Reds do damage early

Munster 19 Treviso 6

Compared to last week’s rollercoaster opening victory in Edinburgh, this was a straightforward and somewhat disappointing affair but the 10,261 supporters who decided to give this re-booted Munster set-up an early appraisal appeared to like what they saw, at least in the first half.

New captain Doug Howlett notched a try, fly-half Ian Keatley gave another assured performance at fly-half and the pack dominated to give Munster a 16-3 lead at half-time to earn them warm applause with an understrength Treviso side.