MUNSTER may be in red-hot form and top of the Guinness PRO12 but a narrow escape at Rodney Parade means boss Rassie Erasmus is taking nothing for granted against Newport Gwent Dragons.

The Irish province have won 12 of their last 13 fixtures to earn a home European Champions Cup quarter-final and to sit top of the pile in the league.

Last weekend they made light of their Ireland absentees to beat Edinburgh in Scotland, going ahead of the Ospreys into first place, and they are huge favourites to take the spoils in Cork on Friday night (kick-off 7.35pm) against a Dragons side who haven’t won away in the PRO12 since March, 2015.

However, director of rugby Erasmus is quick to point to a tense 20-16 win when the sides met in Newport in September, his side repelling a late lineout drive on their line.

“The Dragons are a very good team,” said the South African.

“Even when we had our internationals playing for us in the last away game against them, I can still remember the last lineout maul where they were all over us.

“They could have scored that last maul and we would have lost the game. They wouldn’t be a team that lose a lot of international players right now so it will be a good challenge.

“For us, this is a block of games where we have to do without a lot of international players, either with the U20s or playing for the senior Ireland team against Italy this weekend, and we are up against a gutsy team without a lot of changes, so it will be tough.”

Munster took the spoils 10-9 in a tight battle in Edinburgh when a long-range penalty by the hosts’ Blair Kinghorn fell just short at Myreside.

It was an error-strewn performance but the Irish province impressed in defence, preventing the Scots from crossing their line.

“Jacques (Nienaber) is a really good defensive coach but the players must take a hell of a lot of credit and I think Jerry (Flannery, scrum coach) and Felix (Jones, skills coach) too,” said Erasmus.

“People always see defence in isolation but defence links to the scrum, to the lineout defence, to the kicking game which Felix is handling, so it all links into one another.

“I think it’s a great group effort from us and the young boys stepping up and the academy boys coming in and fitting into the system and slotting in. I think that’s a positive so we have to build on it.”

“We are in new waters with fourteen guys up in national camp,” he continued. “It was great for the guys who are not regular starters to start and then at the end to grind it out with our defence.

“The defence is usually the thing that shows the character of the team and now our challenge is to get some attacking play going.”

The Dragons haven’t won away to Munster since the first season of regional rugby when they triumphed 16-6 in Limerick in March 2004.