Jack O’Donoughe’s first-half try and a perfect kicking performance from JJ Hanrahan gave Munster the honours in this feisty inter-pro, which saw them stretch their lead at the top of the PRO14 Conference B standings.

With Munster holding a slender 6-3 lead on 50 minutes, the mass brawl that led to a Munster penalty handed the visitors a chance to widen their advantage.

Munster have defeated Saracens by 10 points to 3. Here's the match in 60 seconds.

The four Irish provinces have named their teams for this weekend's Champions Cup clashes.

Ireland U20 out-half Ben Healy will make his Munster senior debut tomorrow night as Johann van Graan opts for wholesale changes for the PRO14 visit of Edinburgh to Cork.

Keith Earls will make his first Munster appearance of the season in tomorrow's Champions Cup opener against the Ospreys.

The host will be without a sizeable number of internationals including record try-scoring wing Josh Adams along with fellow Welsh stars, Owen Lane and Hallam Amos.

World Cup demands deprive both Munster and Ospreys of the majority of their top players when they meet in the Guinness PRO14 at Musgrave Park tonight.

Johann van Graan’s Munster endured a first defeat of the season as Cheetahs doled out another heavy beating in this battle of the conference leaders in Bloemfontein.

The new PRO14 campaign may be in its infancy but for the Cheetahs their clash with Munster this evening kick-off 5.15pm) has a real end-of-season feel to it in Bloemfontein.

Munster claimed a second bonus-point victory in a week as their perfect start to the PRO14 season continued in Port Elizabeth against Southern Kings.

Munster back row Jack O’Donoghue knows there will be a tougher test at altitude next week in Bloemfontein but insists they also have their work cut out to deal with the Southern Kings in Port Elizabeth today.

It mightn’t have been a performance to set the pulses racing but Munster still got the new campaign off to a five-try, bonus point start by hammering the hapless Dragons - even without a dozen of their World Cup-tied players on duty in Japan.

Dragons new head coach Dean Ryan has described this afternoon’s Guinness PRO14 visit to Thomond Park as “a massive challenge”. His forwards coach, Ceri Jones, went a stage further in calling it “the acid test”.

Despite all those stars jetting east to the Land of the Rising Sun, the absentee which generated the most debate was the one left at home.

Johann van Graan sends a mix-and-match Munster side into Stadio Monigo tonight with one eye firmly on next weekend’s European semi-final with Saracens.

Munster go in search of their eighth win in a row this evening when they take on Scarlets at Parcy Scarlets on an occasion to be marked by Rory Scannell’s 100th appearance for the province.

Rival coaches Johann van Graan and Richard Cockerill have adopted contrasting strategies in choosing their teams for tonight’s (7.35pm) Guinness PRO14 encounter at Musgrave Park.

Munster coach Johann van Graan praised stand-in captain Tyler Bleyendaal and his men for carving out a bonus point win at Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein yesterday.

Munster hit the new ground running last night as they won their opening pre-season game on Musgrave Park’s freshly installed playing surface to defeat Declan Kidney’s London Irish.

Munster’s love affair with the B&I Cup came to an end yesterday when they bowed out to arch-rivals Leinster at the quarter-final stage of a competition that will cease to exist after this season.

Munster 33 Zebre 5: Munster coach Johann van Graan accurately summed up the view of the majority of Saturday night’s sparse Thomond Park attendance when he commented that “this won’t go down as the greatest game in the history of Munster”.

Michael Bradley, the former Ireland scrum-half and now head coach of Italian side Zebre, was last night casting an envious eye at the strength of the squad announced by his Munster counterpart Johann van Graan ahead of tonight’s Guinness PRO14 tie at Thomond Park.

Zebre 19 Munster 29: Alex Wootton was one of the players that Rassie Erasmus name-checked in his final week with Munster when he was asked what he would miss when he returned to South Africa.

Rassie Erasmus admits that he will experience mixed emotions at Musgrave Park tonight when Munster take on the Dragons in what may be his last game as the team’s head coach.

Benetton Treviso v Munster: We know what Connacht have done to us, while Treviso have been overturning teams like Ospreys and Edinburgh.

B&I Cup final:

Munster A 26 Ulster A 3: It was rugged, it was tough, but Munster A secured a well-deserved B&I Cup quarter-final victory over Ulster at Musgrave Park yesterday and earned themselves a home date with Ealing Trailfinders, who had a huge 84-7 win over Llanelli Scarlets.

Munster and Cardiff Blues won’t be lacking incentives when they clash at the Arms Park this evening in a Guinness PRO12 encounter that could play an important part in their seasons.

Munster 21 Scarlets 30: For 40 minutes at Thomond Park last night, Munster played some of their finest rugby of the season and deservedly opened up a 15 point lead over Welsh visitors Scarlets in a truly remarkable Guinness Pro 12 encounter.

Munster can expect the kind of reception they like to dish out to visiting teams when they take on Edinburgh in tonight’s deferred Guinness Pro 12 game at Myreside.

It won’t be easy, but Munster A head coach Peter Malone believes his side have a fighting chance of getting through to the knock-out stages of the B&I Cup.