Last Updated: Mon, 21 Dec 2009 11:31
Munster captain Paul O'Connell praised his side's work ethic after their 37-14 Heineken Cup Pool One victory over Perpignan.
The French outfit had not been beaten at home for 23 matches but were blown away by a superb second-half showing by the Irishmen, with four tries ensuring the visitors gained a bonus point en route to the top of the group.
Denis Fogarty's try had given Munster a 10-9 half-time lead, with David Mele's three penalties all the hosts had to show for their efforts.
But the game was over as a contest early in the second half as Ronan O'Gara added two more penalties to his first-half success and Denis Hurley crossed for a try on 58 minutes.
Guilhem Guirado hit back with a try for Perpignan but further scores from Jean de Villiers and Doug Howlett put daylight between the sides and moved Munster two points clear of Northampton at the top of the table.
Lions skipper O'Connell was full of praise for his team-mates who, he feels, were finally rewarded for the hours of preparation ahead of the fixture.
"It's a great day for us," he said. "We put a lot of hard work into the game and we had a big work ethic, especially at the breakdown.
"We were patient and, once we transferred what we'd been doing on the training ground onto the pitch, then we knew we'd play well."