It was wet at Welford Road as the autumn rain descended but the passions were warm for this top Heineken clash on Sunday afternoon. After all the champions were invading the turf of the former champions. It was a day when the ball was greasy and steam heaved a mist around the forwards.

As always the Munstermen were there in force and the red flags waved at Welford Road. They manage to make every match look like a home match.

The early pressure came from Munster after Paul Burke's kick-off. They were the first to score, an amazing affair as lock chased lock for half the length of the field.

The ball was slippery and first centre Daryl Gibson spilled it and then scrumhalf Scott Bemand. Big Donncha O'Callaghan latched onto the second knock and away he galloped down the field with big Ben Kay chasing. The Irishman won the locks' footrace and scored, exhausted after a run of over fifty metres. Ronan O'Gara, whose remarks during the week about Englishmen had been inflammatory, missed the conversion. 5-0 after ten minutes.

Given the conditions, this early score could have been vital. But the Tigers came roaring back when Tom Varndell broke down the middle. When Munster went off-side, Paul Burke punished his old team-mates with a penalty. 5-3 after 12 minutes.

O'Gara set Munster attacking again with a clever diagonal kick for the corner and then he succeeded with a dropped goal. 8-3 after 16 minutes.

Back came Munster again, again with a diagonal kick by O'Gara but they were saved when big Paul O’Connell iwas penalised.

The Tigers had a good period of attack after this but Burke missed with two penalty attempts and the men in red stayed ahead.

If anything the match gained in intensity as the sides took turns to get into good positions but then nullified their good work with errors.

Right at the end of the half there was a flurry of scoring.

First Anthony Foley was penalised for obstruction and Burke made it 8-6, and then the Tigers took a terrible blow.

Martin Corry and Kay got in a tangle and a scrum for accidental off-side ensured. O'Gara made ground and then Foley but O'Gara kicked dead. From the drop-out Munster came back, burly Trevor Halstead cut through and from a tackle/ruck on the Tiger's line David Wallace went over. The television match official advised that it was indeed a try. O'Gara converted and the teams went into the changing rooms with Munster leading 15-6.

First to score at the start of the second half of a tight match is a boon, and it was Munster who started the half on the attack. But after they had forced a five-metre line-out the Tigers won a turn-over and cleared. Then the home side became the first scorers of the half, in an unsurprising way.

Leicester had made a significant change for the second half when they brought on Andy Goode and his boot in the place of Paul Burke. Goode it was who got the first score of the half with a penalty goal which made it 15-9 after 12 minutes in the half.

More and more the match became a battle of the two fly-halves with Goode dictating play with a variety of clever kicks.

When replacement Shane Jennings was penalised at a tackle/ruck, O'Gara, who had missed a long kick at goal, goaled this one to make it 18-9 with just on 20 minutes to play.

The desperate Tigers drove a massive maul at the Munster line but the desperate men in red held them up. Both sides realised how important this match was to their season as a whole, both teams needing to raise flagging spirits. It was stirring stuff in the rain. And there were just ten minutes to play. Ten minutes to make or break.

Leicester got the five-metre scrum and sought to get going again but Munster repelled them. But the referee reset the scrum, still Leicester ball. Again the scrum came apart and the Welsh referee ran off to the posts to award a penalty try.

Goode converted. 18-16 with eight minutes to play.

A minute later, a solitary minute, and the Tigers were in the lead when Goode lands a penalty. 19-18. The Tigers were ahead for the first time in the match and there were just seven wet minutes to play.

The intensity was agonising.

Then the pressure caged the Tigers. O'Gara dummied and broke. Inside the Mjunster half the Tigers were penalised. They did not like it and complained. The burden of their complaint was that O'Gara had knocked on, but the referee marched them on a significant ten metres. The kick was slap in front of the posts but just inside the Munster half. And the rain fell.

There was a deadly hush in Welford Road as O'Gara lined up the kick. He goaled it. 21-19. There were four minutes to play. The way the frantic match was running, anything could happen.

The Tigers flung themselves into the attack and Goode chipped. Shaun Payne was there and saved the situation with a mark as the match ran on into injury time.

When the whistle went to glee or gloom, depending which side you were on, Munster were attacking, and as it went, there was no mistaking the fact that it was they who had conquered.

Scorers:

For Munster:
Tries: O'Callaghan, Wallace
Con: O'Gara
Pens: O'Gara 2
Drop: O'Gara

For Leicester Tigers:
Try: penalty try
Con: Goode
Pens: Burke 2, Goode 2

Teams:

Leicester Tigers: 15 Sam Vesty, 14 Johnny Murphy, 13 Ollie Smith, 12 Daryl Gibson, 11 Tom Varndell, 10 Paul Burke, 9 Scott Bemand, 8 Martin Corry (captain), 7 Lewis Moody, 6 Louis Deacon, 5 Ben Kay, 4 Leo Cullen, 3 Martín Castrogiovanni, 2 George Chuter, 1 Marcos Ayerza
Replacements: 16 James Buckland, 17 Julian White, 18 Jordan Crane, 19 Shane Jennings, 20 Harry Ellis, 21 Andy Goode, 22 Seru Rabeni

Munster: 15 Shaun Payne, 14 John Kelly, 13 Barry Murphy, 12 Trevor Halstead, 11 Ian Dowling, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 9 Peter Stringer, 8 Anthony Foley, 7 David Wallace, 6 Denis Leamy, 5 Paul O'Connell (captain), 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 John Hayes, 2 Frankie Sheahan, 1 Marcus Horan.
Replacements: 16 Andy Kyriacou, 17 Fredericio Pucciariello, 18 Mick O'Driscoll, 19 Alan Quinlan, 20 Tomas O'Leary, 21 Jeremy Manning, 22 Lifeimi Mafi,

Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Touch judges: Hugh Watkins (Wales), Jonathan Mason (Wales)
Television match official: Gareth Simmonds (Wales)
Match commissioner: Anthony Davies (England)