Munster finished strongly in Italy to secure a 34-14 bonus-point win that keeps the pressure on Leinster in the battle for top spot in the Guinness PRO12 Darren Sweetnam and Simon Zebo crossed for Munster in a scrappy first-half display laced with errors. Treviso’s David Odiete responded for the hosts in the second half, Munster burst into life scoring two quick-fire tries courtesy of Alex Wootton and Jack O’Donoghue to seal the win. Sweetnam completed the Italian job adding his second late on to add some gloss to the scoreline in a tough battle in Italy but Treviso had time to respond with their second try in the final play. It was a scrappy opening quarter at the Stadio Monigo with neither side able to dominate proceedings from the off. Fly-half Tyler Bleyendaal – captain for the day after Billy Holland injured himself in the warm-up – kept the Italian outfit pinned in their own half but the visitors regularly coughed up possession. The breakthrough came after 20 minutes when hooker Rhys Marshall broke the line and chipped over the Treviso defence, the bouncing ball popped up kindly for the supporting Donnacha Ryan who was stopped short of the line. A few phases later, Munster made the most of numbers out wide and winger Darren Sweetnam dotted down in the corner to open the scoring in Italy. Minutes later, Munster powered their way up to the Treviso 22 and, just when they were starting to be pushed back by the Italian side, Bleyendaal put Zebo through a gap and the Irish full-back raced away to score with the Kiwi fly-half adding the extras. And on the stroke of half-time, Bleyendaal was again on hand to extend Munster’s lead to 15 points after the men in red won a penalty at the lineout. The hosts rallied shortly after the break but a smart line break was followed up by a superb covering tackle by Zebo to keep the Italians out. But Treviso full-back Odiete found a way through the red wall to put the Italian side on the board – fly-half Ian McKinley adding the extras. The game became tense and neither side dominated possession in the 15 minutes that followed until Bleyendaal found good field position and Munster went direct. A series of pick and goes shattered the Treviso ruck defence and tied in the Italian defenders, Francis Saili found replacement Wootton who crossed the whitewash in the corner – Bleyendaal failed to convert from a tight angle. And No.8 O’Donoghue sealed the win as he scored Munster’s fourth try to ensure the men in red would return to Limerick with all five points. O’Donoghue showed his power by handing off a Treviso defender and breaking away for the score to put Munster out of sight, Bleyendaal’s conversion put the Irish outfit 27-7 ahead. And Sweetnam added his second in the last ten minutes when he arrived first to dive over the line having chased down his own kick. But Treviso had the final say when replacement Jean-Francois Montauriol burrowed over in the last play. The Guinness PRO12 Final takes place on May 27 at Aviva Stadium, Dublin. Fans can guarantee their place by booking their tickets via www.ticketmaster.ie Further information: www.pro12rugby.com/final
