Munster 46

Benetton Treviso 3

RONAN O’MAHONY AND Andrew Conway ran in two tries each as Munster put in an efficient performance to move clear at the top of the Pro12.

In front of an official crowd of 12,196 – half that was a more accurate estimation – Rassie Erasmus’ side were hardly bothered by Treviso as seven tries flowed after a dominant display.

Again Tyler Bleyendaal was masterful for Munster and he laid on four tries for his teammates as well as making four successful kicks at goal.

After they fended off a positive start from the Italian side, Munster eventually took total control of this game in the second quarter to clinch the win – their fifth in a row.

Playing with wind advantage in the first-half, Munster will be annoyed to have played second fiddle in the territorial and possession game early on as former Leinster out-half Ian McKinley kicked his side into a 3-0 lead.

But after Bleyendaal levelled matters with a 14th-minute penalty, Munster took total control as they gradually started to boss their weakened visitors.

Their first try came midway through the half when Jaco Taute was held up over the line, but Copeland ended up scoring when the five-metre scrum ran backwards at an impressive speed.

Six minutes later Andrew Conway got the vital touch for his first try after Bleyendaal’s chip through came off the try-line flag for a 15-3 lead.

And five minutes from the break Bleyendaal, O’Mahony and Conway linked up again as Conway raced clear down the left wing to secure a 22-3 half-time lead.

The bonus point was secured three minutes into the second-half when Darren O’Shea ran a sharp line onto Bleyendaal’s pass to crash over, and again the out-half was on the mark with the sideline conversion to extend Munster’s lead to 29-3.

Inevitably, when the replacement benches were emptied there followed a lull in attacking play, but 16 minutes from time Munster found top gear again.

O’Mahony got the try his performance deserved, laid on again by man of the match Bleyendaal, and three minutes later replacement Alex Wootton ran in behind the posts to stretch the lead to 38 points.

And eight minutes from time a neat dummy from Niall Scannell saw O’Mahony cross for his second try in six minutes as Munster closed out a simple victory in style.

Scorers:
Munster: Tries: R Copeland, A Conway 2, D O’Shea, R O’Mahony 2, A Wootton; Cons: T Bleyendaal (3), I Keatley; Pen: T Bleyendaal
Treviso: Pen: I McKinley

Munster – A Conway; D Sweetnam (A Wootton 57), S Arnold, J Taute, R O’Mahony; T Bleyendaal (I Keatley 67), D Williams (A Lloyd 67); D Kilcoyne (T du Toit 47), R Marshall (N Scannell 62), J Ryan (S Archer 62); D Foley (J Kleyn 54), D O’Shea; J O’Donoghue, T O’Donnell (c) (B Holland 53), R Copeland.

Treviso – J Hayward; M Tagicakibau, T Iannone (D Odiete 43), A Sgarbi (c), L Sperandio (A Pratichetti 57); I McKinley, T Tebaldi; A De Marchi (F Zani 57), L Bigi (D Giazzon 49), M Zanusso (T Pasquali 49 HIA); F Gerosa (R Santamaria 48), M Van Vuren (F Conforti 63); M Lazzaroni, F Ferrarini, M Barbini.

Ref – Mike Adamson (SRU)

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