Munster overrun 13-man Connacht to reach semis

Andrew Conway scored a brace of tries as Munster took advantage of two firsthalf red cards for Connacht to reach the Guinness Pro14 semi-finals thanks to a 49-12 bonus-point win.

De but ant Con nacht No 8 Abraham Papali’i was sent off for a 25th-minute high tackle, while – nine minutes later – hooker Shane Delahunt saw red after leading with an elbow into CJ Stander’s neck.

Munster led when Chris Cloete touched down from a textbook lineout maul and JJ Hanrahan scored the first of his five conversions.

Connacht’s seven-man pack coughed up a 15 th-minute penalty try from a five-metre scrum, but lost Papali’i when he tackled Conor Murray with what referee Frank Murphy adjudged was a shoulder to the head, in consultation with TMO Olly Hodges.

Following the double dismissal Jeremy Lo ugh man provided a smart finish after 36 minutes.

Connacht grabbed a welltaken try by Bundee Aki, but the concession of three tries in a five-minute spell soon had their heads dropping.

Tadhg B eirne picked up a 49 th-minute bonus point when running a clever line inside Aki. Hanrahan con - v er ted and also added the extras to a quick-fire Conway brace. The b est of the tries came when Beirne brilliantly linked with Chris Farrell and Dam ian De Allen de before winger Conway finished off the long-range break.

Conway took his haul to four tries in two games when chasing down a Hanrahan kick in the right corner.

Munster replacement Cronin and Connacht hooker Murphy also swapped close-range scores with replacement Rory Scannell keeping up the winners’ 100 per cent return from the tee.