Opposition view: Rowntree salutes Munster for passing 'proper test' at Saints

Rowntree's men secured a 17-6 success at cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens, despite being hit by three sin-binnings during the second half.

Neither team scored a single point after the break as Munster gritted their teeth and got the job done.

And Rowntree, who had seen his side edged out 18-13 by Toulouse a week earlier, said: “It says a lot about the club and our desire to get off the floor and help the man next to you.

“That's Munster DNA anyway. We speak about it a lot, we train it in the week but that was a proper test for us.”

Two Gavin Coombes tries in the first half proved to be key for Munster.

And Rowntree added: “Huge, huge win for us and in the manner that we did it, we dug in there.

“Most of the second half, we were on our own goal-line, three yellow cards.

“I'm proud of them, really proud of them. Our defensive effort there was exceptional.

"The lads have done a lot of good work there with Denis Leamy. He has been great for us, he's really grown into a very good coach.

“So, the nature of the win, we would have liked for it to have been more glamorous, scoring tries, but to dig in like that, that's massive for us going forward.”