Munster achieved their essential aim of taking all five Guinness Pro 14 points from the visit of the lowly Southern Kings by the half-time whistle at Musgrave Park and after that, it was little more than a romp for a bang-in-form home side who thrilled the appreciative Cork crowd of 6,854 with ten tries on a delightful evening for attacking football.

Further evidence of the influence of West Cork rugby in the Munster team has come with the inclusion of Rosscarbery flanker John Hodnett for his first Guinness Pro 14 start — against South African side Southern Kings — at Musgrave Park this evening, kick-off 7. 35.

The competition for places on both Munster wings is fierce enough that stellar talents like Calvin Nash must wonder if they will get a chance on the biggest days.

The European debuts came thick and fast as Munster said their farewells to the Heineken Champions Cup for another season and made a determined change of direction towards the Guinness PRO14.

Results over the weekend ended Munster’s slim chances of qualifying before a turnstile opened in Thomond Park on Sunday, writes Tom Savage.

Having trailed 6-0 after 14 minutes, Munster added their points in sevens to take a 14-6 lead into the break but it was not until Conor Murray pounced off the back of a ruck in 47th minute that the home side truly put this game beyond Ospreys in front of 19,891, the biggest crowd of the weekend in the Champions Cup. Not bad for a dead rubber.

Nash has been named to start on the wing as Keith Earls misses out due to a minor knee injury in one of two changes to Johann van Graan's side.

Carbery has spent the last two months rehabbing an ankle injury.

Munster hooker Kevin O’Byrne looks set to get a rare second consecutive start but having made 45 of his 61 appearances for the province off the bench, he said he is ready to go at any stage.

Dave Kilcoyne makes his return from a calf injury to start for Munster against Connacht in tomorrow's PRO14 clash.

Munster were ruthless and clinical as they ended a two-year wait for a win at the Arms Park by putting Cardiff Blues to the sword to leave the Welsh capital with a priceless bonus-point.

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.

Jack O’Donoghue, the only forward to be retained from the victory over the Ospreys, captains the side for the second time in his career.

Jack O’Sullivan and Jed Holloway both made their debuts as part of the Munster pack, with the Waratahs import Holloway lining out in the second row alongside captain Billy Holland.

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.

Those newcomers are among five changes by Johann van Graan to the side which lost their last Pro14 game 40-16 to the Cheetahs.

Dave Kearney returns for defending champions Leinster for their Guinness PRO14 clash with Edinburgh at the RDS tomorrow evening.

It was the numbers beyond the 45-5 scoreline which truly showed how productive Munster’s pre-season win over London Irish was.

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.

Three Academy players will make their first Munster starts in Friday's friendly against London Irish.

Scrum-half issues further up the chain have impacted on Munster A head coach Peter Malone’s selection for the visit of Dragons A to Cork this afternoon for this Celtic Cup third round game (5:30pm).

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.

Taking and giving a five or 10-metre pass is a fundamental part of the game yet the skills required to deliver under pressure are often overlooked, writes Donal Lenihan.

It will be Sunday evening before we know for sure which two of the four sides left standing in this season’s Champions Cup got their preparations spot on for the semi-finals, but at this juncture it would be a surprise, notwithstanding they are playing in France, if Munster isn’t one of them.

Southern Kings 22 Munster 39: There was a carnival atmosphere at Outeniqua Park on Saturday and while it seemed for a time that the Southern Kings were going to spoil CJ Stander’s homecoming, Munster’s superiority shone through in the end as they cantered home.

CJ Stander said that it will be a dream come true this evening when he leads Munster out on the pitch where he played as a child in South Africa.

CJ Stander said that it will be a dream come true this evening when he leads Munster out on the pitch where he played as a child in South Africa.

The Munster squad arrived into 25°C heat in South Africa at the start of a two-match tour which will also double up as preparation for their Champions Cup semi-final showdown with Racing 92 in Bordeaux.

With two man of the match awards to his credit in the RBS Six Nations U20 campaign, Jack O’Sullivan now makes the cut with Munster A for today’s B&I Cup quarter-final against Leinster at Donnybrook.

Simon Zebo and Andrew Conway have only 50/50 chances of facing Toulon next Saturday as Munster's injury list continues to rise.

Jordan Larmour’s spectacular solo, counter-attacking try against Munster on St Stephen’s Day may have catapulted the rising Leinster star into the nation’s consciousness but it came as no surprise to the opposition coach that night, Felix Jones.

Munster are hoping for another new contract boost with the retention of Ireland back-three star Andrew Conway to follow extended deals announced last night for forwards Billy Holland, Stephen Archer, and Kevin O’Byrne.

Munster’s Sam Arnold has been issued with a three-week ban following a red card disciplinary decision yesterday.

Johann van Graan is hoping for a welcome boost to Munster’s depleted midfield resources with a return to action for outside centre Chris Farrell this Saturday at home to Connacht.

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.

Key Munster players Keith Earls and James Cronin are unlikely to play any rugby for the remainder of 2017.

The morale-boosting result for Peter Malone's injury-ravaged squad will see them compete for ninth place in Sunday's final round.

Italy 22 Ireland 21: Munster’s Calvin Nash ran in a couple of tries, but Ireland’s hopes of reaching successive World Rugby U20 Championship finals took a nosedive as Italy pipped them at the death in Georgia.

The Ireland Under-20s outperformed their English counterparts in a pulsating encounter but just fell short of a final round win at a wind-hit Donnybrook.

Ireland 27 France 22: Not a performance to shout about, but Ireland’s U20s did just about enough to make it three wins from three in this year’s Six Nations at Donnybrook last night.