Declan Kidney signed off as Munster coach with a vote of thanks to everybody who helped turn the province into the most powerful team in Europe.

Kidney, who is leaving to take over as Ireland coach, said the dressing room was a "special place to be" after Munster's second success in three seasons following a decade of near misses.

"We probably had to lose two (finals) to win two," he said. "Some of the lessons we learned then, and through the hard times, we put to use this time.

"One of the things I learned from last time was that we were so busy in the aftermath we didn't have time to enjoy it so I'm just going to enjoy this one."

Captain Paul O'Connell said patience and possession had been the key.

"We just killed them, we kept the ball for long phases and it put them under a lot of pressure," he said.

"For us up front it was a war, that's what we made it. I think we took the game by the scruff of the neck and closed it out."

Ronan O'Gara, whose penalty after 65 minutes proved the decisive score, said he was always confident.

"It's a great day for me and Paul's gesture to allow me to pick up the Cup speaks volumes about the man. This is the greatest day I've ever had with Munster."

Toulouse coach Guy Noves had few complaints about the result, recognising that Munster had done a great job in strangling his talented team.

"We played very well for the first 23 minutes, put them under a lot of pressure and were pretty much camped in their half but didn't take full advantage," he said of his side's early 3-0 lead.

"In the second half they were far more physically present, particularly at the rucks and lineout, and were able to close out the end of the game.

"They deserved to win, their ball retention was fantastic and they knew what they had to do to beat us."

Noves, though, did feel the Irish had something of an unfair advantage in their familiarity with Welsh referee Nigel Owens.

"They had the same referee in the semi-final, quarter-final and in the pool stages, which is something I have never seen before, and they were able to get used to his style of refereeing," he said.

Captain Fabien Pelous, who was sin-binned for kicking Denis Leamy, said there was no excuse for his action.

"I did lose my head a bit," he said. "The player stamped on my foot and I reacted but the ref saw only the second kick. But at my age (34) it's a shame to act like that."