Munster 23-13 Edinburgh: Edinburgh outgunned

Before the game Edinburgh's interim head coach Nick Scrivener said Munster had "a number of dangerous weapons in their backs", and it was these weapons that duly sliced Edinburgh apart and won the game for the table-topping Irishmen.

From the kick-off however Munster invited Edinburgh into the game by knocking on Edinburgh's drop-out. From the resulting scrum Edinburgh captain Greig Laidlaw sent a beautifully grubber kick to the corner. Munster won the line-out but Edinburgh soon forced a penalty which Chris Paterson slotted from the 22-metre line.

Scott MacLeod fumbled the restart to hand the momentum to Munster and they duly took charge for the next 15 minutes. Ronan O'Gara returned the penalty compliment after Edinburgh were caught offside. Munster then battered at the Edinburgh line through their forwards as they sought to shake off any lingering memories of last weekend's away loss to Treviso.

The try came despite some earnest defence from Edinburgh. Sale-bound tight-head prop Tony Buckley barged over close to the right corner flag despite the attentions of Tim Visser and Laidlaw. O'Gara missed the wide-out touchline conversion.

Edinburgh then applied a little pressure of their own and won a penalty after Munster entered the breakdown from the side almost in front of their own posts. Paterson again was on target to bring Edinburgh to within two points of Munster.

But it was Munster who seemed more likely to score next as their backs now started to gain huge yardage down the blindside.

Paul Warwick broke some weak Edinburgh first-up tackles to pass to winger Denis Hurley who was felled ten yards short of the Edinburgh line. When Munster moved the ball left Edinburgh wing Tim Visser did well to lasso full-back Johne Murphy and deny Munster a try.

From the next passage of play though Edinburgh were to strike. Centre James King chipped over the Munster line and Visser gathered almost without breaking stride. On the Munster ten-metre line Visser cut right to link with Ross Rennie and Lee Jones. Laidlaw then punched a half-break for the Munster line.

The Edinburgh forwards were next to have a go when Geoff Cross picked and was forced over the line by Andrew Kelly and Rennie. The television match official confirmed the try. Paterson converted to give Edinburgh a 13-8 lead.

Edinburgh almost had another try moments later but a Laidlaw chip intended for Lee Jones just rolled into touch . With the half running deep into extended time, Laidlaw attempted a long-range penalty which fell short.

Munster however were to end the half on a high. From a seemingly innocuous position within his own half, centre Lifeimi Mafi sliced through the Edinburgh midfield and all of a sudden was faced with only one man to beat.

Mafi drew the man and passed to Doug Howlett who had just too much gas for the covering Visser and Laidlaw to touch down in the right corner. O'Gara missed the difficult conversion to leave the score 13-13 at half time.

Munster got the scoreboard moving first in the second half through an O'Gara penalty after Nigel Owens penalised Edinburgh for collapsing a scrum a few metres inside their ten-metre line.

Edinburgh now had plenty of possession and territory of their own between the halfway line and Munster's 22 but could not push on beyond this to manufacture any type of score. Munster defended comfortably and Edinburgh expended a lot of energy with nothing to show for it.

Munster then upped the ante with backs and forwards combining well to work space for O'Gara to grubber into the corner. Only Laidlaw's scrambling defence on the floor prevented the chasing Warwick falling on the ball for the try. Edinburgh cleared their lines and again established a foothold in Munster territory but a simple spilt ball in the tackle by flanker Fraser McKenzie inside the Munster 22 saw possession handed over.

Munster seemed to be biding their time until they pushed the pedal to the floor again. When they did, Edinburgh were again cut wide open. From a flat O'Gara pass, Mafi, who was a thorn in Edinburgh's side all night, exploded between the Edinburgh's centres. Mafi fed left to full-back Murphy who then passed back inside to Howlett who ran home for the try. O'Gara converted to give Munster a 23-13 lead with under ten minutes to go.

Munster pushed for the try bonus point but Edinburgh just held out.

Scorers: Edinburgh: Pens: Paterson 2. Try: Cross. Con: Paterson. Munster: Pens: O'Gara 2. Tries: Buckley, Howlett 2. Con: O'Gara.

Munster: J Murphy, D Howlett, L Mafi, P Warwick, D Hurley, R O'Gara, P Stringer, W du Preez, D Varley, T Buckley; D Ryan, M O'Driscoll, D Leamy capt, T O'Donnell, J Coughlan. Subs used: D Fogarty, M Horan, B Holland, D Williams, S Zebo.

Edinburgh: C Paterson, L Jones, B Cairns, J King, T Visser, D Blair, G Laidlaw (capt), K Traynor, A Kelly, G Cross, S MacLeod, S Turnbull, F McKenzie, N Talei, R Rennie. Subs used: L Niven, D Young, A MacDonald, R Grant, N De Luca, S Webster.