Celtic League/ Munster 36 Edinburgh 15: As had happened with Leinster the night before, we began by admiring the Celtic visitors but long before the end had doffed our caps to the home side. This was just what the doctor ordered for Munster.
A restorative first win in four League matches was one thing, but Thomond Park and the men in red alike had plenty of their old fervour back on Saturday evening. Timely too. Apparently there's a big match coming up. Like Llanelli, the Gunners unleashed their touchline-to-touchline game and, with Munster stretched, started exploring holes in an occasionally thinnish red line, especially when their rangy, offloading forwards took it up.
Pressing up to close the space, Munster gradually came to grips with Edinburgh's wide-running game, save for a ragged endgame to a hectic encounter after emptying their bench. Having started well with some quickfire, multi-phase rugby of their own and a try, Munster were in their pomp in the meat of the match, from the half-hour to the 70-minute mark.
An excellent set-piece game was none the worse for the inclusion of Federico Pucciariello and Mick O'Driscoll; indeed the latter's presence enabled them to rule the air.
Given this was a Leinster Achilles heel on Friday, the O'Driscoll option would have its merits even if Denis Leamy were fit again. More pressing is the balance of the threequarter line in the absence of Barry Murphy and the withdrawal of his putative replacement, Tomás O'Leary. In this, too, it looks to be all good news again.
Indeed, the mystery remains as to why John Kelly wasn't the automatic choice at 13, where he played much of his formative rugby. Strong in the tackle, winning turnovers, and using his innate footballing nous, Kelly also had a creative hand in the try of the match. This one looks a no-brainer.
That, though, creates a vacancy at right wing, possibly for the pacy and elusive O'Leary; the scrumhalf did well there in Castres, albeit in the last quarter, when the game was won.
The player most on trial here was Anthony Horgan. He began unconvincingly, falling off one tackle, but grew into the match, making some good defensive decisions while offering potent lines of running.
Collectively, many of the traditional virtues were in place, the pack voraciously sniffing the try-line for three close-range, set-piece scores. Significantly, too, the industry of John Hayes, Paul O'Connell, Donncha O'Callaghan, Anthony Foley and co denied Edinburgh a host of attempted close-range drives of their own. For sure there'll be more of the same when they arrive in Lansdowne Road next Saturday. But for the most part they opted for quick, off-the-top ball, setting up targets in midfield through Trevor Halstead, David Wallace, Horgan and co.
Halstead, perhaps benefiting from Kelly's proximity, was superb, hugely instrumental, with O'Connell, in generating an impressive offloading game. As Leinster will have noted, Wallace, more often than not, was the one running timely trailers. Muscular in effecting steals, almost unstoppable when pumping his legs, adept on the wing for 10 minutes, Wallace was again ridiculously good.
Paul Burke, in a rare start after keyhole surgery, deserved credit too, not least in the way he played flat and released those outside him. Without Ronan O'Gara, Peter Stringer effectively assumed many of the kicking duties, used the blindside tellingly - and for good measure felled Simon Taylor and co like a woodsman.
As ever, adversity brought the best out of Munster. In response to the harsh binning of Horgan, they put Wallace on the wing; requiring the other seven forwards to up their intensity. No bother to them.
Edinburgh went left, Wallace brought Simon Webster to ground and John Kelly effected the turnover.
Now they went to work. O'Connell carried three times in seven phases, Wallace effected a superb take of O'Callaghan's fingertip transfer, and on the eighth phase long passes by Stringer and Burke allowed Shaun Payne arc outside prop Craig Smith.
Outnumbered, they continued in that vein, a superb round-the-corner pass by Halstead freeing Ian Dowling - Hugo Southwell rightly binned for tugging him back after the kick ahead - before Flannery's score off the lineout maul. A mini-crisis had been turned on its head, a bonus point secured by the break.
Munster cranked it up past the hour. Stringer felled Taylor, Wallace won the ball on the deck and Burke released Halstead in the prelude to a big scrum and penalty try.
Off the restart, Horgan cut through the middle, Payne took a great line for the offload and Denis Fogarty was in support. Burke deftly released Kelly off the recycle and Wallace made the incision before relocating Kelly on his inside for a stunning pitch-length score.
Cue the replacements.
SCORING SEQUENCE: 4 mins: Pucciariello try 5-0; 16: Murray try, Hodge con 5-7; 31: Payne try 10-7; 35: Flannery try 15-7; 40 (+5): Dowling try, Burke con 22-7 (half-time 22-7); 45: Hodge pen 22-10; 66: penalty try, Burke con 29-10; 68: Kelly try, Burke con 36-10; 72: Duley try 36-15.
MUNSTER: S Payne; A Horgan, J Kelly, T Halstead, I Dowling; P Burke, P Stringer; F Pucciariello, J Flannery, J Hayes; D O'Callaghan, P O'Connell; M O'Driscoll, D Wallace, A Foley. Replacements: D Fogarty for Flannery (h-t), F Roche for Hayes, T Hogan for O'Connell, J O'Sullivan for Wallace, R Henderson for Dowling (all 70 mins); M Prendergast for Stringer, M Lawlor for Kelly (both 73 mins). Sinbinned: Horgan (28 mins).
EDINBURGH GUNNERS: H Southwell; F Leonelli, M di Rollo, P Jorgensen, S Webster; D Hodge, M Blair; A Dickinson, A Kelly, C Smith; A Kellock, S Murray; A Hogg, A A Strokosh, S Taylor. Replacements: P Godman for Jacobsen (h-t), N de Luca for Leonelli (50 mins); D Duley for Murray (60 mins); A Jacobsen for Smith (62 mins). Not used: D Hewett, A MacDonald, R Lawson. Sinbinned: Southwell (34 mins).
Referee: Hugh Watkins (Wales).
