Munster pull off upset to deny Stormers back-to-back URC titles

The home side only have themselves to blame after a strangely lackluster performance in front of more than 55 000 fans in the DHL Stadium.

The Stormers were particularly disappointing in the first half and despite a fightback in the second to retake the lead, some relentless late pressure from Munster ultimately saw them come away with a deserved victory.

Both sides had their chances in a game where there was so little between the teams, yet ultimately Munster had enough in the tank to deliver silverware for their 2,000 travelling fans and confirm the impact head coach Graham Rowntree has made.

The Stormers struck an opening blow after just six minutes when Munster centre Antoine Frisch's wildly-speculative pass from just inside his own half went to straight to Libbok, who sprinted clear to claim a try he also converted.

But Munster regrouped impressively and they breached Stormers' defence just four minutes later when their forwards drove a close-range lineout and Barron burrowed over for the try.

The Munster forwards were relishing the battle and they almost added a second try after Stormers number eight Evan Roos was yellow-carded for deliberate offside but number eight Gavin Coombes' effort was disallowed.

The Stormers could not get their free-flowing game going, being outsmarted by Murray's clever and accurate box-kicking as they found themselves penned inside their own half.

Munster's finishing was the only area where they let themselves down, with a second try being ruled out after captain Peter O'Mahony delivered a forward pass to full-back Mike Haley.

The Irish side made it third time lucky, though, midway through the second quarter after Crowley's superb cross-kick was gathered by Nash, who finished impressively and Crowley converted for a five-point lead.

But Munster lost O'Mahony just before the interval when he went off for a head injury assessment and was replaced by RG Snyman.

Libbok missed a chance to reduce the deficit when he drifted a penalty wide just two minutes into the second half before Munster saw Haley sin-binned following a late challenge on Stormers wing Angelo Davids.

The Stormers immediately made their temporary one-man advantage count, with Munster powerless to halt a lineout drive that ended through Fourie touching down and Libbok converting.

It was a far more cohesive Stormers display in the second period, despite stamina-sapping conditions, and they retained a two-point advantage entering the final 15 minutes.

But flanker John Hodnett's try five minutes from time - converted from the touchline by flyhalf Jack Crowley - denied the Stormers back-to-back URC crowns.