Gloucester boss Johan Ackermann was left to reflect on a "clinical" Munster performance after his team were unceremoniously dumped out of the Heineken Champions Cup, writes Andrew Baldock.

Munster took a giant step towards the quarter-finals with a crushing 41-15 victory at Kingsholm.

Fly-half Joey Carbery ran the show, bumping his opposite number Danny Cipriani off centre-stage through a brilliant 26-point haul that included two tries.

Centre Rory Scannell and wings Keith Earls and Andrew Conway also touched down, although there was a possible concern for Ireland boss Joe Schmidt when Munster and Ireland flanker Peter O'Mahony went off nursing a suspected rib injury.

Ireland's opening Guinness Six Nations game against England in Dublin is just three weeks away.

"Munster were so clinical, and that's where we need to get to," Gloucester head coach Ackermann said.

"We were probably our worst enemy tonight, and they were good when they had the ball."

It was Gloucester's third successive home defeat in all competitions, and Ackermann added: "It's not nice, especially losing at home. We have lost to good sides, yes, but it is disappointing because again we had a lot to play for.

"We speak a lot off the field and we know where things go wrong, and it is time for us to fix it on the field.

"The answers are on the field. We can all catch a ball, we can all tackle - we must just do it better.

"Hopefully, this is our bad part of the season, and we can pick it up from there.

"If you look at their squad, their half-backs play very well, they have got a hard-working pack of forwards, a good set-piece and they have got physical backs.

"There is no reason why they can't go all the way (in this season's tournament)."

Gloucester managed tries by wing Ollie Thorley and prop Fraser Balmain, plus a Billy Twelvetrees penalty and conversion, yet they remain bottom of Pool Two after Munster opened up an eight-point lead at the top.

And the Irish heavyweights, who claimed a five-point maximum from their west country victory, will be guaranteed a place in the last eight if they beat current Gallagher Premiership leaders Exeter in Limerick next Saturday.

Regarding O'Mahony's injury, Munster head coach Johann van Graan said: "Peter is in a bit of pain.

"It looks like a rib, but we will take our time on it and reassess on Monday.

"We knew this was going to be a massive game tonight. We showed good patience, and we will take this bonus point win away from home.

"We needed to work hard, and I thought we shut them down well. I thought we dominated the collisions.

"Joey capped it off with a special performance. That's three weeks in a row that he hasn't missed a goal-kick, and his decision-making was excellent."