Munster strengthened their control on this Interprovincial series as they swept aside Connacht with an impressive 46-7 win in Musgrave Park this afternoon.

Despite a strong start from the visitors, it was the reigning champions Munster who were in complete control of this game.

Connacht came strongest out of the blocks, controlling the ball and dominating the overall play for much of the opening ten minutes of this game. The opening exchanges were incredibly physical, as the visitors committed numbers and firepower into the rucks, whilst Munster responded with a similar level of intensity.

Part of the reason for this early Connacht possession was Munster’s ill-discipline; they were repeatedly penalised for encroaching from offside positions and not rolling away, something that would came back to bite them later on in the half.

Munster weathered this early storm and responded brilliantly with a try in the 13^th minute thanks to great strength and power from Maeve Og O’Leary, who finished off an excellent forwards manoeuvre just metres out from the Connacht line. The flanker was first receiver after 5 pick-and-go drives and used her speed and dynamism to power over the try line. Kate Flannery added the extras.

After a bright start, it was a disappointment to concede, however the visitors fired back with a try of their own in the 19^th minute thanks to a wonderful chip and chase kick from Nicole Fowley, collected and scored by Clara Barrett.

With Connacht on the ascendency inside the Munster 22, Fowley spotted a gap in the Munster backfield and chipped through a chase-able kick. The ball hit the foam pads protecting the posts and back into the hands of Clara Barrett who then dotted the ball down to level the scoring.

The next phase of the first half belonged entirely to Munster, as they scored three tries before Half Time, heading into the break with a comfortable 17-point lead. Munster scored through Dorothy Wall, Deirbhle Nic an Bhaird and Kate Flannery, Nic an Bhaird’s try being the pick of the lot.

The Munster forwards showed off their impressive ball-handling skills and executed a series of wonderful offloads following a lineout just inside the Connacht half. The Munster forwards picked some excellent lines, with Og O’Leary, Dorothy Wall and Chloe Pearse producing some wonderful offloads to drive their team up the pitch and into the Connacht 5-metre line. Deirbhle Nic an Bhaird got her hands on the ball and ran a perfect diagonal line, fending off Clara Barrett on her way to the try line.

Following Kate Flannery’s tap-and-go try, in which she was tackled before she had ran 10 metres, Connacht’s Lily Brady was shown a yellow card and would be in the sin-bin for the next ten minutes. She joined Maeve Og O’Leary in the bin following the flanker’s card minutes earlier for repeated offside offences.

Nic an Bhaird would double her tally for the day just ten minutes after half time, this time executing a training ground routine off the back of the lineout to perfection. The number 8 took the lineout throw and ran a hard line behind the disguise of the driving maul.

Muirne Wall picked her moment well to take the ball out of the maul and feed Nic an Bhaird, who proceeded to trample over Connacht scrum-half Olivia Haverty on her way to the line. I’m not sure there is anybody who could have stopped her at that speed in that position.

Munster were completely dominant in the lineout, using multiple set plays off the back of the set piece. More often than not they were extremely effective. Alana McInerney and Aoife Doyle would score their tries this afternoon following successful set-plays off the back of the lineout.

The tries were remarkably similar, both relying on a secure winning of the ball before releasing the ball to the scrum-half and fly-half. From there, it was a case of running convincing lines at the Connacht defence, forcing the defender to commit to the tackle, before offloading to a teammate. McInerney was found wide open on the right flank for her score, whilst Aoife Doyle was found with ease on her left wing, dotting over for an easy score.

A late try from Fiona Reidy added to Connacht’s miseries, powering over the try line with ease for Munster’s 8^th try of the game.

Munster showed their class this afternoon as they eased to their second victory in this Interprovincial series.