A spirited fightback followed in the final quarter and Gloucester very nearly snatched at least a draw in the final second when Munster full back made a superb cover tackle to deny Tom Voyce in the corner.

"It was always going to be a hard place to come and get a win but our mindset throughout the whole week was to come here and win, not just to treat it as just another game and go through the motions."

"The boys battled hard and we had some options at the end that we could have used, a little grubber through maybe. We nearly scored at the death but a good tackle by them to be fair and they kept us out."

"The boys have been working hard and everyone seems to be fit and strong and I think that's been evidence throughout preseason. Defence has been a focus but so has playing for the whole 80 minutes."

Tim referred to the grubber as an option and that, of course, had been the key to unlocking a previously resolute Munster defence in the first half.

"Yeah, we had an advantage with a penalty coming so you can always have a go off that. I saw a bit of space and thought I'd have a go so I put the grubber through and it came off."

"It's not really a gamble when you know the referee is playing advantage but it's always nice when it comes off and it does help to keep a defence honest."