The Irish powerhouse, who had a slow start to the season, surged into the top eight with a five try to zero victory in atrocious conditions at Musgrave Park, where the visitors from South Africa struggled for most of the match.

The men from Johannesburg had less than 40% of the possession and territorial advantage, which meant they could never really get going in the tricky conditions, while they also missed too many tackles as Munster made the most of their opportunities.

Jordan Hendrikse put the Emirates Lions ahead in the fifth minute with a penalty goal, but they didn't bother the scorers thereafter as Munster took control of the clash.

Scott Buckley and Jack O'Donoghue scored in the first half as the hosts took a nine point lead into the break, but they added three more tries in the second half to seal a big win, bagging the try-scoring bonus-point in the process.

Paddy Patterson and Liam Coombes added their names to the score-sheet in the 48th and 74th minutes before Buckley got his second in the dying stages of the match, while Ben Healy converted all but the first try of the encounter.

Scorers:

Munster 33 (12) – Tries: Scott Buckley (2), Jack O'Donoghue, Paddy Patterson, Liam Coombes. Conversions: Ben Healy (4).

Emirates Lions 3 (3) – Penalty goal: Jordan Hendrikse.