We never gave up the cause, says Les Kiss

“Even if we had lost tonight, I would have been so proud of the boys, because we never gave up the cause against a very good Ulster side.

“All credit to Rory Scannell for going for that drop goal, not just waiting for things to happen, but making it happen.”

Munster Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus was clearly delighted by the his players’ refusal to hide after conceding what he called “two very soft tries early on”, and he attributed much of the re-energised effort of the late second to the contribution of the replacements.

“They all brought something to the game, and after just a six-day turnaround from the game with Glasgow last weekend I would still have been pleased with the guys even if we hadn’t come through.

“We wanted to show that we have ability, and though we can’t keep saying we did for Axel, we did want to play in the way he coached us to play, to apply ourselves and never take a step back.

“Paddy Jackson’s drop goal attempt just after we took the lead could have changed the result, but it wouldn’t have changed my mind about the quality of these guys and what they have to offer,” said the South African.

He was also impressed about the way Ulster’s squad had reacted to their own defeat and the loss of the leadership in the Pro 12 table.

“They came into the changing room, brought some beers, the way some of us remember it used to be.

“They sat down and chatted and somehow managed to put their own disappointment aside.

“The last couple of weeks has taught me a lot about Irish people, and especially Irish rugby people. They are so classy, I did know it but I’ve seen it up close and tonight.”

His Ulster counterpart Les Kiss was critical of his team for a “raft of errors” and going away from the game plan.

“From 14-nil up you don’t lose games like that. It hurts, and it’s just not good enough and it’s my job to work on all these issues.

“We punished ourselves, we had to stand up and fight harder.

“We had enough chances in the second half to put Munster away, but our discipline and our mindset we went away from too often,” said Kiss.

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