Munster interim head coach Ian Costello says his side got what they deserved after they shook off a "rusty" first half to record a dominant win at home to the Scarlets.
The province made it back-to-back bonus-point wins against Welsh opposition as they ran out easy 29-8 winners against a Scarlets side who barely laid a glove on the province over the course of the 80 minutes.
Munster had to make just 53 tackles across the 80 minutes, where they enjoyed 75% possession and 86% territory, although they had to wait for the second half to make their dominance count.
After Shay McCarthy's first half try gave them a 7-3 lead at the break, they looked a different team in the second 40, with Gavin Coombes crossing for two tries, and Alex Kendellen and Tom Farrell also getting on the scoresheet.
"We had 14 turnovers in the first half and there's two way of looking at that," Costello said.
"We were rusty – we hadn’t played in three weeks, you could probably see that, even though we trained really well.
"But we took a moment as coaches – we sort our messages before we go and speak to the players. Staying calm and staying positive was important, because we’d dominated possession and territory.
"It was one of those games you’d regret if you didn’t get the third quarter right, so we reinforced the positives. We said we need to look after the ball, probably move a little quicker, just be a bit smarter close to the line, rather than forcing the pass when we didn’t need to."
Full-time: Munster 29-8 Scarlets
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) February 15, 2025
Gavin Coombes dived over from close range to seal a bonus-point win for the hosts #URC pic.twitter.com/WmPeN3oyXM
Munster looked a new side in the second half, scoring two tries within 13 minutes of the restart to effectively kill off the game.
"The third quarter was outstanding. It was a mix of everything we tried to do – set-piece, kick-chase, tap-backs.
"I thought we were relentless in that period and that’s where we won the game.
"Sometimes the first half drains the tank as well. I looked at their [the Scarlets'] body language into the second half and even though we hadn’t scored at that point, you could see that the first half had taken a toll on them," he added.
The downside to the evening came with another injury for the luckless Diarmuid Kilgallen. The former Connacht winger picked up a hamstring injury midway through the first half, which will now be assessed.
Kilgallen joined from Connacht in the summer but a series of injuries have limited him to just four competitive games.
Tom Ahern also departed for a head injury assessment during the second half from which he didn't return, while Jack O'Donoghue was forced off with an ankle injury at the break.
