Munster munch Ospreys to set up Irish tie

Munster 43 Ospreys 9

Ospreys head coach Sean Holley tipped Munster to retain the Heineken Cup after watching them rip apart his side at Thomond Park.

The two-time and reigning winners will face Irish rivals Leinster in a mouth-watering semi-final at Croke Park next month. The star-studded Ospreys stayed in sight of their hosts for as long as they could but Munster, boosted by 17 points from the boot of Ronan O'Gara, found an extra gear.

Paul Warwick's first-half strike was complemented after the interval by tries from Paul O'Connell and a brace from livewire centre Keith Earls, together with excellent drop goals in either half from full-back Warwick, to allow the hosts to break the 40-point mark. Holley said: "We have been taught a lot of lessons in every facet of the game both on and off the field. We have just gone through a painful experience but we have been beaten by a champion side. Munster deserve a lot of credit.

"We came into the quarter-final with big hopes and we prepared as well as we could but it was never close from the moment we conceded the first try. But Munster are the whole package and they will probably win the tournament again. They are a quality outfit across the park. They have excellent overseas stars and a forward pack who gel, and they have leaders throughout the team."

The Ospreys trailed 16-6 at the end of an incident-packed first half that ebbed and flowed before man of the match Warwick waltzed past Ian Gough and Alun Wyn Jones for the opening try in the 34th minute. At that stage, Munster held a numerical advantage after Ospreys No 8 Filo Tiatia was sin-binned for a shoulder charge on Warwick. The turning point came when Ospreys fly-half James Hook missed touch, and after the outstanding Lifeimi Mafi made notable inroads, Warwick touched down.

Jugglers, stilt-walkers and a live band had warmed up the sell-out 26,000 crowd inside Thomond Park but the Red Army found their voice when O'Gara's conversion handed Munster a 13-6 lead. Warwick added an excellent 35m drop goal before the break.

Ospreys' task became even harder when O'Gara slotted home his third penalty, and the red tide kept coming when O'Connell crashed over in the right corner. Earls' double sealed an emphatic triumph to celebrate their 100th Heineken Cup tie in style.

Munster coach Tony McGahan said: "It was a great performance and I was delighted with the way we came out after half-time and continued the momentum."

Scorers: Munster: Tries Warwick, O'Connell, Earls (2); Conversions O'Gara (4); Penalties O'Gara (3); Drop goals Warwick (2). Ospreys: Penalties Hook (3).

Munster: P Warwick; D Howlett, K Earls, L Mafi (B Murphy, 70), I Dowling; R O'Gara (D Hurley, 77), T O'Leary (P Stringer, 64); M Horan, J Flannery (D Fogarty, 76), J Hayes (T Buckley, 66), D O'Callaghan (M O'Driscoll, 61), P O'Connell (capt), A Quinlan, D Leamy (N Ronan, 64), D Wallace.

Ospreys: T Bowe; J Vaughton, S Parker, A Bishop (D Biggar, 63), S Williams; J Hook, M Phillips (J Nutbrown, 76); P James, H Bennett (R Hibbard, 58), A Jones (C Griffiths, 63), I Gough (F Levi, 58), AW Jones (A Lloyd, 76), R Jones (capt), F Tiatia (T Smith, 63), M Holah.

Referee: W Barnes (England).