Munster morale boost as Toulon test looms large

Connacht 23 Munster 32

For Munster’s Rob Penney, the horizon is considerably less distant than the one Connacht’s Pat Lam has fixed his gaze on and the performance levels in Galway on Saturday evening reflected those outlooks as the southern province, stung by the previous week’s home defeat by Glasgow, ran out bonus-point winners to reclaim second place in the RaboDirect Pro12 table.

The victors returned home with mission accomplished and at very little cost as their thoughts turned immediately to Sunday’s daunting Heineken Cup semi-final against champions Toulon in Marseille’s Stade Vélodrome.