It may not have been as easy as the final 38-17 scoreline suggests nevertheless it was a victory Munster richly deserved, one that leaves them nine points clear of their nearest rivals with five games to remaining.

They trailed 9-6 with just ten minutes of the opening half to go before Doug Howlett struck for two tries, the second late in added time, for an 18-9 interval lead that would have seen off most opposition. Howlett's first score owed much to a clever back-handed pass from James Coughlan that allowed the Kiwi dot down close to the corner flag, his second down to sheer pace and a master try scorer's instinct.

However, Dragons are never less than competitive and with two minutes of the restart they were back in contention after skipper Steve Jones touched down in the right hand corner of the 'Well' end.

Paul Warwick, who had kicked two first half penalties and converted Howlett's first try, landed a straightforward 45th minute penalty and added the extras when his captain and Man of the Match Mick O'Driscoll scored his side's third try after a clever pass from Conor Murray but Dragons refused to buckle and Tovey's fourth successful effort ten minutes later left just nine points between them as the game entered the final quarter and the visitors enjoying a period of dominance.

By then, Peter Stringer had entered the fray, a 57th replacement for the impressive Murray, and it was his scintillating break from inside his own 22 that took play right up to the Dragons 22. A penalty at the lineout eased the pressure on the Dragons but minutes later when the Welsh were penalised on half way on the Stand side, Denis Leamy took a quick tap and with Johne Murphy in support took play into the Dragons 22. A few phases later, a long cut-out pass from Warwick and Murphy was racing clear for the bonus try.

By then, Alan Quinlan was also in the action to win his 210th Munster cap and he marked the occasion with try off the back of the line-out in almost the last play of the game.

Munster: J Murphy; D Howlett, L Mafi, P Warwick, S Zebo (D Barnes 64 mins); D Cusack, C Murray (P Stringer 57th min); M Horan (du Preez 52 mins), D Fogarty (D Varley 52 mins), S Archer (Buckley 54 mins); I Nagle (A Quinlan 60th min), M O'Driscoll capt; D Ryan, J Coughlan O'Donnell 67 mins), D Leamy.

Newport-Gwent Dragons: P Leach; A Hughes, T Riley, A Smith (R Gomer-Davies), M Pewtner; J Tovey, W Evans (J Evans); H Gustafson, S Jones capt, B Castle; S Morgan (L Evans), R Sidoli (A Jones); A Coombs, T Faletau, J Bearman.

Referee: Peter Allen (Scotland).