Heineken Cup: Rob Penney sings Munster's praises after home win over Toulouse
Munster head coach Rob Penney felt his players were "terrific" in their 47-23 Heineken Cup victory over Toulouse.
Last Updated: 05/04/14 6:38pm
The home side ran in six tries at Thomond Park to maintain their record of never losing in front of their own fans in the competition when up against French opposition.
Keith Earls' early try helped give Munster a 13-9 lead before they blew the contest wide open with two tries straight after the break, Dave Kilcoyne and man-of-the-match CJ Stander both touching down.
Casey Laulala and Simon Zebo added further scores before a rare try for Paul O'Connell capped a stunning performance from the two-time champions.
"It was great to get the win but the performance was outstanding. It's not a secret how dangerous Toulouse are and great credit to the lads both sides of the ball. They were terrific and you need to be against a side like that," Penney said.
"They all had to play big today. If we had any weaknesses they would be exposed and we talked all week about everyone having the best game they could have in the Munster jersey.
"You could look along 1 to 15 and the guys who came on...they were so determined to do well for each other and the spirit is there and is going to see this organisation well for a period of time."
Munster dominated for much of the first half and although they only led by four at the break, Penney insisted he wasn't too concerned by the scoreline.
Encouraged
He added: "I thought there were opportunities to get another couple of scores. They probably had a couple as well but to be up into the wind and playing the way we were was a great joy when we came in at half-time.
"We just encouraged them to keep going, do what they were doing. There wasn't a lot of need to change anything. It was about bringing the same excitement we had in the first half into the second half and they did that certainly with a couple of nice tries."
Toulouse boss Guy Noves admitted Munster were worthy winners, praising their display in the second 40 minutes in particular.
"Munster taught us a lesson. They were outstanding. We tried to play all the ball but we exposed ourselves," he said.
"We gave it our all, we put everything into the game. They deserved the score, but my job is about helping the team to learn the lessons and bounce back for the Top 14.
"I hope we will be able to react as a squad who are proud of their jersey, who have won five (pool) games out of six and have been defeated by a great Munster team."
The only real negative for Munster was the arm injury which forced captain Peter O'Mahony off at the end of the first quarter. Penney said the injury 'doesn't look great' and expects to know more on Sunday.