Are we all present? Then, let’s begin. It’s about to kick off in Limerick, so here, ladies and gentlemen, are your teams…

Munster: F Jones; J Murphy, D Barnes, L Mafi, S Zebo; I Keatley, T O’Leary; M Horan, D Varley, BJ Botha; B Holland, M O’Driscoll (capt); Dave O’Callaghan, T O’Donnell, J Coughlan. Replacements: D Fogarty, W du Preez, S Archer, D Foley, P Butler, D Williams, S Deasy, L O’Dea.

Cardiff Blues: C Czekaj; R Mustoe, G Evans, G Henson, T James; D Parks, R Rees; J Yapp, R Tyrell, S Andrews; C Hill, P Tito (capt); M Paterson, M Williams, M Molitika. Replacements: T Rhys Thomas, N Trevett, S Hobbs, M Cook, T Young, L Jones, C Sweeney, B Blair.

Referee: Leighton Hodges (Wales).

So the Dan Parks, who recently retired from the Scottish national team, of course, gets us under way. You suspect, the action on the pitch will not detract from the speculation and conversation in the stands.

It’s been some week. Tony McGahan confirmed on Wednesday what we learned on Tuesday – he’s off at the end of the season. A job with the Wallabies is too much of a pull factor for the Aussie-born head coach.

The following day, backs coach Anthony Foley hinted he’d like the job and today, with Gert Smal out of the rest of the Six Nations campaign, he’s been drafted into Ireland’s tournament set-up.

Conor O’Shea, meanwhile, a man many in Thomond tonight would like to see in red next season is in the gantry for RTÉ. Who would you like to see get the job?

PENALTY! Dan Parks gets the scoreboard ticking over for the first time with a successful set piece. He squeezed it inside the post when Munster were punished for a collapsed scrum.

PENALTY! Ian Keatley levels it up for Munster with a sweetly-struck effort. All level after 10 minutes or so.

Here’s the man of the moment, before kick-off:

Pic: INPHO/Billy Stickland

Great, great work from the Munster pack as they boss two consecutive scrums and ultimately win a penalty. Keatley goes for the line and Cardiff are very much on the back foot again.  ”That’s a massive psychological blow to Cardiff,” says an impressed Conor O’Shea.

TRY! Munster 8 Cardiff 3 (Felix Jones 17′)

That was some move. From that line-out, Mick O’Driscoll got his hands on the ball, looked like he was going to pivot but instead left it inside for Simon Zebo. The Corkman flew through on a beautiful line, played it inside for Jones and he finished.  Understatement alert: after his injury pain, Jones’ll enjoy that.

Keatley puts Munster 10 points up with 20 minutes on the clock after he converted his third kick from three. If Ronan O’Gara is watching this in his hotel room, he’ll be impressed. The home side are well on top of this Welsh side now. Gavin Henson even looks pale.

PENALTY! You know the drill by now. Penalty to Munster, this time for the tackler not releasing I think. Keatley has no hesitation in again going for the posts just over the half way line. And, again, he makes it look easy.

Side note: the referee is an insurance salesman. And looks like one.

We’ve had our first shot of departing coach Tony McGahan. He’s either checking the temperature in Sydney or the game stats on a nice MacBook which is protected by a perspex case. They don’t have them in the press box, let me tell you. On the pitch, Munster are very impressive and are making this Cardiff team know that if they want to make it four wins against Irish teams on the trot, they’ll have to do it the hard way.

Simon Zebo makes a last-ditch turnover feet from the line to deny Cardiff a try after Gavin Henson played a nice pass inside from the tramline. Zebo gave it to Keatley and he should have found the line but it was gratefully received by Dan Parks. Cardiff have woken up a bit.

With five minutes or so to half-time, Simon Zebo has just been denied a try. He was celebrating in the corner after he collected his own kick forward, via the line flag, as the touch judge had his flag up for ball in touch. Nevertheless, “Munster are so far superior to this Cardiff Blues team that are out here tonight,” O’Shea says.

Another massive push by the Munster forwards humbles the shattered Cardiff pack and gives Ian Keatley his fifth penalty. He misses for the first time tonight however.

HALF-TIME Munster trot in well in control of this one. Surely Cardiff can’t be so anaemic after their sugary tea?

We’re back up and running in Limerick…

We’re very much keeping an eye on events elsewhere of course. Both Ulster and Connacht are now in front too in their respective games.

Connacht’s Eoghan Grace and Ronan Loughney with Andrew Kelly of Edinburgh.
Pic: INPHO/Morgan Treacy

TRY! Munster 16 Cardiff 8 (Mustoe 47′)

So Cardiff are back to within a score. As Tommy Cooper used to say: just like that. It all came from their first solid scrum of the night. From there, Gavin Henson did his first piece of good work all night as he broke the Munster line. It ultimately came out wide to Mustoe and he got over. Parks knocked over his second penalty of the night to put the pressure on again.

Dan Parks had the chance to put Cardiff within three points of their hosts, but the former Scotland kicker dragged it wide. This game, though, is completely different to that which we witnessed in the first period. Cardiff have shown up and the young Thomond Park side need to get this over the line.

“Drifted away,” says George Hamilton, “just drifted away,” as Keatley back-pedals, watching his latest kick on goal go wide.

BJ Botha and Marcus Horan are off and Wian du Preez and Stephen Archer on for Munster. An hour gone and, again, six points in it.

Who do we fancy out there, computerland?

Penalty! Munster 16 Cardiff 13 Du Preez gives away the penalty for releasing the bind in the scrum. Blair, another replacement, drops over his first effort of the night. There’s a lot of nerves around the stadium now.

“Official attendance here in Thomond Park 10,428″ Munster Rugby’s Twitter account tells us while Duncan Williams comes on for Tomás O’Leary.

Cardiff are down to 10 men for, more or less, the rest of the game. If their skipper Paul Tito gets back on for 60 seconds at the end, he’ll be doing well. Munster are camped out in front of the visitors’ posts now and can smell their first points of the half.

After a knock-on, Cardiff get the feed into a defensive scrum, they then win a penalty and Blair launches it out of danger. That’s another missed opportunity for Munster. They could have been out of sight by half-time tonight but with six or so minutes to run down, there’s just three points in this.

The crowd are trying to rally their favourites but it’s 14-man Cardiff who are searching for the breakthrough. We’re into garbage time now, and Tito won’t get back on at this stage.

With 82 minutes on the clock, Munster turn it over, and it’s lashed over the line. The hosts hold on for what was, in the end, a hard-fought victory. That was some Jekyll and Hyde display from the Welsh region but it will do the young buck in red jerseys to come through that test.

What did you make of that?

So that’s your lot. Connacht and Ulster have also won, making it a very good night for the Irish in the RaboDirect Pro12. Axel is wending his way towards Dublin as we speak.  See you tomorrow for another big one.