The Ospreys exited the Heineken Cup at the Quarter-Final stage for the second successive season after a crushing defeat at the hand of the reigning European champions at Thomond Park.
On a bright and warm early Easter Sunday afternoon, 26,000 supporters were crammed into the stadium eagerly anticipating what promised to be a classic in the making, but the reality is that Munster were out of sight with more than a quarter of the match still remaining.
The game kicked off in a fervent atmosphere, after the supporters were whipped up pre-match by choirs, bands, drummers and carnival entertainers, and the opening stages were very cagey as the two sides sized each other up.
Andrew Bishop's last-ditch tackle prevented the home side from taking an early lead, the TV official adjudging the centre to have prevented David Wallace from grounding the ball. However, the stalemate was to last just seconds, as from the resulting scrum the Ospreys conceded a penalty, which was slotted over by Ronan O'Gara. Hook levelled, before O'Gara put Munster back in front. The Ospreys were then reduced to 14 after Filo Tiatia was sin-binned for a late tackle, but it was the Ospreys who scored next, Hook making it six points apiece.
The Ospreys looked to have ridden out the Munster storm whilst a man short, only for Paul Warwick to evade a number of challenges to touch down, seconds before Tiatia's return, O'Gara converting. Munster went in at the break 16-6 up after Warwick slotted over a long range drop goal in the closing seconds of the first half.
It was vital for the Ospreys to get the first score of the second half, and Hook duly obliged, reducing the deficit to seven points, only for the Irishmen to step up a gear and pull away from the visitors. O'Gara slotted over another penalty before Paul O'Connell crashed over for a converted try, and just minutes later, Warwick scored a second gigantic drop goal.
Keith Earls then helped himself to two tries inside a minute, the second seeing him sprinting half the length the pitch after Munster claimed the restart to round off a stunning victory for the home team that ensures the Ospreys quest for European silverware goes on for another year.