The Men of Gwent looked for their first away win of the season, however it was Munster who took the spoils scoring an impressive six tries to the Dragons’ two.
The hosts were first to add points to the scoreboard after six minutes of play thanks to the boot of captain Tyler Bleyendaal. Following this, Dragons fans saw Dorian Jones chip over for Wales International Tyler Morgan to collect and show his pace running into the Munster 22. Morgan went on to force a penalty out of the Munster men, giving Jones the chance to equalise with his own penalty kick.
Munster quickly re-took the lead through their centre Jaco Taute who found space in the Dragons defence out wide. Their skipper sealed the conversion to see the Irish side lead 10-3 after 15 minutes.
The Dragons looked to get back on track through some lovely passes out wide to enter the opposition 22, only it wasn’t meant to be as Bleyendaal intercepted and ran towards the Dragons 22. With Dorian Jones hot on his tail he chipped the ball on, which found the hands of full-back Andrew Conway, who crossed for Munster’s second converted
Munster wanted more and with continuous pressure inside the Dragons 22, their patience paid off as Jaco Taute went over for his second and Munster’s third.
Rhys Buckley scored the Dragons first try thanks to a well-executed driving lineout, with Jones making no mistake with the conversion. However before the halftime whistle came, full-back Carl Meyer was penalised for a deliberate knock on, with referee Mike Adamson sending Meyer to the sin bin and awarding Munster a penalty try to finish the first half.
Half Time: Munster 31 - Newport Gwent Dragons 10
Newport Gwent Dragons began the second half with only 14-men but after some good defensive work Carl Meyer was back and we were back up to XV. Soon after Meyers’ return, it was Munster who saw yellow, as Darren O'Shea was sin-binned for a no-arm tackle. The Dragons took a chance resulting in a second driving line-out try; Elliot Dee the scorer.
Jones nailed the conversion once again, seeing the scores narrow to 31-17 with 20 minutes left on the clock. However, Munster went over for another try, despite only having 14 players on the pitch, with their skipper converting once again.
The final try of the evening again came through the hands of our hosts as Ronan O'Mahony raced over after collecting the ball from a kick to seal their six-try win.
Full Time: Munster 45 - Newport Gwent Dragons 17
Referee: Mike Adamson
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