The late, great Moss Keane would have loved this match – result apart. There was pace, devilment, physicality and a little bit of mischief from both teams afterwards, each seeking the psychological high ground. "People concentrate on negatives, we focus on the positives," said Toby Booth, London Irish's head coach, dismissing the possible impact of Munster's bonus point. "If you win all your pool games it doesn't matter."
The visitors viewed things differently. "The great thing about Munster is that we fight to the end and we showed that again," said Ronan O'Gara, their fly-half. "People can say what they like about us being an ageing force but we're as ambitious as ever."
It will be fascinating to see what shape the sides are in when they meet in a potentially decisive final pool fixture in mid-January. When he re-examines the tape of this game, though, Booth's pleasure at cracking the Heineken Cup's toughest nuts will be tempered by the knowledge that Munster could have been buried.
At 20-6 with 38 minutes to go this threatened to rank among the worst of away days for their supporting red army, the Exiles having just scored an interception try, through Topsy Ojo, to compound the visitors' first-half indiscipline.
You have to hand it to Munster, though. Time and again they have prised open the lid of their coffin. Their proud record of qualifying for the knock-out stages in the past 12 seasons is no fluke. While the likes of John Hayes can no longer hammer away for 80 minutes every week, the old guard are still formidable competitors when it matters. On this occasion it was David Wallace's smart break and O'Gara's chip for Sam Tuitupou's last-minute try which engineered another high-class burglary.
The bad news for Munster is that Tuitupou's spear tackle on Paul Hodgson, which earned the former All Black centre a yellow card, may incur further censure. With Lifeimi Mafi banned for a similar offence, it is a further headache to set alongside the absence of the injured Paul O'Connell, among others. The Munster lineout endured all sorts of problems in Reading, with Bob Casey and Nick Kennedy enjoying a highly productive night.
Irish will monitor Declan Danaher's injured knee and hope their half-backs stay fit. The tough-tackling centre Seilala Mapusua, not for the first time this season, was man of the match here but Hodgson had a magnificent game at scrum-half and Ryan Lamb continues to grow. The fly-half's ability to keep the scoreboard ticking is improving; his goalkicking is as reliable as anyone's. Delon Armitage smashed over a long-range penalty to keep Munster at arms' length – the Exiles have a range of tools at their disposal.
They also have a tighter defence than people think. Armitage's goal-line tackle on Tony Buckley was followed by an even better effort by Alex Corbisiero to deny Denis Leamy. Munster may have sneaked a point in the end but Irish, having beaten Leinster at this stage last season, will head to Swansea to face the Ospreys on Friday without the slightest sense of inferiority. Booth, even so, may yet be grateful for a bonus point here or there.
London Irish D Armitage; Ojo, Seveali'i (Bowden, 69), Mapusua, Tagicakibau (Joseph, 69); Lamb, Hodgson; Dermody (capt), Buckland (Paice, 56), Rautenbach (Corbisiero, 56), Kennedy, Casey, (Garvey, 69), Roche, Danaher (Hala'Ufia, 52), Stowers.
Try Ojo Pens Lamb 4, D Armitage Drop goal Lamb.
Munster J Murphy; Howlett, Earls (Warwick, 69), Tuitupou, Hurley; O'Gara, Stringer (Williams, 73); Du Preez (Horan, 65), Varley, Buckley (Hayes, 65), O'Callaghan, Ryan (O'Driscoll, 51), Leamy (capt), Ronan (D Wallace, 32), Coughlan.
Try Tuitupou Pens O'Gara 4.
Sin-bin Tuitupou 23.
Referee C Berdos (France) Attendance 20,188.
