WATCH: Munster head coach Clayton McMillan: "One thing that wasn't missing today was effort"

MUNSTER Rugby made it five wins from five this season when edging past Connacht 17-15 at Thomond Park on Saturday night to end the first block of games in the United Rugby Championship on a winning note.

Clayton McMillan's side made it back-to-back interprovincial wins in successive weekends following their thrilling derby success against Leinster at Croke Park seven days earlier when overcoming Connacht in front of an attendance of 16,512 in Limerick.

Afterwards McMillan was pleased with the manner in which the side had knuckled down to the significant challenge posed by Connacht, seven days after their significant victory over Leinster at GAA HQ.

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Munster head coach McMillan said: “I was just talking to Jack (O’Donoghue) outside that one thing that wasn’t missing today was effort. And after last week, when you play those sorts of games, a lot of the emotion, a huge amount of energy spent, it can be tough to back up the following week and we acknowledged that early.

“I thought the coaching staff and the players really responded well to the challenge during the week. We parked the euphoria of the previous week and got on with the business knowing that Connacht were going to come here and throw the kitchen sink at us and that’s what we got.

“So really pleasing and I could sense through the warm-up that we were there mentally and the effort was there. We weren’t gifted a lot, and we had to work for everything, but we got there.”