Munster run in five tries to beat Edinburgh in Guinness Pro 12
Last Updated: 12/04/15 6:48pm
Munster closed the gap on Guinness Pro12 leaders Glasgow with an easy bonus point victory over Edinburgh.
Duncan Casey, CJ Stander, Conor Murray, Simon Zebo and Keith Earls scored tries for the Irish province in their 34-3 victory at Murrayfield, with Ian Keatley booting nine points as they moved above the Ospreys and Ulster into second.
The hosts made the greater impression in the opening stages, stringing together a series of phases that displayed real attacking intent, and they were rewarded when Tom Heathcote opened the scoring with a penalty that would prove to be their only score.
Keatley responded with an early penalty of his own, knocking over a 25-metre effort after Edinburgh replacement Tomas Leonardi had strayed offside at the ruck.
And it was Munster who deservedly notched the first try of the game, their bold decision to kick to the corner from a penalty within the Edinburgh 22 paying dividends when hooker Casey rumbled over from a rolling maul.
The visitors began the second period at a visibly higher tempo and stretched their advantage with a try that mirrored their earlier score - attacking line-out ball led to the formation of a dynamic rolling maul, and No 8 Stander was on hand to dot the ball down.
A third score arrived soon after - with Edinburgh a man down after Tim Visser had been sin-binned for slowing down the ball, scrum-half Murray sneaked down the blindside from the back of yet another driving maul, and he fended off the challenge of Ross Ford before crashing over in the corner for a score converted by Keatley.
The try bonus point was secured in controversial fashion, when the TMO adjudged Zebo to have touched down despite appearing to have had minimal downward pressure on the ball, having chased down his own kick. Keatley was once again off target with the conversion.
Further gloss was added to the scoreline when Earls capitalised on a mistake in the Edinburgh ranks to snap up a loose ball and squeeze over from close range.
Keatley added the touchline conversion to conclude the scoring, rounding off a clinical display from Munster as they look to secure a home semi-final in the end of season play-offs. They trail Glasgow by two points but the top four are covered by only four.
