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Munster get the job done in Thomond

Final Score: Munster 32 Treviso 7 Simon Zebo's late bonus point try sent the Munster fans ho...



Munster get the job done in Th...
Rugby

Munster get the job done in Thomond

Final Score: Munster 32 Treviso 7

Simon Zebo's late bonus point try sent the Munster fans home happy after a scrappy, error-strewn game at Thomond Park on Saturday evening. 

The victory gets Munster's Champions Cup campaign off to the best possible start as they join Leicester Tigers at the top of Pool 4 following this evening's result.

It was a gritty performance from the men in red, and they had to dig deep in the second half to conjure up the four tries after Treviso put it up to the home-side in the opening 40th minute.

Things started off brightly for the Thomond faithful, as BJ Botha crashed over after just four minutes. 

With Treviso losing seven games on the trot and falling behind to an early Munster score in front of an intimidating Thomond crowd, you would have been forgiven for thinking that Treviso would fold.

However, a combination of the Italian's resilience and the torrid conditions meant that there were mistakes aplenty from both sides, and it was through a mistake Treviso got themselves level.

The very impressive Braam Steyn was a nuisance from the back of the Treviso scrum, and it was he who leveled when he charged down an Ian Keatley kick and then beat the ball to the dead ball line to touch down.

Munster were left frustrated for the rest of the half, with a solitary Keatley penalty all they had to show for their efforts.

The second half saw a change of momentum as Anthony Foley's charges were now playing with the winds at their backs, kept the Italians pinned in their own half.

In the 55th minute the resistace was again broken, CJ Stander burrowing over for a second try. 

After the recently Irish-qualified South African touched down the game was decided and now a third seemed inevitable, with it duly coming in the 68th minute via Duncan Casey.

The hooker set himself at the back of a maul and from there it was just too easy as the Munster drive faced little fightback on their way to the line. 

With 11 minutes left and three tries scored, the crowd had something to shout about again as murmurs of the Fields of Athenry began to ring round the stadium.

Those murmurs turned into roars as Munster went in search of a fourth, and found it when Conor Murray fed Simon Zebo after extended pressure on the Treviso line. 

It may not have been a perfect performance, but its minimum expectation met with tougher challenges ahead. 

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