History has a habit of repeating itself. Since knocking Munster out in that 2014/15 season, Saracens have won the Champions Cup on three occasions. Meanwhile, Munster are still chasing the dream of adding to their memorable Heineken Cup wins in 2006 and 2008.

Since moving to Barnet in December 2013, very few visiting teams have enjoyed any modicum of success across domestic or European competition. Their first home game in this season’s Champions Cup was their 21st European tie at the new venue, and only once have they lost — a 14-46 thumping against Clermont Auvergne two seasons ago.

Given the return to arms of six England World Cup finalists, few gave Munster much chance of adding to that rare Clermont success. In the most testing of circumstances, Munster’s cause was cursed from the outset when captain Peter O’Mahony was ruled out before kickoff, his fellow back rower Tadhg Beirne forced off after only 10 minutes with a nasty ankle injury, and tight head prop John Ryan followed suit 15 minutes later.

Munster gave up on heroic defeats a long time ago but the manner in which they defied the odds and kept Saracens at bay for so long in this contest, in such demanding circumstances, was admirable.

That the game turned on a non-rugby related incident, sparked by a really stupid intervention by a member of the Munster medical team with a derogatory comment aimed at Saracens hooker Jamie George, will prove even more infuriating for the management. By all accounts, the players weren’t too impressed either.

The melee that followed appeared to awaken a sleeping giant. George and his captain Owen Farrell were enraged and their team reacted in kind.

That incident, followed within minutes by the failure of JJ Hanrahan to convert a straightforward penalty attempt to stretch Munster’s lead to six points, energised the hosts. Munster’s defensive effort over a combined 160 minutes of action to that point over successive weekends to keep the famed Saracens attack tryless finally collapsed in the face of an unrelenting assault on their try line.

Just as he did in that Champions Cup decider against Leinster last May, Billy Vunipola picked off the base of a five metre scrum, once again sucking in four defenders, before making a sumptuous offload to Sean Maitland to score in the corner.

To concede a second try within five minutes, to Billy’s brother Mako, proved the death knell on a brave Munster performance and denied them the consolation of a potentially valuable losing bonus point.

The fact that Munster chose to ignore the opportunity of claiming that by turning down a kickable penalty with five minutes to go appeared a strange call at the time. Munster’s survival in Europe is dependant on beatingcurrent Pool 4 pacesetters Racing 92 in Paris when the tournament recommences in January.

Right now that looks like a big ask but there was enough in this performance, not least in the quality of Munster’s defensive effort, for Johann van Graan’s men to carry the battle right to the bitter end. Losing O’Mahony and Beirne would have rocked most teams but when character was required Munster weren’t found wanting. Unfortunately, against a side of Saracens’ calibre, you need a bit more than that. This game was full-blooded from the outset with every single facet of play contested with unrelenting ferocity. This is what European competition is supposed to be about.

Munster’s lineout coped manfully despite the loss of two of their primary ball winners in O’Mahony and Beirne with their direct replacements Jack O’Donoghue and Tommy O’Donnell competing manfully in all the close exchanges. When the need was greatest, Jean Kleyn enjoyed his best outing in a Munster shirt with an aggressive showing at the breakdown and a sustained work rate that was badly needed.

While Saracens were always going to be better with the quality of international player recalled to their starting line up, their lack of recent game time together meant that, for long periods, they lacked the cohesiveness and understanding their less experienced outfit brought to Thomond Park seven days earlier. It shows the depth of their squad that McCall used 35 players over the course of these back-to-back games yet surpassed Munster on the head to head, accumulating five points to four.

The result will be greeted with as much disappointment in Leinster, Exeter, Clermont, Toulouse, and Racing 92 as it was by all in Munster. With a visit to Ospreys and the likelihood of a five-point return next time out, Saracens will finish the pool campaign with a home game against Racing to keep their European journey alive.

A win for Racing over Munster in Paris means they will be all but qualified before travelling to Barnet. Munster still have a lifeline but they have to win at La Défense Arena next time out to keep their qualification dreams alive.

For that to happen they could do with some positive news on the injury front and a return to arms of Dave Kilcoyne and Joey Carbery over the festive period.

Not for the first time, Munster need something special to survive in Europe. The odds are against them but you can be sure they will fight to the bitter end.

By way of contrast, Leinster’s emphatic win over Northampton Saints means not only are they already qualified, but are within touching distance of another lucrative home quarter-final and the advantages that brings.

To score seven tries for a second consecutive weekend and a total of 93 points against the current Premiership leaders tells you everything you need to know about the quality of rugby they are producing at the moment.

That said, one has to question the stomach for the fight Northampton carried into this contest. The fact that Leinster raced into a 14-point leadwithin six minutes told you everything you needed to know about the visitors’mindset.

That just isn’t good enough for a tournament of this quality.

By cleverly making five changes to the side that comprehensively defeated the Saints in Franklins Gardens, Leo Cullen removed any potential for complacency to seep into Leinster ranks. If you fail to perform in this side, there is somebody primed and ready on the side line to take their chance.

Competition is the lifeblood of all champion sides and Leinster have plenty of that for every position. When one considers how Ireland’sfortunes became so dependent on having a fully firing Johnny Sexton leading the charge at out half, Leinster have the capacity to absorb his loss without missing a beat.

For the second week in a row, Jordon Larmour’s magical feet danced their way to the man-of-the-match award but I’m guessing Cullen will have been even more thrilled by the impact rookie No8Caelan Doris had on this game. He is a serious talent.

Connacht’s late, late show against Gloucester probably won’t be enough to see them into the last eight but, unlike a number of teams across the pool stage, they can be proud of their campaign to date.

Like Leinster, Ulster are already poised for the knockout phase with a superb return of four from four to date but they still have Clermont Auvergne breathing down their neck for a home quarter final. For Munster, their European final has arrived early. All roads lead to Paris on January 12.