MUNSTER had been determined to turn this Champions Cup match into a celebration of their late coach Anthony Foley, and unfortunately for Glasgow that is precisely what they did. The home side were by far the more aggressive and dynamic team from the start, and although they had Keith Earls sent off midway through the first half for a dangerous tackle on Fraser Brown, the numerical disadvantage had no discernible effect on their ferocious will to win.

Three tries to the good and 24-3 up by half time, Munster wrapped up the bonus point 10 minutes into the second period, by which time Glasgow had made several changes in a bid to shore up a pack which was second best by some distance. Two late scores flattered the Warriors, who have rarely been so comprehensively outfought in recent years, and surely never against a team reduced to 14 men for an hour.

Clearly, the death of Foley in Paris last Sunday had made this a highly unusual occasion, one which was extremely difficult to prepare for and deal with. But Gregor Townsend, while acknowledging the demanding circumstances, was in no mood to spare his team.

“It never looked like we were playing against 14 men,” the Glasgow coach said. “It was like we were playing against 15 - and 25,000 [in the crowd].

“We just weren’t good enough. They put in much more effort. It didn’t look like us out there at times. Whether our mental preparation wasn’t right . . . . We sat off Munster. They took all those yards we were giving them and they played really well. We looked like individuals, and Munster were a team.”

Munster were quickly into their stride, and took the lead in the fourth minute when Tyler Bleyendaal went over from the edge of the 22. A rolling maul from a line-out just inside the home half had done the initial damage, taking play 30 metres upfield before the stand-off exploited a gap in midfield. Bleyendaal’s conversion increased the advantage, but the lead was soon reduced when Finn Russell chipped over a penalty from in front of the posts.

Glasgow needed to get into a steady rhythm, and they looked to be acquiring it when Ryan Wilson seized on a loose ball from a Munster line-out. But possession was turned over, and after some good work from the impressive Dave Kilcoyne, Jaco Taute went over in the left for a try to which Bleyendaal again added the two points.

It had been a rousing start by Munster, but then came Earls’ dismissal. The winger had ended up by holding Brown by one leg and tipping him up, with the upper part of the hooker’s back hitting the ground first. Earls reacted angrily as he left the field, remonstrating with Brown and pushing Stuart Hogg.

Up to that point it had hardly seemed the kind of contest to produce a red card, but, curiously, the dismissal helped the match take on the feel of a normal,keenly contested game. It also galvanised Munster further, and when they were awarded a penalty after destroying a Glasgow scrum, Bleyendaal was again on target.

It got worse for Glasgow 10 minutes from half time when Munster got their third converted try. Simon Zebo was tackled in the corner by Hogg, but Glasgow player slid into touch and let go of the full-back, who rolled over and touched down.

Forwards Alex Allan and Simone Favaro had come on by that point as the Warriors looked for something approaching parity in the setpiece and at the breakdown. They ended the half on the attack, but their hopes of chipping away at the 21-point deficit before the break were ended when Russell’s pass to Rob Harley went forward.

A long spell of Munster attack at the start of the second half saw the embarrassing one-sidedness of the scrums emphasised still further, and it was no surprise when the referee awarded a penalty try. Their job of collecting five points done, Munster began to flag a little after that. But even in the final quarter, Glasgow could offer no more than the odd glimpse of the flair we have come to expect from them.

They pulled back one score through Pat MacArthur from a lineout drive, and Hogg’s conversion took their tally into double figures. Mark Bennett got another converted try with ten minutes left, but Munster had the last word when Rory Scannell squeezed in at the left corner for try No 5.

The teams are now level at the top of Pool One, Munster having played a game less.

After that inspired win over Leicester in their opening match, Glasgow now face an uphill battle to make it into the quarter-finals for the first time.

“We’ve got two very tough games coming up,” Townsend added, referring to the home-and-away matches against Racing 92 in December. “We need to get points out of these games.”

Scorers: Munster: Tries: Bleyendaal, Taute, Zebo, penalty try, Scannell. Cons: Bleyendaal 4, Keatley. Pen: Bleyendaal.

Glasgow: Tries: MacArthur, Bennett. Cons: Hogg 2. Pen: Russell.

Munster: S Zebo (R O’Mahony 78); D Sweetnam, J Taute, R Scannell, K Earls; T Bleyendaal (I Keatley 67), C Murray (D WIlliams 76); D Kilcoyne (B Scott 72), N Scannell (D Casey 62), J Ryan (S Archer 68), D Ryan (R Copeland 77), B Holland, P O'Mahony (J O’Donoghue 61), T O'Donnell, CJ Stander.

Glasgow Warriors: S Hogg; S Lamont, A Dunbar (M Bennett 61), S Johnson, R Hughes; F Russell (P Murchie 61), H Pyrgos (A Price 48); G Reid (A Allan 27), F Brown (P MacArthur 48), Z Fagerson (S Puafisi 44), T Swinson, J Gray, R Harley, R Wilson (L Wynne 76), J Strauss (S Favaro 33).

Referee: J Garces (France). Attendance: 26,000