In the cruel and harsh, yet very real world of the European Cup, Munster have so much to extract from this raw-boned occasion, yet so little as well. In tangible terms, the bottom line is that they contributed plenty, but came away from Musgrave Park on Saturday with nothing. There was some of the old Munster fire and brimstone mixed in with the new. Rampaging into the second-half kick-off after a stirring first-half comeback, Mick Galwey glared eyeball to eyeball with that man mountain, Derwyn Jones. "That's the stuff Mick Galwey," roared one approving voice. "Stick it into them".

And they did, Cardiff were rattled. But another bleary-eyed Munster start, sporadic errors, a lack of control at the set-pieces and the immaculate kicking of the prodigious Lee Jarvis - who landed seven from seven, including two right-handed touchline conversions, to add to his brace of tries for a haul of 27 points - was ultimately the difference in a throbbing, thrilling affair.

"We were lucky, we got out of jail a bit," conceded Cardiff coach Terry Holmes. "For the coaches, it was a nightmare, but as a game of rugby, it was magnificent. There was some superb rugby played. Munster were a bit unlucky. They could have just nicked it. I think our goal-kicking just saw us through."

So nearly then, and yet so far for Munster. Thanks to the initiative of the Munster Branch, in allowing any under-12s who arrived an hour before kick-off free admission, there was a noisy 3,000 crowd in attendance - though the vacant spaces reflect poorly on the supposed hard core from Cork Con, the Well and Dolphin. Could 6,000 at Thomond have been the difference?

Nevertheless, there were shades of Musgrave Park five years ago when Bob Dwyer's Wallabies were put to the sword. "It was the best match I've played here since the Australian match," said Galwey, the heartbeat of this Munster pack, "and if we had won, it would have been even better."

Once again though, it was as if Munster have to give the opposition a two-try start before they rise to the challenge. In actual fact, they had begun well, punching holes and recycling the ball in a sustained start which led to Conor Burke's penalty. But illegal handling on the ground led to a Nigel Walker try from the turnover, before Jarvis caught everyone napping when tapping and diving over as Munster expected the unsignalled penalty kick.

It was a cute manoeuvre from a street-wise Cardiff team, Holmes admitting they had learnt the trick at their own expense from Pontypridd a few weeks ago. "You can't really blame the players," conceded O'Donovan, who, nevertheless, was at a loss to explain Munster's curiously unIrish habit of fading in the first quarter, before rallying in the final hour.

Taking the three opening quarters of their three losses en bloc, Munster have conceded 49 points to nine. Yet over the final hour against Harlequins and Cardiff (twice), they have outscored the opposition by 86-79.

Sure enough, they rallied; Conor Burke pointing the way with the first three of five penalties - he need have no sleeplessness over two missed touchline conversions, or a late 40-metre penalty. There was a costly three-to-six-point turnover following a good old-fashioned foot rush because of Peter Clohessy's off-the-ball fracas with Jonathan Humphreys, but gradually Munster picked up the tempo.

Munster's patience and loyalty to Brian O'Meara was finally rewarded with his best display of a hitherto stale season. The underused O'Meara broke twice, left Gregory Kacala for dead on the blind side of scrums, and he later augmented a superb covering tackle on Simon Hill with a trysaver of his own on the Cardiff winger. Clohessy, Galwey and Foley did some excellent close-in work, the latter making some big hits and taking the ball on ferociously in contact. Quinlan was outstanding, reading the game intuitively; popping up with consummate timing as a support runner, and was strong in contact.

When Clohessy was held up, Quinlan picked and drove over the line. When Killian Keane made a clever half-break off one of Munster's elaborate double loops, Quinlan supported on cue for Dominic Crotty to put John Kelly over for the try of the game and put Munster ahead.

Keane - who varied his game nicely to expose the dodgy Cardiff full-back Bob Ross - was a loss after departing with bruised ribs at half-time, primarily for his strength on the gain line. But Rhys Ellison, fitter and sharper with every game, has given Munster a McQuilkin-type presence at inside centre. If only he had veered to the right instead of the left after breaching the initial line of defence early in the second period when the force was with Munster; the supporting Quinlan would surely have helped Munster into a 28-20 lead.

As it was, they stayed in touch when Clohessy and Halvey combined for Halvey to crash over, and with further penalties by Burke. But another key difference was the set-piece. The scrum is back in fashion, and Cardiff's provided the platform for Jarvis to plunder his second try on the blind side. Their line-out also provided the base for Humphreys' try.

By comparison, Mark McDermott missed his man in the build-up to Jarvis' crucial late penalty off the upright. And when Munster encamped late on, their scrum was rumbled back to concede the put-in, while Shane Leahy's tap and Galwey's catch under pressure forced them to provide static ball for the backs.

Generally, they didn't get the rub of the green from the officials, especially when the mighty Quinlan drove Howley back over his line and seemed to rip the ball off him in vehemently claiming a score in injury time.