The chips were down for Munster even before the game started, as both Dennis Leamy and Barry Murphy withdrew from the side having been struck down with a bug in the morning. It could even be suggested that Munster had one eye on the Heineken Cup, although with the likes of Trevor Halstead and Christian Cullen in their ranks this hardly seemed the case.

In fact as the game settled into something of a pattern Munster looked comfortable with the ball in hand and dealt with the Dragons attacks with consummate ease, Halstead and Mafi solid in defence as the Dragons stuttered early on.

With Jeremy Manning orchestrating proceedings through a clever and varied kicking display it was Munster who drew first blood. The Munster pack did the early running in the score as they sucked a suspect Dragons defence in with a series of powerful drives before quick ball was sent out to Manning. Realising the Dragons back row were out of the reckoning Manning held the midfield defence delightfully before hitting Mafi on the angle to score under the posts.

All signs pointed to Munster easing away with the game, after all the Dragons looked lacklustre behind, while Munster were always on the front foot through courtesy of Manning's boot and Halstead's barnstorming runs. Sadly the game began to deteriorate from here on in as Munster gradually lost their discipline and basic skills. It was not just the pre-match bug that was contagious as soon the Dragons were coughing up possession on a regular basis.

Having missed a simple penalty attempt earlier in the half Ceri Sweeney finally got the Dragons on the board with a fine long range effort after Andy Kyriacou was given ten minutes for illegally handling in the ruck.

Despite having a numerical advantage the Dragons were unable to mount a meaningful attack and soon found themselves under pressure from a momentarily fired up Munster side. The Dragons were guilty of poor communication in defence as they failed to notice a glaring overlap on the blind side.

The pass out to Mafi was poor but the finish was sublime. Having picked the ball up on the bounce Mafi stepped inside three defenders before straightening and showing a superb turn of pace to scorch over in the corner. Euan Hickey, on for the injured Manning, was well wide with his conversion attempt as Munster looked to take control once again.

The half finished on a high for the Dragons as Ceri Sweeney sent over a snap drop goal to put his side within a converted try at the turn around.

Munster, back to a full compliment, continued to give away needless penalties as the Dragons seemed to shake off their first half handling bug. The impressive Ashley Smith defied his tender age to wreak havoc in the Munster ranks and allow the Dragons to start expressing themselves, resulting in a crucial try for Jamie Ringer.

There was a clear block on Anthony Foley around the fringes as Jamie Ringer flopped over, although Munster could hardly complain as the officials failed to notice their own infringements on several occasions. Sweeney added the extras to give the Dragons a lead they would not relinquish.

The remainder of this fragmented affair was dominated by further Munster indiscipline as Sweeney stretched the lead with two more penalties. Donncha Ryan did little to help their cause as he too was sent to the sin bin, by which stage the Dragons were in total control in terms of territory and possession.

A losing bonus point will be scant consolation for the reigning European champions as they continue to struggle in Wales. The Dragons meanwhile move to within one point of Munster in the league standings but on tonight's showings neither side will pose a threat in the battle for the title.

The scorers:

For the Dragons:
Try: Ringer
Con: Sweeney
Pens: Sweeney 3
Drop goal: Sweeney

For Munster:
Tries: Mafi 2
Con: Manning

Yellow cards: Kyriacou (35, Munster), Ryan (72, Munster)

Dragons: 15 Kevin Morgan, 14 Gareth Wyatt, 13 Paul Emerick, 12 Ashley Smith, 11 Aled Brew, 10 Ceri Sweeney, 9 Gareth Cooper, 8 Michael Owen, 7 Jamie Ringer, 6 Colin Charvis, 5 Luke Charteris/Peter Sidoli, 4 Ian Gough, 3 Lee Harrison, 2 Ben Daly, 1 Adam Black.
Replacements: 16 Kieran Crawford, 17 Dai Maddocks, 18 Andrew Hall, 19 Nic Fitisemanu, 20 Gareth Chapman, 21 Mike Hercus, 22 Alex Walker.

Munster: 15 Christian Cullen, 14 Anthony Horgan, 13 Lifiemi Mafi, 12 Trevor Halstead, 11 Ian Dowling, 10 Jeremy Manning, 9 Tomas O'Leary, 8 Anthony Foley (captain), 7 John O'Sullivan, 6 Chris Wyatt, 5 Mick O'Driscoll, 4 Donnacha Ryan, 3 Tony Buckley, 2 Andy Kyriacou, 1 Marcus Horan.
Replacements: 16 Federico Pucciariello, 17 Eugene McGovern, 18 Paul O'Connell, 19 James Coughlan, 20 Brian O'Meara, 21 Eoghan Hickey, 22 Mossie Lawlor.

Referee: Andy Macpherson (Scotland)
Touch judges: Keri Evans, Gwyn Morris (both Wales)