Munster recovered from 28-17 down to claim a crucial 37-28 bonus point win on the road over Benetton.
The win means it is over to provincial rivals Leinster to see if Leo Cullen’s side can deny Glasgow a victory tomorrow and see the battle for a home semi final swing back in Munster’s favour.
The home side would tear out of the blocks and into a 10-point lead with a fine try from Tommaso Allan
Munster sprung into action with tries from Rhys Marshall and Dan Goggin swinging the game back in their favour. Hanrahan converted both and Munster now led 14-10
Allan slotted to penalties as Munster’s discipline regressed for while. A superb Monty Ioane try meant the Italians would take a 21-17 lead in at the break.
The Italians moved into a 28-17 lead four minutes into the second half when Darren Sweetnam was adjudged to have committed a deliberate knock on to deny a probable try.
Ben Whitehouse send the Corkman to the bin for then minutes and went under the posts to award a 7-pointer.
Munster responded well with a sustained spell of pressure yielding two penalties which Hanrahan slotted. The Italians could count themselves lucky on the 52nd minute when Benvenuti launched a cheap shot to the head of Stephen Archer.
The Italian international was shown a yellow card when a red could easily have been brandished. Munster were galvanised by the decision and again gained a huge foothold in Benetton territory.
A slick backline move put Shane Daly over in the corner with Hanrahan adding the extras from the sideline to make it 30-28 to Johann van Graan’s side.
Minutes later and a blistering Hanrahan break saw Alby Mathewson dot down for the try. The Kerryman added the routine conversion to make it a 9-point lead.
Munster would hold on for the last 15 minutes of the game to close out the win and put the pressure back on Glasgow.
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