MUNSTER COACH ROB PENNEY was a relieved man on Saturday evening as he basked in his first victory at Musgrave Park.

The New Zealander had witnessed his side lose to Scarlets and Cardiff Blues at the Cork ground so far this season and tasted pre-season defeat there against London Irish.

The result at Musgrave was never in doubt as outhalf Ian Keatley kicked points and forwards Mike Sherry and CJ Stander crossed over for tries in a 30-3 win over Edinburgh.

“At long last,” Penney remarked. “Goodness, how we’ve battled to get one here.”

“It’s really pleasing and so is the manner in which we got the win.

The guys played a good brand, expressed themselves, and that’s what we told them to do. We didn’t want them to feel inhibited by the burden and by not having played a lot. They did well.”

Penney added, “They don’t always get rewarded for the work for they put in… they can justifiably feel proud of what they’ve done.

“The way that they played in the second-half was commanding. We dominated possession and territory, and sucked the life out of the Edinburgh boys.”

With away games coming up against Scarlets and Treviso this month, Penney was asked if securing a win away from Limerick was a good omen.

“We’ve slipped up a couple of times here,” he replied, “so it was important to get a win in front of the supporters in Cork. It hasn’t been pretty up until now.”

Munster’s next fixture at Musgrave Park will be the 23 March visit of Connacht.

*Additional reporting from Aoife Danagher

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