Munster back on top of PRO12 table, as Connacht climb off the bottom

Munster were given a scare early in their clash with Zebre in the RaboDirect PRO12 on Saturday, but ultimately came back to make light work of the Italian side.

On a night when Donncha O’Callaghan won a record 241^st cap for the province, Munster stormed to a 36-8 win over their bottom of the table outfit. Tommaso d’Apice gave the home side an early scare when he went over at Musgrave Park, but it wasn’t long before some expert kicking from JJ Hanrahan penalty and two tries from Simon Zebo turned the match in Rob Penney’s side’s favour. A penalty from Guglielmo Palazzani reduced the arrears to 15-8 just after half-time, but two tries from Ger Slattery and another from Tommy O’Donnell meant that Munster returned to the top of the table by the time the whistle blew. A great night for O’Callaghan too, who replaced his namesake Dave just before the twenty minute mark. Connacht moved off the bottom of the by beating Edinburgh 11-7 at the Sportsground. The home side were 7-3 in arrears at half-time, with Craig Ronaldson missing three penalties in the wind after converting his first on 20 minutes. A Roddy Grant try, converted by Carl Bezuidenhout, had put Edinburgh into a 10th minute lead. Kieran Marmion should have had a try early in the second half. Edinburgh No.8 Cornell du Preez pounced, offside, at the scrum-half as he eyed the tryline. Connacht made the most of the advantage, however, lock Michael Swift eventually being credited with the try after impressive use of the rolling maul. After Ronaldson’s conversion attempt struck the post, kicking responsibilities fell to replacement Parks,  and his straightforward penalty on 65 minutes closed off the scoring.