Connacht too deserve special mention even though they didn’t make the cut. Despite the ominous presence of Wasps and Toulouse in their group they were leading Pool 2 going into the last day of action despite a horrific casualty list that saw them struggle to muster sufficient front row cover.

In the end, despite finishing on the same number of points as Toulouse and with one more win than the former champions, they lost out on the basis of Toulouse accumulating five match points in their two head to heads to Connacht’s four.

It was that tight.

The fact that Connacht lost out on a losing bonus point by only three points in their 19-10 defeat yesterday means that Munster now face a repeat of their last quarter-final appearance three years ago when they beat Toulouse 47-23 in Thomond Park. The 2017 version promises to be another great European occasion.

There was always a danger that, with their presence in the last eight already guaranteed, the intensity that characterised Munster and Leinster’s march towards qualification just might be lacking this weekend. In some respects that is exactly what happened but, when it mattered most, both had the character to dig deep in contests against French opposition who, on paper at least, had nothing to play for.

Leinster’s nerve-jangling, 24-24 draw in Castres on Friday night means that they finish the pool phase as fourth seed, thus pitting them against another pool winner in Wasps, whose predictable five-point haul over Zebre yesterday, despite a few scares in the opening half, proved sufficient to overtake both Toulouse and Connacht. Having twice beaten Leinster convincingly in their pool last season, Wasps will travel to Dublin full of confidence.

That result in Castres on Friday night served as a timely reminder to all within the Munster camp that nothing could be taken for granted. Unpredictable at the best of times, you just never really know what to expect against the French.

Racing made all the right noises about pride in performance and making life difficult for Munster prior to the game in Paris two weeks ago yet fell flat on their faces. This time out French scrum-half Maxime Machenaud promised that Racing would embrace their surroundings and do much better.

What transpired showed that he was true to his word and Racing, with a stronger combination than that which featured at the Stade Yves Du Manoir a fortnight earlier, came to play. They also showed a touch of class when Machenaud, captain for the day, placed a wreath on the halfway line in memory of Anthony Foley just prior to kick-off.

In some respects, Saturday’s game represented unchartered water for Munster with a third Champions Cup outing on successive weekends. With two of those contests away from home, perhaps we shouldn’t have been surprised that Munster were slow to get out of the blocks and lacked the intense energy that characterised their previous home pool wins over Glasgow and Leicester Tigers.

Munster just couldn’t get their hands on the ball and when they did, they either turned it over or conceded a penalty. It took 18 minutes before Niall Scannell fed a Munster line-out - Racing had seven successful feeds by that stage - and a crooked throw led to another scrum turnover.

Under pressure, Munster’s defence has been their fallback all season, the most effective in the tournament with a paltry three tries conceded in the five pool games coming into least weekend. Once again it proved decisive in keeping Racing at bay over a strange opening quarter that saw both teams remain scoreless.

Having been on the defensive for so long, once Munster got a foothold in the Racing 22 for the first time, they stayed there for an incredibly intense period lasting 16 minutes, through an amazing sequence of scrum and line-out penalties before Simon Zebo eventually delivered that vital opening try.

Munster have made an art form of wearing teams down recently and that score just prior to the break served to put a major dent in the French resistance. The fact that Racing had sacrificed their out-half Benjamin Dambielle to the sin bin during that blitzkrieg, when straying offside to prevent what looked like a certain Munster try, certainly helped the home cause.

After a period of reflection over the break, Munster reverted to what is affectionately known as “Cup rugby” in these parts. Tyler Blayendaal and Rory Scannell shared the tactical kicking duties in pinning Racing deep in their own half.

While the, normally reliable, line-out maul was handled with relative ease by the monstrous Racing pack and made far less yardage than normal, once Munster put the visiting defence on the back foot they began to make inroads.

If the opening try from Zebo was a product of a succession of mini rucks, Munster changed tack by going wide early with a series of long skip passes from Blayendaal and Scannell which eventually resulted in a spectacular try for the ever improving Ronan O’Mahony. The exquisite touchline conversion from Bleyendaal proved another nail in the coffin to the French.

That change in approach, even if the quality of some of the passing was poor, stretched the Racing defence to breaking point. To their credit Racing fought their way back into the game and finally breached Munster’s defensive line with a try from Henry Chavancy. Despite that boost, they never really looked like winning the game.

The incredible consistency delivered by CJ Stander once again stood out like a beacon. He is a remarkable player, constantly putting his team on the front foot. Zebo is another who has taken on increased responsibility this season and offers solidity at full-back. Playing there also affords him more opportunities to roam and influence the game. On current form, he must surely be in pole position to start there for Ireland in the Six Nations.

The thing that should please Rassie Erasmus most is that Munster achieved two notable wins over Glasgow and Racing over the last two weekends without playing anywhere near their best. When you consider that Glasgow walloped Leicester 43-0, in Welford Road of all places on Saturday, it serves to put last week’s excellent win over the Warriors in Scotstoun into context.

By finishing as second seed, Munster have also increased the possibility of an Irish based semi-final should they make it that far. That can wait for another day. Right now the prospect of renewing what has been a great rivalry with Toulouse from the very outset of the Heineken Cup will be enough to keep all Munster supporters purring over the next few months.