European Cup - Stade Francais 14 Munster 16: Anthony Foley hauled his bruised and battered carcass into the empty dressing-room, his gait the faltering shuffle of an octogenarian. It would be a touch of an exaggeration to say that he didn't feel any pain but his beaming smile suggested that it wouldn't hamper any post-match celebration.

He tried to explain how Munster had once again defied history (only one team had won an away quarter-final in the previous five year's of the competition although Llanelli did so again yesterday) and the suspicion that their well had finally run dry. "The discipline was awesome. We could not afford to give away any penalties in the second half against someone (Diego Dominguez) who could kick them from his own 10 metre line.

"We played as a unit. Everyone stepped forward and did what was required. We put up with the sly punches, the sly digs. We kept out cool, focused on what we wanted to achieve and produced our best performance for a long time."

That it was. Munster, in front of a packed 12,000 crowd at Stade Jean Bouin in Paris, unearthed another marvellous display, demonstrating remarkable composure and a self-belief that allowed them to eke out victory that few outside the squad had seriously countenanced. Paul O'Connell was officially the man of the match for a superbly athletic performance around the pitch, much to his own amusement. "I didn't catch a ball all day," he said. He did many other things but ultimately the collective excellence outshone individual contributions.

Leading 16-3 at the interval having enjoyed the benefit of a near gale that blew down the pitch, even the most ardent supporter, might have considered it an insufficient buffer. Stade Francais boasted in outhalf Dominguez a place-kicker of consummate accuracy and given the conditions any transgression within 60 metres of goal was within his compass.

Coach Declan Kidney gathered the players around him in the dressing-room, posing a simple question. "Do you want to try and defend the lead or attack. The team decided that they would attack and that takes courage. Ultimately that is how we won the game. We tried to control possession and apart from a couple of lapses of concentration we didn't give them too much encouragement."

In the 45 minutes that constituted the time played by referee Nigel Whitehouse in the second half, Munster allowed Dominguez two successful penalty attempts. That in itself was a phenomenal statistic given the suffocating pressure of the occasion and Stade Francais' relentless persistence in trying to claw back the deficit.

The Alamo-like defence of the second half tended to dwarf Munster's display in the first. It shouldn't have. They allowed Stade Francais three try-scoring chances and snuffed out the danger on each occasion. They created a couple of their own and scored from one, a gem. Ronan O'Gara had kicked an early penalty after David Auradou was penalised for punching at a scrum before Munster applied the coup de grace on 19 minutes.

O'Gara looped around Henderson to receive possession again some 35 metres from the Stade line. Horgan had come haring from the blindside wing to take the pass. The advantage numerically was with the defending side but Horgan straightened and accelerated through Nathan Williams' tackle before brushing aside fullback Sylvain Jonnet's weak challenge to race under the posts. O'Gara posted the conversion.

Stade were stunned. They persisted with trying to launch their back row through midfield cluttering those corridors with runners but apart from one or two anxious moments early on, Munster's tackling was assured. In this respect Henderson had a huge game. So, too, the back-row trio with David Wallace outstanding.

Dominguez responded with an easy penalty but O'Gara restored Munster's advantage with a beautifully struck drop-goal after Jim Williams had set up a ruck. Horgan was put clear again on 37 minutes but lost the ball as Jonnet's tackle was more assured this time. O'Gara's second penalty pre-empted one final unsuccessful attempt by the outhalf from the halfway line.

When Christophe Juillet scored from a ruck close to the Munster line seven minutes after the restart - Dominguez surprisingly failed with the conversion - the portents appeared ominous for the visitors. Munster were not about to lie down. Peter Clohessy charged 40 metres from a clever lineout variation, two rucks later and John Kelly seemed certain to score from Dominic Crotty's clever chip but the cover arrived in the nick of time to bundle him into touch and goal.

Foley made a wonderful try-saving tackle on Dominguez on the halfway line. He explained: "I heard someone inside me say 'oh, s***', and I just managed to get a hold of his jersey. It was all hands to the pumps."

Dominguez landed a penalty but the home side's momentum was arrested when flanker Pierre Rabadan was sin binned on the intervention of a touch judge. Kelly carved a great opportunity but the scoring pass to Horgan went to ground. It seemed a seminal moment for Munster's chances. On 74 minutes Dominguez kicked a penalty to bring Stade within two points 16-14. On 80 minutes Clohessy was replaced to a crescendo of booing, responding with a wave that drew even more bile.

On 83 minutes Munster were awarded a free kick, the ball was tapped, Mick Galwey trundled forward and the pack sought to run down the clock. The last action was a dropped pass and as the Stade pack gathered for the scrum, Whitehouse blew for full-time.

Kidney in trying to articulate his feelings under the stand, shook his head and smiled: "There's no job like it and that's coming from a career guidance teacher." That sentiment was easily understood in Paris on Saturday.

SCORING SEQUENCE: 5 mins: O'Gara penalty, 0-3; 19: Horgan try, O'Gara conversion, 0-10; 21: Dominguez penalty, 3-10; 25: O'Gara drop goal, 3-13; 37: O'Gara penalty, 3-16. 47: Juillet try, 8-16; 56: Dominguez penalty, 11-16; 74: Dominguez penalty, 14-16.

MUNSTER: D Crotty; J Kelly, R Henderson, J Holland, A Horgan; R O'Gara, P Stringer; P Clohessy, F Sheahan, J Hayes; M Galwey (capt), P O'Connell; J Williams, A Foley, D Wallace. Replacements: M Horan for Hayes (temp. 6-14 mins); Horan for Clohessy 80 min utes.

STADE FRANCAIS: S Jonnet; N Williams, F Comba, N Raffault, R Poulain; D Dominguez, F Galthie (capt); S Marconnet, M Blin, P de Villiers; D Auradou, M James; R Martin, C Juillet, P Rabadan. Replacements: P Lemoine for Marconnet 67 mins; C Moni for Rabadan 79 mins.

Referee: N Whitehouse (Wales).