NEWPORT Gwent Dragons’ ended their season with a 50-27 thumping at the hands of a fired-up Munster side who will now enjoy home advantage against the Ospreys in the Guinness Pro12 semi-finals.

One feared that the Rodney Parade side would be victims of the Irish province’s need for a five-point haul in Cork and so it proved in a frantic encounter in which Lyn Jones’ side showed great attacking endeavour to emerge with a bonus point of their own.

The Dragons played some nice rugby in patches in the first half yet headed to their changing room 33-10 down after having their line crossed five times by their ruthless hosts.

Lyn Jones’ charges enjoyed bouts of pressure yet failed to turn it into points while Munster took a quintet of seven clear opportunities created in the first period.

It highlighted the difference between those at the head of the table and those near the basement; another timely lesson of the need to be cutthroat if the Dragons are to progress next term and climb into contention for Champions Cup qualification.

The pattern continued after the break but despite a number of near-misses a pair of late tries for replacement hooker Rhys Buckley and excellent centre Jack Dixon, added to earlier scores by wing Ashton Hewitt and centre Tyler Morgan, meant they at least left with a consolation.

It has been a season in which some great strides have been taken – a first ever win against Leinster in Dublin, ending an 11-year wait for a success against Cardiff Blues in the capital, a bonus-point win at Stade Francais, a first victory in England in a European competition (Newcastle), a first league win in Treviso – but the long wait for a successful trip to Munster goes on.

The Dragons have not sent the Red Army heading for the exits with frowns on their faces since a win at Thomond Park in Limerick in the first season of regional rugby.

But against a fired-up Munster looking to earn a home semi-final it was always a long shot that they would finish a campaign that has improved dramatically since December with a flourish.

The Dragons headed to Cork unable to improve on their ninth spot in the table but couldn’t clock off and received the well-wishes of those in Glasgow, Swansea and Belfast.

Yet it was clear from the off that there was to be no repeat of the Dragons’ Dublin heroics at the revamped Musgrave Park.

In glorious weather for running rugby the Dragons played their part in a madcap opening in which three tries were scored before 10 minutes were on the clock.

The game was played at a breathless pace as the Pro12 mirrored the Six Nations’ Super Saturday.

It started sedately enough with Dragons full-back Jason Tovey bisecting the posts with a penalty won at the breakdown by Nic Cudd with a minute gone but four tries followed in the first quarter, sadly three of them to the men in red.

First home centre Andrew Smith cut through all too easily after Jonathan Evans’ clearance kick was charged down to allow fly-half Ian Keatley, who converted, to go on the charge.

But the visitors responded superbly to regain their lead with five minutes on the clock with Taulupe Faletau’s barnstorming run after fielding a kick on halfway giving wing Ashton Hewitt a run-in.

Tovey converted superbly from the left touchline but for the next 20 minutes it was one-way traffic with the Dragons conceding too much field position to enable Munster to use their well-drilled lineout.

First back row forward CJ Stander was driven over and then, after a rolling maul was stopped just shy of the line, Ireland scrum-half Conor Murray sniped over for 21-10.

It was a matter of time before the hosts had their all-important bonus point and the charge was aided by Dragons hooker Hugh Gustafson being shown a yellow card for coming into a driving lineout from the side.

It merely delayed the inevitable and Murray’s second secured the bonus point that would be followed by four more for the win in 57 minutes’ time.

The Dragons, with centre Jack Dixon and flanker Nic Cudd prominent, then enjoyed a sustained period of pressure in the hosts’ half but, unlike Munster, they failed to turn pressure into points.

Welsh official Ben Whitehouse resisted the temptation to send a home player to the sin bin despite three offences inside the ‘red zone’ and the Rodney Parade side were unable to force their way over.

And to add to their agony the Munstermen struck with the final play of the half – once again through that driving lineout with talisman Paul O’Connell peeling off the back for a hugely-popular score to make it 33-10 at the break.

The pattern stayed the same early in the second half with the Dragons enjoying plenty of time in enemy territory yet it was Munster who stretched their lead courtesy of a well-taken counter-attack try by Keith Earls after an overthrown lineout.

But to the Dragons’ credit they kept coming back and they should really have been chasing a four-try bonus point of their own in the final quarter.

They got within sight of the Munster line on countless occasions but grasped just one – on 51 minutes when centre Tyler Morgan finished off a neat break by Dorian Jones.

And Munster showed them how it’s done after 64 minutes with the familiar pattern of driving lineout, Murray snipe for 45-17.

Yet back came the Dragons and they were a score away from a bonus point when replacement hooker Rhys Buckley hit his man and then powered over from a five-metre lineout.

It seemed that Munster would have the final say when wing Ronan O’Mahony raced over but the Dragons’ season ended with a patient attack that with Dixon powering over for a well-deserved score.

Munster: F Jones, K Earls (A Conway 65), A Smith, D Hurley (captain), R O’Mahony, I Keatley (JJ Hanrahan 54), C Murray (D Williams 67), J Ryan (D Kilcoyne 51), E Guinazu (N Scannell 51), BJ Botha (S Archer 65), B Holland, P O’Connell (S Dougall 69), D Ryan, P Butler, CJ Stander (J O’Donoghue 69).

Scorers: tries – A Smith, CJ Stander, C Murray (3), P O’Connell, K Earls, R O’Mahony; conversions – I Keatley (5)

Yellow card: P Butler

Dragons: J Tovey (GR Jones 70), T Prydie, T Morgan (B Nightingale 63-69), J Dixon, A Hewitt, D Jones, J Evans (R Rees 51), B Stankovich (P Price 65), H Gustafson (R Buckley 63), B Harris (L Fairbrother 65), C Hill (M Screech 57), R Landman (captain), N Crosswell (R Buckley 21-30, J Benjamin 65), N Cudd, T Faletau.

Scorers: tries – A Hewitt, T Morgan, R Buckley, J Dixon; conversions – J Tovey (2); penalty – J Tovey

Yellow card: H Gustafson

Referee: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)

Attendance: 8,200

Star man: Jack Dixon