Dave Kilcoyne’s try-double saw Munster move into fifth in the GUINNESS PRO12, as they swept Newport Gwent Dragons aside to win 26-5 at Thomond Park. The hosts led 12-0 at the interval thanks to tries from Dave Kilcoyne and Rory Scannell, with Newport struggling to make any impact inside the Munster 22. And Kilcoyne’s second put the game to bed, despite Hallam Amos’ score immediately afterwards, and James Cronin’s late bonus-point try saw Anthony Foley’s side leapfrog Edinburgh, who were narrowly beaten 28-23 by Connacht on Friday evening, in the GUINNESS PRO12 standings. Tommy O’Donnell made the early running for Munster, claiming the ball off a Dragons lineout before making a clean break to take the hosts out of their own 22. Francis Saili’s brilliant run then took his side into the Newport 22 for the first time, but as Munster looked for the line the ball was lost forwards and the visitors could catch their breath. Simon Zebo looked lively in attack and defence, first superbly claiming a high-ball just inside his own half and counter-attacking on ten minutes, before making no mistake to reclaim a Newport chip through four minutes later. And it was Munster who deservedly broke the deadlock on 18 minutes, when Andrew Conway made a searing break with Zebo on his shoulder to surge into the Dragons’ 22. First Darren Sweetnam drove for the line, before Billy Holland was also held up short, but prop Kilcoyne was the man to finally drive over for the game’s opening try. Ian Keatley’s conversion attempt was wide, but Munster were able to double their advantage 15 minutes later. The Dragons had moved the ball into the hosts’ 22, but Saili forced the turnover and Munster were able to build the phases all the way up to the five-metre line at the other end of the park. And when the ball was moved out wide to Scannell there was only going to be one result as the centre crossed the whitewash, with Keatley this time making no mistake with the extras to make it 12-0. That was how it stayed until the break, largely thanks to Scannell who put in a huge tackle to claim the man and the ball with the Dragons looking to make inroads into the 22 once again. Kilcoyne’s second shortly after half-time handed Munster a commanding 19-0 lead once Keatley had converted, but Hallam Amos gave the Dragons a glimmer of hope just two minutes later with a try of his own – although Jason Tovey was wayward with the conversion. That score did not dent Munster’s confidence however, and they were soon pressing deep in the Dragons’ 22 before they were pinged for holding on. A brilliant Andrew Conway tackle denied Newport just before the hour mark, before the TMO also ruled out a try for the visitors. Steve Archer came on for his 100th Munster appearance after 67 minutes, his first GUINNESS PRO12 action since October after a neck injury. And Munster added insult to injury in the dying moments of the game, with Cronin finding a gap to get over the line for his side’s fourth try with replacement Johnny Holland adding the extras. To buy tickets for the GUINNESS PRO12 Grand Final click here. Also follow us on Facebook, join the conversation on Twitter, sign up to our YouTube channel for extensive match highlights and sign up for our newsletter for regular updates on the GUINNESS PRO12.
