‘They’ve got their Munster edge back’

Leicester Tigers 16 Munster 25: Munster planted one boot firmly in the Champions Cup quarter-finals as they grabbed an invaluable away win at Welford Road last night and gave new boss Johann van Graan a benchmark performance for the rest of the season.

Munster’s victory in the process denied the Tigers a losing bonus point while inflicting a first home and away double over the English giants since these fixtures were introduced across rounds three and four in 1999. It also places van Graan’s side in firm control of Pool 4 with a four-point lead at the top over Racing 92, whom they visit next in Paris in mid-January.

The manner of their success on English soil, with an excellent recovery from a shaky start to displayed their growing maturity under the superb captaincy of man of the match Peter O’Mahony, should also send a warning to the rest of Europe that the two-time Heineken Cup winners must once again be taken seriously as contenders in the continent’s premier club competition.