Three first-half tries gave Zebre a mountain to climb as Munster got back to winning ways in the GUINNESS PRO12 with a 31-7 bonus-point victory in Parma.

Felix Jones, CJ Stander and Conor Murray all crossed over in a dominant opening period that saw the Irish province take a 24-0 lead in at the break.

Simon Zebo made it mission impossible shortly after the break and while Oliviero Fabiani did manage to dot down for the Italians, it was nothing more than a consolation.

Munster started well and had the lead after eight minutes when Filippo Cristiano was penalised for interfering with play on the ground and Ian Keatley stepped up to kick the penalty.

And it wasn’t long before they had their first try of the afternoon with Jones the man to cross over after Patrick Howard found some space before offloading – Keatley adding the extras for a 10-0 lead after 13 minutes.

It was all Munster and the Italians were struggling to repel the waves of attack as Anthony Foley’s men won a penalty inside the 22 and opted for the lineout.

They failed to make it count but as quickly as the Italians cleared the ball, Munster were back on the attack.

Zebre were hanging on but a Munster scrum just in front of the posts put an end to their resistance after Stander crashed over following a quick touch and Keatley was once again accurate with the boot.

It was going from bad to worse for Zebre who were yet to put together a meaningful attack and they fell further behind after 32 minutes.

Murray managed to squeeze over – picking up an injury in the process as he collided with the post – and leave Keatley with the simplest of conversions for a 24-0 lead.

Zebre finally had some meaningful possession inside the Munster 22 as the first-half drew to a close and they looked like they might be in when the ball was flashed out to Dries van Schalkwyk who struggled to control the ball.

Zebre came out after the break with their tails up and immediately went in search of a way back into the match.

However, their first attack was broken down and Stander picked up possession before Zebo found plenty of space to run free and dot down.

The Italians sought in vain to make steady progress into Munster territory but their handling was poor and they made it too easy for the visitors.

With the clock ticking down Zebre looked unlikely to find a way onto the board and Munster had the luxury of introducing Keith Earls for his first appearance of the season and Jones Cronin.

The home side did eventually make their mark however when, after a long deliberation, the referee awarded a try for Fabiani and replacement Luciano Orquera converted.

A dogged final quarter saw both sides with opportunities to score but Zebre’s handling once again proved subpar and Munster lacked the killer instinct –Cronin coming closest with a break into the 22 before running out of steam.

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