Munster set up Scarlets clash
Munster proved too strong for Ospreys in their PRO12 semi-final as they won 23-3 at Thomond Park to book a final date against Scarlets.
Tries from Francis Saili, Simon Zebo and Andrew Conway saw the Irish province come out on top, with Saili named the man-of-the-match.
Ospreys' only points came from Dan Biggar as they were well beaten in the end, with Rhys Webb's injury absence not helping their cause.
In a low-scoring first period it was Munster who went in 8-3 to the good thanks to a try from Saili and Tyler Bleyendaal's penalty late on.
Those points came following an eighth minute penalty from Biggar though as the Ospreys came out the sharper of the two semi-finalists.
Saili's score on 26 minutes rallied the home support, crossing after Rory Scannell was brought down close to the left touchline, but Bleyendaal hit the post with his conversion attempt meaning it was only a slender two-point lead for Munster. One felt every point would be critical.
Bleyendaal wasn't alone in being off-target though as Biggar was wayward with a touchline penalty attempt after a high tackle from Munster.
Munster's fly-half found his range with a much simpler shot in the last kick of the half, however, with Ospreys pinged for a ruck offence.
The sloppiness and tense feel to the game continued after the break and there was no further score as the match moved over the hour mark. Munster did go close through a short carry from CJ Stander but the TMO and referee Luke Pearce did not see evidence of a grounding.
Two minutes later the game came to life when a Saili break and offload saw Conor Murray and Keith Earls combine to send over Zebo for the converted score. That made it 15-3 before Bleyendaal added a further three points off the tee on 67 minutes to put Munster 15 points in front.
Ospreys came agonisingly close to cutting seven points off that gap on 71 minutes when replacement hooker Scott Otten re-gathered his own chip and dived over. However, a knock-on from Tom Habberfield at the previous ruck saw that chalked off as Munster escaped unscathed.
They did more than that and would have time for one more score with Conway finishing off strongly wide out to add the icing to their cake.
The scorers:
For Munster:
Tries: Saili, Zebo, Conway
Con: Bleyendaal
Pens: Bleyendaal 2
For Ospreys:
Pen: Biggar
Munster: 15 Simon Zebo, 14 Andrew Conway, 13 Francis Saili, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Tyler Bleyendaal, 9 Conor Murray, 8 CJ Stander, 7 Tommy O’Donnell (c), 6 Peter O’Mahony, 5 Billy Holland, 4 Donnacha Ryan, 3 John Ryan, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Dave Kilcoyne
Replacements: 16, Rhys Marshall, 17 James Cronin, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Jean Deysel, 20 Jack O’Donoghue, 21 Duncan Williams, 22 Ian Keatley, 23 Jaco Taute
Ospreys: 15 Dan Evans, 14 Keelan Giles, 13 Kieron Fonotia, 12 Ashley Beck, 11 Tom Habberfield, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Brendon Leonard, 8 James King, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Sam Underhill, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (c), 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Rhodri Jones, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Nicky Smith
Replacements: 16 Scott Otten, 17 Paul James, 18 Dan Suter, 19 Lloyd Ashley, 20 Olly Cracknell, 21 Jay Baker, 22 Sam Davies, 23 Josh Matavesi
Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant Referees: Matthew O’Grady (England), Wayne Falla (England)
TMO: Graham Hughes (England)