Munster 24 - 17 Lions

Full time

16 May 2026

Stage: Regular Season Round 18

Thomond Park

🔥 1

Munster Rugby secured a hard-fought 24-17 victory over the Lions at Thomond Park. Evan O'Connell opened the scoring with a try in the sixth minute, converted by JJ Hanrahan. The Lions responded quickly with a try from Quan Horn, leveling the score shortly thereafter. Munster's Hanrahan added a penalty, but two yellow cards for Munster's Andrew Smith and Sean O'Brien put them under pressure. The Lions capitalized with a try from Kelly Mpeku, closing the gap before halftime. Munster regained momentum with a second try from Craig Casey and another from Tom Ahern, both converted by Hanrahan. Despite a late penalty from Chris William Smith, Munster held on for the win, showcasing strong performances from their key players.

Broadcasters

Where to watch in: Ireland, United Kingdom

Weather

Temperature: 11.6°C (Feels like 5.3°C) Condition: Windy Wind: 25.4 km/h, gusting to 43.8 km/h Humidity: 68% Cloud Cover: 71%

Highlights

Events

Kickoff
6'

Try

Evan O'Connell · Munster

5 - 0
7'

Conversion

JJ Hanrahan · Munster

7 - 0
13'

Try

Quan Horn · Lions

7 - 5
14'

Conversion

Chris William Smith · Lions

7 - 7
22'

Penalty

JJ Hanrahan · Munster

10 - 7
26'

Yellow Card

Andrew Smith · Munster
30'

Yellow Card

Sean O'Brien · Munster
34'

Try

Kelly Mpeku · Lions

10 - 12
35'

Conversion

Chris William Smith · Lions

10 - 14
36'

Yellow Card Complete

Andrew Smith · Munster
39'

Substitution

JC Pretorius on for Francke Horn · Lions
40'

Try

Craig Casey · Munster

15 - 14
40'

Substitution

Haashim Pead on for Morne van den Berg · Lions
40'

Substitution

Rynhardt Jonker on for Richard Kriel · Lions
Halftime 15 - 14
Second Half
40'

Yellow Card Complete

Sean O'Brien · Munster
41'

Conversion

JJ Hanrahan · Munster

17 - 14
46'

Substitution

Diarmuid Barron on for Niall Scannell · Munster
50'

Substitution

Alex Kendellen on for John Hodnett · Munster
53'

Try

Tom Ahern · Munster

22 - 14
54'

Conversion

JJ Hanrahan · Munster

24 - 14
56'

Substitution

Gavin Coombes on for Tom Ahern · Munster
56'

Substitution

RF Schoeman on for Sebastian Lombard · Lions
56'

Substitution

Eddie Davids on for SJ Kotze · Lions
59'

Penalty

Chris William Smith · Lions

24 - 17
59'

Substitution

Morne Brandon on for PJ Botha · Lions
60'

Substitution

John Ryan on for Michael Ala'alatoa · Munster
63'

Substitution

Josh Wycherley on for Jeremy Loughman · Munster
66'

Substitution

Gordon Wood on for Shane Daly · Munster
68'

Substitution

Sibabalo Qoma on for Reinhard Nothnagel · Lions
69'

Substitution

Ruan Delport on for Henco van Wyk · Lions
74'

Substitution

Ruadhan Quinn on for Brian Gleeson · Munster
Fulltime 24 - 17

Player ratings

Munster

15 Mike Haley 7.6
14 Andrew Smith 4.5
13 Dan Kelly 6.1
12 Sean O'Brien 6.0
11 Shane Daly 6.6
10 JJ Hanrahan 6.9
9 Craig Casey 6.7
1 Jeremy Loughman 7.0
2 Niall Scannell 7.5
3 Michael Ala'alatoa 7.5
4 Tom Ahern 7.6
5 Evan O'Connell 8.3
6 Jack O'Donoghue 7.1
7 John Hodnett 7.6
8 Brian Gleeson 7.6
16 Diarmuid Barron 7.0
17 Josh Wycherley 5.7
18 John Ryan 6.7
19 Gavin Coombes 7.1
20 Alex Kendellen 7.0
21 Ben O'Donovan –
22 Gordon Wood 6.4
23 Ruadhan Quinn –

Lions

15 Quan Horn 7.2
14 Kelly Mpeku 8.1
13 Henco van Wyk 6.2
12 Richard Kriel 6.7
11 Angelo Davids 5.6
10 Chris William Smith 6.4
9 Morne van den Berg 5.7
1 SJ Kotze 6.1
2 PJ Botha 6.5
3 Sebastian Lombard 7.1
4 Reinhard Nothnagel 6.2
5 Darrien-Lane Landsberg 7.3
6 Sibabalwe Mahashe 5.1
7 Bathobele Hlekani 8.2
8 Francke Horn 7.0
16 Morne Brandon 6.1
17 Eddie Davids 6.0
18 RF Schoeman 6.1
19 Ruan Delport 6.3
20 Sibabalo Qoma 6.0
21 JC Pretorius 7.2
22 Haashim Pead 6.5
23 Rynhardt Jonker 6.1