Munster vs Cardiff Rugby Preview
The United Rugby Championship continues with Munster vs Cardiff on Saturday at 7:35 PM GMT. Munster hosts the contest at Thomond Park in Limerick, and the Irish side will be full of confidence heading into this match. Cardiff is at the bottom half of the URC table, whereas Munster sits comfortably in fourth.
The Welshmen have lost their last four games in the URC and haven’t won since beating the Dragons in December. Munster is in much better form, winning three consecutive URC contests. The Irishmen have not lost a URC game since January 1st, but can they maintain their winning run against an awkward Cardiff side this weekend?
Munster vs Cardiff Rugby Head-to-Head and Key Stats
Munster is the in-form team heading into their contest against Cardiff. The team from Ireland looks razor-sharp, and the Welshmen haven’t won in four URC games. However, Cardiff got a surprise victory against Munster when they last faced each other, so the Welsh side will be quietly confident of repeating that performance.
Their latest game was back in 2022. Cardiff overpowered Munster in the first half, and the Welsh side took an early lead via Max Llewellyn. Llewellyn’s quick recovery from a tackle caught Munster off-guard, and the centre sprinted into the goal area. But two penalties by Ben Healy put the Irishmen one point ahead. Kristian Dacey got the game’s second score and restored Cardiff’s lead. A two-point conversion from Jarrod Evans ended the first half, with the Welsh side leading 12-6 after an impressive start to the contest.
Munster made five changes at the beginning of the second half. Shortly after making the adjustments, the Irishmen scored their first try. Jack O’Sullivan wrestled the ball over the line, and Jack Crowley nailed the conversion, giving the Irish team the lead. The Welshmen snatched three points thanks to a penalty by Jarrod Evans. Late in the contest, Aled Summerhill got the last score and won the game for Cardiff. Munster lost 20-13, which was a big upset.
Cardiff started strong when the two sides played in April 2022. The Blue and Blacks took an early lead thanks to Seb Davies. Mike Haley responded with Munster’s first score of the half. However, the Irish side controlled the game after Cardiffs’ Rey Lee-Lo got his score. Munster finished the first half with a 13-point advantage, with Haley and Thomas Ahern scoring twice before half-time. Lloyd Williams got the opening try of the second half, and Cardiff closed the margin to six points after Jarrod Evans’ penalty. But two tries from Craig Casey ruined any chance of a Cardiff comeback. The Munster crowd went home happy, with the Irishmen beating the Welsh side 42-21.
When looking at form, Munster is the better team. The Irishmen have won four out of their last five games in all competitions. Their most recent defeat came against the Northampton Saints in the European Rugby Champions Cup. It was a close game, but the Saints won by a three-point margin. Munster’s latest victory was in the United Rugby Championship against Ospreys. The Irish team won 27-17 on the road and extended their winning streak to four games.
In all competitions, Cardiff has lost their previous five outings. Their most recent loss came in the URC. The Blue and Blacks took on Glasgow and narrowly missed a chance to end their losing streak. The Scottish team scored two tries and won by three points. In the week before, the Harlequins demolished Cardiff, with the Englishmen winning 54-15. The Welshmen haven’t won since beating the Dragons in December.
Despite their struggles this season, Tinus de Beer is a ray of hope for Cardiff. The fly-half has 97 points in 12 games for the Welsh side. De Beer is the third-highest point scorer in the URC, and nobody in Munster’s squad can get close to his tally. The Irish side’s leading scorer is Joey Carbery. Carbery has 36 points, but he’s only played four games.
Munster vs Cardiff Rugby Predictions
Correct Score Prediction: Munster 31-13 Cardiff Rugby
The United Rugby Championship often has one-sided contests, and we believe this is another. Munster is the current champion, but they’ve slightly underperformed this season. However, Cardiff is in awful form, and we can’t see the Welsh side causing an upset on Saturday. We predict Munster will beat Cardiff by an 18-point margin.
Munster has recorded over 40 points in two of their last three games. The only side that stopped their attacking threat was the Ospreys. Cardiff got under 14 points twice in their previous three outings. We believe the Blue and Blacks will do the same in this contest, but we don’t expect Munster to score over 40. Our correct score prediction is Munster to win 31-13 against Cardiff.
