It was another night of disappointment as the Fidelity Securedrive Lions failed to use their chances as they dramatically went down 24-17 to Munster in their final Vodacom United Rugby Championship game in Limerick on Saturday night.
The result means the Lions will end seventh on the log just ahead of Connacht on points difference, and face a daunting trip to Dublin to face Leinster - the same side that beat them 31-7 last weekend - in a quarterfinal draw from hell.
But given the fact they were in the top four before the last fortnight, they will have to face the reality that they had chances in both the Leinster - and in particular in the Munster games - to win and were not able to meet the standard.
Munster confirm their place in the #VURC quarter-finals ✅🏉
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Still, they have confirmed their place in the playoffs, which came before kickoff - for the first time in five editions of the URC and have also qualified for Investec Champions Cup rugby for the first time as well.
Their seventh spot keeps them just above the chopping block as eighth-placed Connacht now have to wait and see if they qualify or if Ulster win the EPCR Challenge Cup next weekend and knock them out of qualification.
In the end the Lions will look back to the last part of the first half, where they had Munster down to 13 men, and where they couldn’t put the hammer down to take advantage of their superior numbers as one massive part of where the game was lost.
SPITTING CLAIM
Other than that, Munster’s defence, which kept the Lions out at crucial times, was a massive part of their victory, as the Joburg side struggled again - like they did in Dublin - to break down the Munster resolve.
The Lions may well face more issues as well - as a rather startling claim by a Munster player that a Lions player spat in his face could lead to further sanction this week if the claim is proved to be true.
Referee Andrea Piardi asked the TMO to search for the incident, but there was no video evidence of it and the game moved on.
Still, the most frustrating thing about the Lions performance wasn’t just their inability to break down the defence, but that all the good work they did for large parts of the game, went unrewarded.
Batho Hlekani, Siba Mahashe, Francke Horn, Morne van den Berg and Quan Horn all put in exceptional performances, as did Haashim Pead in the second half, but it was all for nothing as Munster kept their noses in front, thanks to an exceptional performance by man-of-the-match Craig Casey, who not only played well, but also played the officials well at the same time.
Casey was constantly in the ear of Piardi, constantly looking for foul play reviews and was a much more vocal figure than Horne, who disappeared in the second half.
The Lions definitely missed the big figure of Asenathi Ntlabakanye, and will look back on this outing as one of missed chances.
For instance, their first foray into the 22 was rushed to the extent that they turned over the ball, watched Munster boot it downfield and then win the Lions’ lineout, leading to the opening try for Evan O’Connell.
That swing of momentum was brutal, but the Lions managed to get some back when Quan Horn intercepted and ran half the field to level the scores in the 14th minute.
Finishing the regular season on the 📈
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MUNSTER DOWN TO 13
Andrew Smith and then Sean O’Brien were both yellow carded, both for one-handed attempted intercepts that were deemed deliberate knock-ons, leaving their side down to 13 on the half hour mark.
The Lions did craft a beautiful attacking move, sweeping right to left and then the opposite for Kelly Mpeku to put them ahead.
Munster confirm their place in the #VURC quarter-finals ✅🏉
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But then, with the numerical advantage, they insisted on kicking the ball, losing the aerial battle and then watched as Munster shuffled a range of short passes to surge forward and several phases later - on the stroke of halftime - Casey burrowed his way over the line.
The game intelligence from Munster, keeping the ball close and using shorter passes when they didn’t have the numbers, was something the Lions should have learnt from, but when the half ended, Munster went off the field 17-14 up.
Desperation started to creep in the second half for both sides as the stakes edged higher, but it was Munster who broke the deadlock with Tom Ahern scoring and putting them ahead, with the Lions answering with a Chris Smith penalty five minutes later.
But that was it for the scorers, as the Lions were valiant and gave it their all, but ultimately were way short on ideas and penetration to ever come close to winning the game.
The two games in Ireland were always going to be the biggest test for this side, who have come further than ever before.
But it proved that they aren’t quite in the same league as the title contenders, and now if they want to prove everyone wrong, they will have to scale the same mountain they failed at last week and cause the shock of the tournament.
Either way, at the final whistle it felt like the Lions' qualification was the main goal all along.
Round 18: complete 🏉
— Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial_RSA) May 16, 2026
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SCORERS
Munster - tries: Evan O’Connell, Craig Casey, Tom Ahern. Conversions: JJ Hanrahan (3). Penalty: Hanrahan
Fidelity Securedrive Lions - tries: Quan Horn, Kelly Mpeku. Conversions: Chris Smith (2). Penalty: Smith.