Celtic Cup Quarter-finals/ Munster 24 Edinburgh 14: Deep in injury time on Saturday night, Anthony Foley answered those who thought the season was over in the players' minds.
Munster, leading by three points, won a penalty on the Edinburgh line after the visitors' scrum creaked. Paul Burke came forward to shape up for the kick but Foley sent him away.
There was personal business to attend to. Scrum. Edinburgh collapsed once more but again the three-point option was dismissed, as were the nervous coaching staff, who all but ran on with the tee.
Down went the stubborn Munster eight once more, Foley picking and forcing his way over the line.
"Smart play by Axel," said a deadpan Alan Gaffney. "We had a dominant scrum and most would have taken the penalty goal - including myself - but then again it shows Axel has a much better grasp of the game than me."
The victory sent out a powerful message to Leinster, who lie in wait next Sunday, 5.30pm, at Lansdowne Road in what is a bonus fixture at the end of a disappointing season by recent standards. It also provides a nice twist to Gaffney's imminent departure.
Saturday was his last game at Thomond Park. Ditto Jim Williams and Jason Holland, who were denied places through injury, though Williams did receive a rapturous reception from the 6,000 spectators at half-time.
"It's a tough time," said Gaffney. "Great memories here, too many to count actually. To think back that we got a win in the last game is nice.
"It was pretty important to win to me and Jimmy and Dutchy (Holland) and the other guys who are moving on. When I walk out of here for the last time it will be tough but you just got to move on I suppose."
Besides the late proving of a point by Foley and company, it was hard going. Everything started according to plan, with David Wallace and John Kelly, the man of the match, prominent with ball in hand. Timely reminders from both ahead of Japan tour selection.
Anthony Horgan had an early try disallowed for a Kelly forward pass but Alan Quinlan soon rampaged through after Paul O'Connell had provided the final link. Burke converted and Munster seemed secure.
Instead, they coughed up two soft tries to trail 14-7 at the interval. The first was pure comedy as Brendan Laney sold three dummies in exchange for the simplest of run-ins.
Then hooker Dougie Hall found a clear trail to the line after a maul split apart. Chris Paterson tacked on both conversions.
Edinburgh's Nathan Hines was sin-binned for not rolling away. It meant an increased workload for Todd Blackadder and Simon Taylor, who were already labouring hard; more importantly it robbed them of a key lineout option.
After a couple of earlier misses, Burke got his kicking game together in the second half to reduce arrears and his crossfield kick almost yielded a try for Donncha O'Callaghan, but with Craig Smith in tow, the secondrow knocked on.
Some 10 minutes of fierce pressure paid off, however, when Shaun Payne sent Horgan scampering in at the corner to restore the lead.
That pretty much was that, as the Munster rolling maul began to sap Edinburgh's strength, one 40-metre effort delighting the fans, as did a bout of afters between Frankie Sheahan and Alastair Dickinson.
As for next week's showdown, it shouldn't be hard to sell. Potentially 10 Lions, an unofficial trial for a ticket to Japan and, of course, pride.
SCORING SEQUENCE: 14 mins: A Quinlan try, P Burke con 7-0; 20: B Laney try, C Paterson con 7-7; 33: D Hall try, Paterson con 7-14; Half-time: 7-14; 44: Burke pen, 10-14; 51: A Horgan try, Burke con 17-14; 85: A Foley try, Burke con 24-14.
MUNSTER: S Payne; J Kelly, M Mullins, R Henderson, A Horgan; P Burke , P Stringer; M Horan, F Sheahan, J Hayes, D O'Callaghan, P O'Connell, A Quinlan, D Wallace, A Foley (capt). Replacements: M Prendergast for Stringer (52-63 mins), D Leamy for Wallace (72 mins).
EDINBURGH: H Southwell; C Paterson, M Di Rollo, B Laney, S Webster; P Godman, M Blair; A Jacobsen, D Hall, C Smith, N Hines, S Murray, T Blackadder (capt), A Hogg, S Taylor. Replacements: A Dickinson for Jacobsen (53 mins), A Kelly for Hall, A Kellock for Murray, A Jacobsen for Smith (all 68 mins), S Cross for Blackadder (79 mins).
Referee: N Owens (WRU).
