While the Belfast-based side made it nine out of nine with a victory over Treviso, the Scarlets picked up their seventh win to close the gap to six points between first and second.
Playing into the torrential rain and strong wind in the first half the Welsh region proved heroes in defence as they kept their line intact against wave after wave of Munster attacks. One penalty each to the respective outside halves, Ian Keatley and
Aled Thomas, made it 3-3 at the break with the home side facing the elements in the second half.
Munster certainly tested their visitor’s defensive capabilities again in the early stages of the second half, but the discipline in the Scarlets ranks held firm and they kept their line intact to the end. The growing power of their forwards, especially at scrum time, then made the crucial difference.
A second Thomas penalty, in off the post from nearly 40 metres, gave the Scarlets the lead after 68 minutes. Then the crucial score came three minutes later.
Munster dropped the ball, Gareth Owen hacked through to the 22 and Irish international full back Felix Jones had a nightmare as he tried to field it. Firstly, he knocked it deeper into the danger zone with his knee and then failed to regather at the second attempt.
That allowed Andrew Fenby to dive on the loose ball and claim the try, which Thomas converted superbly from wide out. Thomas missed two more penalty attempts before the end, while JJ Hanrahan earned a losing bonus point for his side with the last kick of the game.
The Scarlets host table-topping Ulster at Parc y Scarlets on Sunday in one of the biggest games of the season in the RaboDirect PRO12.
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