Munster got a hard fought 40-30 victory on the road against Benetton this afternoon to push them further up the league table, with ten tries scored in total in the contest.

Ten tries were scored in this entertaining encounter, Paddy Patterson, Jack O’Sullivan, John Hodnett, Jean Kleyn,  Antoine Frisch and Joey Carbery all crossing the line for the visitors.

Despite the defeat, the hosts gave a good account of themselves, especially in the opening quarter. Right winger Ignacio Mendy was the consolation hattrick hero.

Munster ended Benetton’s six game winning streak. The win puts them in a healthier position, with a few home games coming up in the next few rounds of the competition.


It was a beautiful day in Treviso, making for ideal playing conditions. In the early going, both teams were trying to suss each other out, not afraid to throw it around, trying to play a loose style of rugby.

In the seventh minute, it was the hosts who broke the deadlock. They made a great break in the middle of the park and a couple of slick offloads got the ball to outside centre Mark Zannon who ran over for the opening score in the left corner.

They didn’t have to wait long to extend their lead. Fullback Rhyno Smith running a lovely diagonal line sliced through the defence before releasing his right winger Mendy, who touched the ball down for their second try in quick succession. They were given a 12-0 advantage, thanks to the Jacob Umaga conversion.

It was a dream start for the hosts, who were been given far too much room to make the line breaks and launch these speedy attacks.

In the 16^th minute, Munster finally found a response. A well weighted pass from Carbery out to winger Calvin Nash, launched the charge and chase, collecting his own kick, Nash passed to inside runner Patterson. The scrum half scored the visitors first try of the game. Carbery made sure of the full compliment. Graham Rowntree’s men were up and running.

The visitors started to grow more into the game. They got tighter in defence and began controlling the tempo.

On the half hour mark, backrow Hodnett found a crack in the middle of the opposition defence, racing through the gap, he tipped the ball on to his backrow partner O’Sullivan who coasted in under the stick. It was a simple conversion for Carbery. Munster led for the first time in the game.

Umaga kicked a penalty to restore the home side’s advantage heading into the halftime interval. It was 15-14.

The men in red made the ideal start to the second half. They found themselves in attacking territory, playing it through the hands and using width they found backrow Hondett on the wing, who scored their third try of the game. Carbery successful kicked the conversion.

The Italians pulled it back to a three-point game when they were giving a penalty straight in front of the posts. Substitute Ben Healy was sent to the bin for a deliberate knock down.

Despite being down a man, it didn’t stop Munster from pushing on. They were composed in their attack, playing phase after phase, edging their way into the opposition half A Roman Salanoa carry got them closer to the scoring zone, with the big front row pumping his legs. A few phases later, the big second row Kleyn got over for their fourth try, securing the bonus point.

When Healy returned to the field, they lost another player in Diarmuid Barron who was next to go to the bin.

Benetton had a scrum a few metres out from the try line, using their numerical advantage, they exploited the space and Mendy scored his brace in the corner. It was now 23-28.

The Irish team put the game to bed, scoring tries number five and six. Frisch was on the end of a Healy cross field kick and Carbery crashed over the line after a sustained period of Munster pressure. It was 23-40, with the result basically secured.

Although, the home crowd got to have the last cheer as Mendy got his hattrick, followed by an Umaga conversion. They left the game with the try bonus point in the bag. However, Munster brought a halt to Benetton’s winning run, jumping over them in the league standings.