Munster rock the Páirc in four-try win v South Africa

Munster 28-14 South Africa Select XV

The surroundings may have been new, but this felt like the Munster of old.

With more than 41,000 tickets to their Páirc Uí Chaoimh debut having been snapped up within days, there was little chance the occasion would fall short of expectation.

There was less certainty about the result, but Munster have built their reputation on living up to the occasion.

In howling wind and rain, Graham Rowntree's side produced their biggest and best performance of the season, navigating a ferocious South African scrum for a famous 28-14 win.

The natives laid the platform, local boys Shane Daly and Simon Zebo scoring first-half tries, while Gavin Coombes took out his international frustrations on the tourists with brutal physicality.

Edwin Edogbo’s rise continued with another towering performance, while the province’s fans will also have been hugely excited by their new centre Antoine Frisch, whose graceful handling in less than graceful weather cut South Africa open for the game’s first score.

On top of the tries for Daly and Zebo, Diarmuid Barron’s pushover try, and three Ben Healy conversions gave them a 21-7 lead at the break, having had the benefit of the conditions at their back for the opening 40.

But with the rain and wind sneezing into their faces from the City End, they made the ideal start to the second half with their fourth try, this time through Mike Haley, giving them a cushion they would badly need in the final 37 minutes,.

They struggled at times in the second half to deal with a thundering South African pack, and while the visitors pulled back a try through substitute Sikhumbuzo Notshe, it was Liam O’Connor who came up trumps with a late scrum penalty to ensure they would hold out, and add