley, Craig Casey (Conor Murray ’66); Michael Milne (Josh Wycherley ’56 (yellow card ’69)), Niall Scannell (Lee Barron ’56), Stephen Archer (John Ryan ’64); Jean Kleyn (Tom Ahern ’49), Tadhg Beirne (captain) (Seán O’Brien ’77); Peter O’Mahony (Fineen Wycherley ’62), John Hodnett (Alex Kendellen ’56), Gavin Coombes (Michael Milne ’68 to ’79). ULSTER: Michael Lowry; Rob Baloucoune (Tom O’Toole ’20 to ’26) (Werner Kok ’60), Jude Postlethwaite, Stuart McCloskey (yellow card ’54) (Stewart Moore ’78), Jacob Stockdale; Jack Murphy, Nathan Doak (Dave Shanahan ’64); Andrew Warwick (Callum Reid ’50), Rob Herring (Tom Stewart ’60), Scott Wilson (yellow card ’16) (Tom O’Toole ’54); Iain Henderson (captain) (Alan O’Connor ’60), Cormac Izuchukwu; Matty Rea (David McCann ’49), Nick Timoney, James McNabney. Referee: Adam Jones [WRU]. Murray Kinsella View 17 comments Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “A beautiful moment for O'Mahony as Munster muscle past Ulster”. Recipient's Email Feedback on “A beautiful moment for O'Mahony as Munster muscle past Ulster”. Your Feedback Your Email (optional) Report a Comment Please select the reason for reporting this comment. Please give full details of the problem with the comment... This is YOUR comments community. 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