Munster overcame some nervous moments to get their Heineken Cup campaign on track with a 30-21 victory over Perpignan at Thomond Park this afternoon.
Munster were in a must-win situation having lost their Pool Two opener to Gloucester at Kingsholm last week but Perpignan did not make life easy for them.
The home side scored the first points of the match when Ronan O'Gara slotted home a third-minute penalty, but that lead did not last for long.
In the ninth minute, Munster's defence was stretched all too easily, a large gap appearing for centre Nicolas Couttet in front of the posts to steal over the Irish line for a try. Benoit Bellot converted and to the delight of the vocal Catalans, Perpignan were 7-5 up.
It was time for Munster to step up a gear and they duly delivered on the quarter-hour. Their sustained pressure in front of the Perpignan line finally told when scrum-half Peter Stringer flew the ball out to Jason Holland who broke one tackle before putting in wing John Kelly for the try, which O'Gara converted.
The home side looked in full control when they crossed the line again on 22 minutes for a try from Alan Quinlan, converted by O'Gara.
But some sloppy passing in their opponents' half saw former NSW Waratahs full-back Manny Edmonds intercept and race 60 metres to bring Perpignan right back into contention, Bellot's conversion taking the score to 17-14.
Both kickers missed penalty-scoring opportunities as play became edgy and the closing minutes of the first half were strewn with errors and nervous moments for both sides.
There was hope for Munster as they went in at the interval as Perpignan prop Renaud Peillard was sin-binned in first-half injury-time.
Munster's numerical advantage did not tell with O'Gara's 48th-minute penalty the only points to show for Peillard's absence at the start of the second half.
The Irishmen were given another chance, however, when lock John Daniell quickly replaced his team-mate in the sin-bin. And this time, Munster quickly made it count, prop John Hayes crashing over the line in the 55th minute and O'Gara converting to open up a 27-14 lead.
Bellot again missed the chance to close the gap with a failed penalty attempt on the hour mark but O'Gara was on target at the other end.
Just as the home side looked home and dry, Perpignan got back in the game when substitute Nicolas Laharrague picked up a grounded O'Gara pass on the halfway line and raced upfield to score a try in the 72nd minute which Edmonds converted.
With the scores at 30-21, Munster had to endure a nerve-wracking last eight minutes. They did and earned their first points of the competition the hard way.
PA