However, the team from Wales will be dangerous in the early stages. Cardiff won the first half against Glasgow, Leinster, and Connacht in their most recent contests. The Welshmen didn’t hold on to their leads, but Munster should be cautious on Saturday. In their latest defeat, Munster lost the opening 40 minutes against the Northampton Saints. That doesn’t mean Cardiff will beat Munster, but we predict the Welsh side will be up at half-time. In the opening half, Munster is usually a high-scoring side. The Irishmen got 33 points in the first half against Zebre and 19 versus Ospreys. They won’t get as many against Cardiff, so we suggest betting on Munster to score under 20 points in the first half.
The Munster team to face Cardiff in Thomond Park on Saturday night will be named at midday on Friday.
Find out all you need to know ahead of #MUNvCAR ⤵️#URC #SUAF 🔴
— Munster Rugby (@Munsterrugby) March 27, 2024
Munster vs Cardiff Rugby Betting Tips
Our sportsbook favours Munster, and it’s hard to disagree with the bookies. The Irish team is 1/25, which isn’t great odds for punters. A €100 wager on Munster to win returns a €4 profit. Although Cardiff has enticing 17/2 odds, it seems like a waste of money as we expect Munster to win.
The odds of a draw in this contest are 40/1, but they’re rare when betting on the URC. Instead, we can find more realistic bets in the handicap markets. Our correct score prediction has the Irishmen winning by an 18-point margin. That sets up a Munster -16.5 wager. Betting on Munster -16.5 returns €16.15 from a €10 bet, which is better than 1/25 odds for a straight win. Novibet also lets you handicap teams during the game using our live betting features. Monitoring the markets once the contest has started is a great way to find extra value.
Whenever you’re betting on rugby union events, it’s ideal to find markets that offer more significant returns than a result wager. We’ve already mentioned handicapping, but another way to bet on the game is via the winning margin market. Betting on Cardiff to lose by over 15 points offers more value than simply wagering on Munster to win. Novibet offers 2/5 odds for this wager, but you can get much more profit if Munster wins by fewer points. If Munster were to win by under eight points, our sportsbook would return a €40 profit from a €10 bet.
Many of our betting tips focused on Munster, but that doesn’t mean there’s no value when betting on Cardiff. Using your welcome bonus on the Welsh team to win the first half but lose the contest is an excellent way for Cardiff fans to enjoy the game. Look at the half-time/full-time market, displayed as “2/1” when selecting the bet on our platform.
If you don’t want to bet on a winner this weekend, you could wager on the try scorers. Rhys Carre is the most likely scorer, as the prop has six tries this season. Carre has the fourth-most tries in the URC across his 12 appearances in the championship. Tom Ahern is Munster’s leading scorer with five tries in eight starts. Despite scoring fewer tries in the URC, our pick is Ahern, as we feel Munster will create more opportunities for the lock to score.
Munster Team News
After a successful Six Nations campaign, Conor Murray, Peter O’Mahony, Calvin Nash, Tadhg Beirne, and Jack Crowley have returned to Munster. However, the Irish side has multiple players missing because of injury. Fineen Wycherley started his knee rehabilitation process alongside Oli Jager. During Munster’s contest against Ospreys, Ruadhan Quinn sustained a hand injury, meaning the academy prospect won’t play this weekend.
This week, the Munster medical team is assessing Simon Zebo and Alex Nankivell’s condition. Zebo has returned to training after missing the Ospreys game. However, Nankivell must complete his return-to-play protocols before he can feature for Munster. The Irish team will update his injury status later in the week.
Jockey has confirmed that Tomos Williams has ruptured ankle ligaments and will be out for 10-12 weeks.
It gives him an outside chance of one final appearance in Blue & Black against the Ospreys at Judgement Day.
— Cardiff Rugby Life (@CardiffRugbyWeb) March 19, 2024
Cardiff Rugby Team News
The Six Nations dealt a significant blow to Cardiff. Tomos Williams suffered a severe injury and could miss the rest of the season. The Wales medical staff removed Willams during their Six Nations fixture against Italy. Williams ruptured multiple ankle ligaments and will require at least ten weeks to recover.
However, Cardiff had positive news last week. Four Wales international players returned to the side, and they’ll be a much-needed boost this weekend. Mackenzie Martin and Teddy Williams slotted straight back into the starting lineup while Seb Davies was on the bench. Ben Donnell also returned against Glasgow.
