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Sweetnam crosses for a crucial fourth try. Paolo Bona/INPHO

Sweetnam seals late bonus for Munster against 14-man Zebre

Calvin Nash, Rory Scannell and JJ Hanrahan also crossed in a hard-fought win for the southern province.

A RED CARD inside the opening 10 minutes ought to have made for an uncomplicated away trip to Italy, but Zebre’s remaining 14 men ensured the southern province had to work for a bonus-point win.

Calvin Nash, JJ Hanrahan, Rory Scannell and Darren Sweetnam grabbed a try apiece, with Hanrahan converting all four to ring up a 0-28 win.

Nash chased down the opening try on 11 minutes as Munster took almost immediate advantage of the early red.

Zebre wing Pierre Bruno was punished for leading with his forearm in an eight-minute carry, the collision left flanker Chris Cloete clutching his neck in pain and Bruno was issued his red after a TMO consultation.

Johann van Graan’s side were drawn into a tighter match than they might have expected against 14 and they struggled to find a rhythm as half-time came and went with the score still standing at 0-7.

Hanrahan crossed 12 minutes after the restart to put daylight between the sides and, with five minutes, Rory Scannell dotted down Munster’s third.

All that was left was to eke out the maximum return from the away trip and Sweetnam, in as a late replacement after Shane Daly pulled out of the warm-up, completed the job before being replaced by debutant Jake Flannery.

The five-point haul ensures Munster keep pace with Edinburgh, who lead Pro14 Conference B by three points after their win over Connacht this evening.

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