Celtic League/Leinster - 17 Munster - 15: It's funny how teams quickly assume the trademarks of their coach. This latest piece of Leinster burglary was not down to one man, not by a long shot, and Declan Kidney would hate to have the credit heaped on him - especially for putting one over Munster of all teams.
But there's a durability about this Leinster team when the going gets tough that simply wasn't there last season.
This was Leinster's first win in seven attempts against their biggest rivals at Donnybrook and only their second win in the last 10 meetings. In many ways, they had little right to win this one either.
Because of that, and no doubt the opposition, winning coaches have looked happier with their lot than Kidney, who'll probably be relieved this one is out of the way.
"Munster's positivity was incredible," he began. "Perhaps because it's early in the season, we capitalised on one or two errors they made and got 14 points.
"After that we just hung in there really. It was an extraordinary result. I've a huge amount of pride in the men I'm working with but I know Munster are going in the right direction as well. They were only one or two passes away from cutting us open."
No doubt that was the gist of his message when he went from the Bective end of the ground to the Old Wesley dressing-rooms to speak to his former team.
As for his own charges, he knows they can't go on winning like this.
"We have to be able to retain the ball longer and play through a few phases, and we will not survive with the kind of penalty count we had against us in the second half. To use a golfing analogy, which would be appropriate this weekend, we were in and out of the rough all day but managed to sink a few crucial putts."
Given a set-piece platform for the first time this season, Munster had ample possession, territory and opportunity to have recorded their first Celtic League win. One can't fault them for trying to play a good brand of rugby, but in some respects they played too much, and were authors of their own downfall.
In the first half alone, they made 14 turnovers. Their video-nasty clips will make for some choice viewing.
"It's very frustrating," admitted Alan Gaffney, as he struggled to keep his normal equanimity. "We spoke beforehand about being precise and not trying to force things, and then we went out and did exactly the opposite."
Pressure mounts quickly in this league, and after three defeats it will irk Munster further that they'll be kicking their heels next weekend.
For the five-minute double whammy midway through the first period both turnovers emanated from Anthony Horgan - more culpable than most - inside the home half.
In mitigation of Horgan, David Wallace took a curious angle in cramping the winger's space and then firing a sharp, high pass at him.
Christian Warner snaffled the knock-on and after Brian O'Meara took the ball up from the recycle, Leinster went wide where Gary Brown took Ben Gissing pass, accelerated through Munster's stretched cover from inside halfway, and stepped inside Christian Cullen. One to tell the grandchildren about.
Stronger and faster since re-emerging from the summer hibernation, whatever about his man-of-the-match award - a personal choice would have been the phenomenal, all action, bear-like Denis Leamy - Brown has been a revelation this season.
As it transpired the unscheduled return of Denis Hickie after a 10-month absence in the 11th minute for the injured John McWeeney gave Leinster the sharper edge.
Counter attacking brilliantly from full-back and kicking through the air, Hickie played like he'd only been gone 10 minutes, though it was James Norton - switched to the wing - who stealthily showed off his soccer skills in capitalising upon another spillage from Horgan (when hit hard by Warner) which left Munster reeling.
Even the crucial three-pointer which followed from O'Meara owed its origins to Cullen's attempted counter attack and ensuing knock-on by John Kelly.
Thereafter, Munster plugged away, but were continually undone by their own inability to hold onto the leather, and a lack of control at half-back, where Paul Burke's deep-lying positioning and slow distribution asked insufficient questions of the Leinster defence.
Their comeback reached its zenith midway through the second half, when an attempted lineout maul was courageously rebuffed by Leinster's foot soldiers and Cullen let slip Kelly's cut-out pass with a try abegging.
Thereafter, somehow you sensed they weren't going to breach the Leinster line if they'd been there all night.
Munster have arguably been the most attractive Irish side to watch thus far, but Leinster - unchanged in three games save for scrumhalf - have been the best team, in the true sense of the word.
Leo Cullen's leadership and workload has typified their near- Herculean effort and one lost count of the tackles and big plays made by Aidan McCullen, Des Dillon and, especially, Shane Jennings.
Accordingly as was evident by Eric Miller's 80-minute watching brief from the bench, the returning internationals will not be guaranteed recalls en bloc.
Scoring sequence: 14 mins: Brown try, O'Meara con 7-0; 18 mins: Norton try, O'Meara con 14-0; 32 mins: O'Meara pen 17-0; 35 mins: Burke pen 17-3; (half-time 17-3); 46 mins: Burke pen 17-6; 63 mins: Burke pen 17-9; 66 mins: Burke pen 17-12; 77 mins: Burke pen 17-15.
LEINSTER: J Norton; J McWeeney, C Warner, D Quinlan, G Brown; D McAllister, B O'Meara; E Byrne, G Hickie, P Coyle, L Cullen (capt), B Gissing, A McCullen, D Dillon, S Jennings. Replacements: D Hickie for McWeeney (11 mins), R Nebbett for Coyle, V Costello for Dillon (both 52 mins), G Easterby for McAllister (58 mins), Coyle for Jennings (82 mins). Sinbinned: Nebbett (77 mins).
MUNSTER: C Cullen; J Kelly, S Payne, J Holland, A Horgan, P Burke, E Reddan; G McIlwham, F Sheahan, J Hayes, T Bowman, T Hogan, D Leamy, J Williams, D Wallace. Replacements: R Henderson for Holland (56 mins), M Prendergast for Reddan (58 mins), S Keogh for Williams (80 mins), J Flannery for Sheahan (82 mins).
Referee: Hugh Watkins (WRU).
