Five-Try Munster Quell Dragons’ Fire

Munster got back on the winning trail in the RaboDirect PRO12 by running five tries past the Dragons at Thomond Park on Saturday.

Rob Penney’s charges started like a train, working Ian Keatley and Niall Ronan over for quick-fire converted tries inside 13 minutes.

Tom Prydie and Lewis Robling kicked a penalty apiece for the Newport Gwent outfit to cut the gap to 14-6 by half-time.

Tries from Conor Murray and Simon Zebo, while Dragons prop Dan Way was in the sin-bin, strengthened Munster’s hand – although Dan Evans nicked one back for the visitors.

But with the bonus point in the bag, Munster signed off in style with a swashbuckling score for Tommy O’Donnell with eight minutes remaining.

Following a well-observed minute’s silence for the late Nevin Spence, it was fitting that Zebo, one of Spence’s former Ireland Under-20 team-mates, lit up this encounter early on.

Zebo took a high pass from Keith Earls, cantered up the left and linked with Doug Howlett before sending Keatley in at the corner with just 85 seconds gone.

Ronan O’Gara converted with aplomb from a difficult angle and also added the extras to flanker Ronan’s 13th-minute effort, the product of more good work from man-of-the-match Earls and Zebo.

The pair combined down the left once more with the Dragons, caught out by Munster’s willingness to shift the ball at pace, lacking numbers and Zebo passed for Ronan to dive in.

However, the hosts stuttered after that. A sin-binning for Donncha O’Callaghan, who struck out at Steve Jones in retaliation, allowed the Dragons grow into the game.

Prydie slotted a 16th minute penalty to open their account, but the winger missed two further efforts approaching the half hour mark.

Upping their physicality, the Welsh region won a number of scrum decisions and one such call in injury-time allowed Robling, who took over the kicking from Prydie, to reduce the arrears to eight points.

Munster had the early pressure on the resumption, Ronan going close before Dragons front rower Way was sin-binned for side entry and kicking the ball out of a ruck.

The visitors could not hold out though as replacement scrum half Murray was fed by Paddy Butler off the back of a scrum and he coasted over unopposed.

Zebo then got his name on the scoresheet, dotting down on the left after a smashing break up the middle by Keatley and some good follow-up work by Billy Holland and Earls.

O’Gara converted for a 26-6 lead, but the Dragons mustered a quick response. After Adam Hughes had been held up, the men of Gwent attacked off a five-metre scrum to release full-back Evans for a well-taken try.

Robling added the extras and Darren Edwards’ side were carrying the fight, with a counter-attacking surge from replacement Pat Leach almost leading to a second try.

Evans was inches away from scoring again in injury-time, but before that Munster had put the seal on this runaway victory.

Lovely hands from his forward colleagues sent O’Donnell lunging in, with a thunderous run from Earls having set the move in motion. O’Gara expertly converted from the touchline before making way for debutant JJ Hanrahan.

Hanrahan, one of the stars of the summer’s IRB Junior World Championship, did well during his short spell on the pitch. His most notable contribution was a high hanging kick to the left corner which almost teed up fellow replacement David Foley for a try.