Ulster suffer record-breaking defeat
Munster overwhelmed Ulster as they ran in nine tries in a record-breaking 64-7 Guinness PRO14 derby victory at Thomond Park.
Bouncing back from last week's poor performance in Cardiff, Munster beat their previous highest score in the Championship, biggest winning margin and try haul.
The victory surpassed the 61 points put past Caerphilly in 2001 and their largest ever winning margin of 47 against Zebre two years ago.
Dan Goggin and Tommy O'Donnell both touched down inside the opening eight minutes and completed their braces by half-time, with Johann van Graan's men taking just 37 minutes to bag the bonus point and accumulate 29 unanswered points.
Ulster were the only unbeaten team left in the PRO14 team but came to Limerick without a number of first-choice players, including captain Rory Best and Jacob Stockdale, who are due to return next week against Connacht.
They also lost Iain Henderson and John Cooney to head injuries in the first half.
Further tries from captain Peter O'Mahony, Joey Carbery, who starred at out-half with 18 points, Sam Arnold, returning winger Keith Earls and Alex Wootton followed Darren Cave's lone score for Ulster early in the second half.
Wootton, who indirectly replaced Mike Haley in Munster's back-three before kick-off, lit up tonight's one-sided interprovincial contest with a devastating burst of pace,cutting in off his left send centre Goggin over for a fifth-minute opener.
Carbery converted and also added the touchline extras to O'Donnell's effort just three minutes later, the pacy open side breaking away from Cave to score in the corner following Carbery's initial cross-field kick to Goggin.
The Ireland fly-half closed out the first quarter with a well-struck 40-metre penalty for 17-0.
O'Donnell had support from O'Mahony as the pair broke off a maul for the Tipperary man's second try on the half hour mark, with Carbery's conversion coming back off the post.
With the bonus point within reach, Billy Holland was stopped short before good hands from Kiwi debutant Alby Mathewson and Carbery sent Goggin over.
A knock-on denied Angus Kernohan as Ulster came away try-less from a promising attack right on half-time, but experienced centre Cave, fed by Billy Burns, slipped out of a Carbery tackle to cross in the 46th minute.
The latter redeemed himself with some classy play, providing the cut-out pass for O'Mahony's try and tagging on another touchline conversion.
Carbery then darted in from near halfway out for a deserved try, having started the attack back in his 22 and then burst onto Wootton's scooped pass back inside.
Wootton's grubber kick set up replacement Arnold to score just three minutes after his introduction.
Ulster's replacement hooker John Andrew saw yellow for a late tackle on Wootton, and Earls and Wootton got in on the scoring act late on, the hosts' glut of points including three closing conversions from replacement Ian Keatley.