Sebastian Cancelliere finished off a fine move for Glasgow's second try

Defending champions Munster opened brightly, going 3-0 ahead through a Jack Crowley penalty, but Glasgow responded and were in front at the break through Kyle Steyn's intercept try from halfway.

A fine Sebastian Cancelliere try extended that lead to 14-3 early in the second period.

Antoine Frisch did give the hosts hope by crossing the whitewash but Alex Nankivell's late red card left the Irish side with too much to do as Warriors deservedly moved into the URC final.

Following an early Crowley missed penalty, a Sione Tuipulotu break had Franco Smith's men pressing close in for the opening score of the match.

Mike Haley came to Munster's rescue, and when they advanced again from successive penalties, Richie Gray's yellow for offside preceded Crowley's 11th-minute penalty as Munster drew first blood in the semi-final.

Glasgow hit back in though when, after the ball went loose between Frisch and Nankivell, Steyn swooped in to score from halfway and George Horne converted.

Glasgow were also now winning the breakdown battle and Munster were frustrated by the away side's defence, which was brilliant at times.

Huw Jones tackled Simon Zebo into touch, and Scott Cummings and Tom Jordan both earned turnovers.

Matt Fagerson's high tackle on Peter O'Mahony drew another yellow card for Glasgow, but Munster needed captain Tadhg Beirne to twice thwart the Warriors in quick succession.

Glasgow would not be denied 10 minutes into the second half, though, as they moved further clear.

Following a Horne penalty miss, Tom Jordan ran a Crowley kick back with interest, Rory Darge linked with Jordan and fed the fast-breaking Jones put Cancelliere for a slick finish. Horne supplied the extras from the right.

With the game slipping away, Munster earned themselves a lifeline when prop Jeremy Loughman's run paved the way for Frisch to score in the left corner. Crowley's conversion brought it back to a four-point game.

However, an error-strewn Munster failed to kick on and when Nankivell made contact with Horne's head at a ruck, it allowed the scrum-half to book Glasgow's flight to South Africa.

Glasgow head coach Franco Smith told Premier Sports: "I think defensively we stayed in the fight, despite two yellow cards, and that's compliments to Nigel [Carolan].

"Because I'm attack minded people always think it's just about attack and we put a lot of work into it. Pete Murchie is doing a great job. There's a lot of work and understanding from the players that grows and grows with this.

"I always believe in the saying 'attack puts you in positions to win finals but defence wins finals'. It was important for us to front up physically. The believe that we've created through that has allowed us to back up some good maul skill and ball retention opportunities."