Munster stick five fingers up at all the doubters to secure Champions Cup rugby

They're going to the party.

Hard luck Welsh and Scottish sides but being crap is not an excuse. As for the Italians, Zebre end up getting into the Champions Cup despite losing 17 of 22 games. 17. Of 22! The Irish provinces have hogged four of the seven Champions Cup spots for 2016/17. Munster were the last of the provinces to roll under the descending concrete slab. They even found time to reach back, grab their hat and dust it off. Anthony Foley has not smiled in a while. Some would say years but he likes a laugh, does Axel. The Clare native enjoyed his side's hard-fought, 31-15 win over Scarlets at Thomond Park today. A win was needed and his players delivered. https://twitter.com/SportsJOEdotie/status/728332964967370752 Jack O'Donoghue, Rory Scannell and Johnny Holland all contributed. That will please Foley as much as the five-try performance or the efforts of established stars CJ Stander and Keith Earls. The next generation may not have showed up all season but they were in Limerick today and acquitted themselves well. Munster were 3-0 down before a superb Earls break teed up Francis Salli to streak clear and score with a flourish. Scarlets were dogged but a Scannell try before half-time had the hosts ahead. When Scannell pounced on a defensive mishap, raced clear and teed up Ronan O'Mahony for a try, Scarlets were punctured. Munster kept the foot on the throttle and scored through Scannell and Stander to wrap the game up. Rumours of Munster's death have been exaggerated. Ever so slightly.