Munster blitzed Edinburgh in the second half of tonight’s RaboDirect PRO12 clash in Meggetland, scoring seven tries en route to a 55-12 thumping of the Scots – their biggest win of the season.
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: EDINBURGH 12 MUNSTER 55
With touchdowns from Andrew Conway, Denis Hurley, Damien Varley, Duncan Williams, Tommy O’Donnell and two penalty tries, Munster won in emphatic fashion with JJ Hanrahan producing a 100% kicking display and Conor Murray also contributing from the kicking tee.
Rob Penney’s men, who were already through to the play-offs before kick-off, are now just one point behind second-placed Glasgow Warriors and still in the hunt for a home semi-final.
Carl Bezuidenhout opened the scoring for Edinburgh after a period of early pressure as the out-half powered over for the first try of the game in the ninth minute.
Greig Laidlaw, playing in his final home game before departing for Gloucester, was unable to add the difficult touchline conversion.
Five minutes later, the fit-again JJ Hanrahan got Munster off the mark when Edinburgh were penalised for going off their feet.
The impressive CJ Stander, who once again caused plenty of havoc for the opposition’s defence, found space down the left wing and showed great awareness to offload inside to flyer Andrew Conway who sprinted in beside the posts for Munster’s first try. Hanrahan’s conversion made it 10-5.
But the Scots were quick to react and regained control of the game when attacking deep inside Munster’s 22. Tighthead prop Willem Nel reached over for their second try.
Referee Marius Mitrea consulted with the TMO Iain Ramage about the grounding, but once awarded Laidlaw made no mistake with the conversion and the hosts were back in front.
The scoreboard swung back in Munster’s favour after a successful Hanrahan penalty and a well-taken try by centre Denis Hurley was converted by the out-half just before the break.
Prop John Ryan instigated the initial attack when crashing up the middle and breaking into Edinburgh territory. The extended spell of Munster pressure paid off when they broke wide on the left and Stander popped the ball back inside for Hurley to weave past two defenders and score.
The beaten Heineken Cup semi-finalists went up through the gears on the restart to score five unanswered tries, all of which were converted.
Replacement hooker Damien Varley, the captain against Toulon, claimed the first score off a maul after the pack grinded their way over the line. With Hanrahan adding the conversion, Munster led 27-12 after 50 minutes’ play.
The Munster forwards continued to turn the screw and a succession of dominant scrums were rewarded with a penalty try just five minutes later, as the province made certain of the bonus point.
Duncan Williams then broke through for Munster’s fifth try after a skilful passage of offloading – a brilliant feed off the deck from prop James Cronin released the replacement scrum half to go over unopposed.
Edinburgh’s woes continued when they were reduced to 14 men for the final 10 minutes with lock Grant Gilchrist sent to the sin-bin, and Munster were soon awarded their second penalty try. Murray took over kicking duties and duly kicked his first points for Munster.
Penney’s charges rounded off their runaway success with a close range Tommy O’Donnell try in injury-time which took them through the half century mark for the second time this season – they beat Cardiff Blues 54-13 at Thomond Park in February.
Murray had the final say with his second kick at goal to seal Munster’s biggest ever winning margin away from home in the PRO12 – 43 points.
The province were just two points away from eclipsing 2008’s 50-6 dismissal of the Dragons in Cork, and a converted try away from beating their old record for most points in a match (61 against Caerphilly in 2001).
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