Lansdowne showed plenty of character in Limerick on Saturday, coming from nine points down early in the second half to take a five-try, bonus-point win over Young Munster. Michael Moloney was at the heart of it all, kicking 11 points and having a hand in three of the five tries, and Tom Roche crossed with the last play of the game to make the final margin ten points. The result moves Lansdowne on to 13 points from five rounds.

It was a nine-try contest that swung back and forth all afternoon. Young Munster led 19-17 at the break and 26-17 soon after the restart, before Lansdowne took control with two converted tries in six minutes and then saw the game out.

Young Munster made a dream start. Quick hands spread the ball wide and, when Lansdowne missed a tackle on full-back Benn Dalle Cort, he made good yards before passing to winger Benjamin Whatley. Whatley deftly kicked through, scrum-half Brock Gallagher and centre Rob Carney chased hard, and Gallagher followed up at pace to touch down. Dalle Cort's conversion was a simple one and the hosts led 7-0 after six minutes.

Lansdowne's response was swift. From a scrum on the Young Munster 22, Oisín Devitt fed the ball through the hands of the centres to the wing, then brought it back infield to the forwards, and Bobby Sheehan crashed over from close range. Moloney converted from tight on the touchline, a superb kick.

Three minutes later it was 14-7. Playing with a penalty advantage, Devitt passed quickly to Juan Beukes, who fed Matt Healy lurking out on the wing, and the blindside crashed over for the second try. Moloney repeated his conversion from an almost identical spot.

Young Munster hit back on 22 minutes. From inside the Lansdowne 22, Gallagher fed lock Alan Kennedy, who offloaded to number eight Luke Murphy to make hard yards. Gallagher then slipped a pass to Dalle Cort, who moved it on quickly for Carney to score. The conversion was missed.

After a period of sustained Lansdowne pressure, Young Munster were penalised for offside on 25 minutes, and Moloney slotted the penalty to make it 17-12, and you couldn't help but wonder how different things might have been had Lansdowne taken a few of the kickable penalties they turned down in Ballynahinch the previous weekend.

Lansdowne should have gone in ahead, but they switched off deep into added time. Out-half Kelvin Langan kicked cross-field to flanker Oisin Minogue on the far touchline, who stepped inside and with soft hands slipped the ball back the way he had come to Whatley. Whatley caught the defence flat-footed, which opened up a two-on-one, and he returned the ball to Minogue to canter in under the posts. Dalle Cort's conversion was a formality and Young Munster led 19-17 at the break.

The second half began as the first had opened and closed. From a Young Munster scrum on the Lansdowne 22, Gallagher stepped to his right, shrugged off the covering tackle and passed to Whatley, who ran in unopposed. Dalle Cort's conversion put the hosts 26-17 up.

The reply came from Moloney's quick thinking. On 51 minutes he took a quick-tap penalty and passed to Hubert Gilvarry, who moved it on to Daniel Hurley to touch down. Moloney converted, and the gap was down to two.

The game turned on 57 minutes. Young Munster put in a promising kick through, but Hugo McLaughlin gathered it inside his own 22 and sprinted 35 metres or so before passing to Moloney. Moloney drew the covering defender and returned the ball to the speeding full-back, who raced away to score. Moloney was on the money again with the conversion, and Lansdowne led 31-26 with the bonus point secured.

From there the game became a test of nerve. With only five points between the sides, Young Munster were in range for the remainder of the half, and Lansdowne's defence had to hold firm through the final quarter. It did, with George Morris, Louis McGauran and Paul Wilson all coming on to bring fresh legs to the pack.

Moloney saved one of his best moments for last. Two minutes into added time, from ruck ball just inside the Young Munster half, Devitt fed Hurley, who passed to Moloney. He stepped and dummied his way past a defender and found McLaughlin, who passed to Hubert Gilvarry and on to Roche to finish in style in the corner. The conversion was missed, but the try stretched the margin to ten points, which left Young Munster without a losing bonus point.

This was a valuable win away from home. After the frustration of the narrow defeat in Ballynahinch, Lansdowne came back from nine points down and then closed out the game.

Moloney was excellent, landing four conversions and a penalty and creating tries for Hurley, McLaughlin and Roche. Sheehan led from the front with a try, McLaughlin was a threat every time he had the ball, and the spread of scorers across the pack and backs shows a side that can hurt opponents in different ways. The concern will be the soft tries conceded either side of half-time, which handed Young Munster a lead they should never have had.

Lansdowne: 15 Hugo McLaughlin; 14 Hubert Gilvarry, 13 Wilhelm de Klerk, 12 Dylan O'Keeffe, 11 Daniel Hurley; 10 Michael Moloney, 9 Oisín Devitt; 1 Sean Dunne, 2 Bobby Sheehan (capt), 3 Greg McGrath, 4 John Forde, 5 Juan Beukes, 6 Matt Healy, 7 David Walsh, 8 Hardus van Eeden.

Replacements: 16 Tom Barry, 17 George Morris, 18 Louis McGauran, 19 Paul Wilson, 20 Ross Molloy, 21 Tom Roche.

Young Munster: 15 Benn Dalle Cort; 14 Benjamin Whatley, 13 Rob Carney, 12 Ihechi Oji, 11 Orin Burke; 10 Kelvin Langan, 9 Brock Gallagher; 1 Christian Foley, 2 Liam McMahon, 3 Michael Lynch, 4 Alan Kennedy (capt), 5 Fionn O'Meara, 6 James Horrigan, 7 Oisin Minogue, 8 Luke Murphy.

Replacements: 16 Arron Roulston, 17 Paul Allen, 18 Bobby Doherty, 19 Jamie Walsh, 20 Jeff Williams, 21 Joshua Costello.

Lansdowne: Tries: B Sheehan (9'), M Healy (12'), D Hurley (51'), H McLaughlin (57'), T Roche (80+2'). Cons: M Moloney (9', 12', 51', 57'). Pen: M Moloney (25').

Young Munster: Tries: B Gallagher (6'), R Carney (22'), O Minogue (40+5'), B Whatley (46'). Cons: B Dalle Cort (6', 40+5', 46').

Match Report & Photos: Michael O'Brien