Munster had the wind at their backs in the first half at Thomond Park, and took immediate advantage when a floating Ronan O’Gara pass gave hooker Jerry Flannery the space to power over in the corner.
The Scarlets hit straight back when Stephen Jones found space around the fringes, and his conversion gave the only team in the entire tournament yet to score a competition point a shock 7-5 lead against the 2006 champions.
It didn’t last long, though, and two O’Gara penalty goals were good reward for some dangerous Rua Tipoki breaks. The Munster fly half added a third when Scarlets prop Ben Broster was sin-binned for a professional foul and the home side took a 14-7 lead into the break.
Consecutive high tackles from Scarlets forwards Adam Eustace and Alix Popham gave O’Gara the chance to kick his fourth goal of the match, but young Wales fullback Morgan Stoddart made a fool of the Munster defence to give Jones a shot at goal, and the Test fly half made no mistake as the match see-sawed into the final quarter.
New dad Marcus Horan, whose wife Kate gave birth to daughter Heather during the week, became the second player to see referee Dave Pearson’s yellow card after throwing a punch, but the next exchange turned the game on its head.
A break and superb hand-off from Flannery put Munster on the front foot and quick hands gave winger Brian Carney the space to dot down in the corner for his side’s second try. To add to the Scarlets’ woes, Popham was deemed guilty of a dangerous tackle on the impressive David Wallace in the buildup, and the blond Wales back-rower joined Horan in the bin as Munster held on for a hard-earned victory.
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