You can't beat the winning habit. For a half Leinster gave the impression that they just might storm one of Munster's citadels but ultimately flattered to deceive a little bit. The home side stayed in touch and on a homecoming of sorts from their Euro odyssey, upped the tempo immediately after the turnaround and had it won long before Leinster came back to earn a modicum of consolation with a bonus point.
Munster spent much of the first half on the back foot, giving the relatively huge Musgrave Park attendance of 6-7,000 little to shout about, and even finished it that way, but when they struck in the third quarter they virtually blew Leinster away with a scoring burst of 19 unanswered points.
Anthony Foley did much to change the trend and the likes of David Wallace, though overshadowed to some degree by his opposite number Liam Toland until that juncture, burst into the game with some big plays. Recycling the ball quicker, moving it wide through the utterly unflustered and assured control of Peter Stringer - who had another of his unstinting 80 minute efforts - and Ronan O'Gara, when they did get on top Munster were far more dynamic with it. Leinster, by comparison, couldn't stand the heat to the same degree and when they did have possession, not unreasonably given the constant upheavals at outhalf (though Simon Broughton did quite well) had a tendancy to over-elaborate and end up playing behind the gain line.
Indicative of what was to come in the first half, Leinster were quicker into their stride as Girvan Dempsey and O'Gara exchanged early penalties but a steady stream of turnovers, admittedly many of them forced by aggressive tackling from both sides, deprived the first quarter of any tangible shape.
Leinster finally cut through incisively and sweetly in the 22nd minute. Brian O'Meara did well to clear awkward scrum ball away, Broughton moving it on for Mckenna to show deft handwork for Shane Horgan to loop around him and speed through a narrow gap. Crucially, Liam Toland was in support to draw one defender with a decoy run outside, allowing Horgan to offload in the tackle for the supporting Gordon D'Arcy to score.
Dempsey converted but missed a kickable penalty as Leinster continued to play the more positive rugby, and yet found their lead trimmed to a point by the break even though Munster lost John Langford with an ankle strain.
After O'Gara had landed two penalties to leave it at 10-9 at the break, immediately on the restart, Foley signalled an increased effort by stealthily stealing O'Gara's kick-off from a Leinster tap-down for O'Gara to launch a steepling garryowen towards the posts. Leinster managed to hold firm, but with Mick O'Driscoll ably filling big Langford's shoes, and Munster enjoying a much slicker lineout, a temporary Leinster substitution saw Trevor Brennan come in for a bloodied Victor Costello. Within two minutes of his arrival, Brennan was spotted using his foot on a prostrate John Kelly by the touchjudge David Keane.
Brennan was fortunate to merely concede a penalty and sacrifice Leinster's presence in the Munster 22 but from an ensuing scrum in Leinster territory, Foley picked up off the base and broke a couple of tackles up the blind side, offloading for David Wallace to burst onto the ball 20 metres out and score. O'Gara converted.
With one bound Munster were free. Two minutes later Leinster coughed up the ball in midfield through McKenna and Denis Hickie, Wallace bursting onto the ball to made some serious yardage which Alan Quinlan extended. Munster then attacked up the middle, before setting up a ruck on the left through Mullins, and Kelly then picked up to pounce on the blind side of an overstretched defence.
O'Gara tagged on another penalty to put Munster out of sight, though a Dempsey penalty signalled a renewed surge from Leinster. With Munster reduced to 14 men for persistent spoiling - Quinlan being binned - incessant pressure culminated in Broughton looping around Horgan to give Peter Smyth a run to the corner. Mark McHugh's touchline conversion gave them something to show for their homeward journey.
Scoring sequence: 2 mins: Dempsey pen, 0-3; 3 mins: O'Gara pen, 3-3; 22 mins: D'Arcy try, Dempsey con, 3-10; 31 mins: O'Gara pen, 6-10; 39 mins: O'Gara pen, 9-10; 49 mins: Wallace try, O'Gara con, 16-10; 51 mins: Kelly try, O'Gara con, 23-10; 64 mins: O'Gara pen, 26-10; 75 mins: Dempsey pen, 26-13; 82 mins: Smyth try, McHugh con, 26-20.
MUNSTER: D Crotty; J Kelly, M Mullins, J Holland, A Horgan; R O'Gara, P Stringer; M Horan, F Sheahan, P Clohessy, M Galwey (capt), J Langford, A Quinlan, A Foley, D Wallace. Replacements: M O'Driscoll for Langford (33 mins), J Hayes for Horan (55 mins), C McMahon for Wallace (77 mins).
LEINSTER: G Dempsey; D Hickie, P McKenna, S Horgan, G D'Arcy; S Broughton, B O'Meara; R Corrigan, S Byrne, E Byrne, R Casey, M O'Kelly, E Miller, V Costello, L Toland. Replacements - T Brennan for Costello (temp 44-52 mins and 63 mins), P Smyth for S Byrne, P Coyle for E Byrne, L Cullen for Casey (all 63 mins), M McHugh for McKenna (73 mins).
Referee: Dave Tyndall (IRFU).
