Sidelined since injury his shoulder against Ulster in September, Cullen crept through after 73 minutes to claim his first try since April.

The win, teed up by two first-half penalties from Ronan O'Gara, sees Munster jump to eighth in the table, leaving them just a point behind Connacht who failed to turn possession into points.

The downsides for Munster, ahead of next weekend's Heineken Cup trip to Cardiff, were injuries to Barry Murphy (shoulder) and David Wallace (leg).

In persistent rain and wind, the sides slogged it out in a dour first half. There was little room for manoeuvre, especially in midfield where Murphy and his former UL Bohemians team mate Keith Matthews were in direct opposition.

Unfortunately for Murphy, his evening lasted barely 10 minutes as he was forced off with a shoulder injury and replaced by Trevor Halstead.

With the aid of that gusting wind, Connacht had the better of the early exchanges, pinning the hosts back in their own half with the kicking skills of Mark McHugh and Chris Keane to the fore.

However, Connacht skipper John Fogarty was punished for some backchat in the 16th-minute when O'Gara slotted over his first penalty from the 22-metre line.

Cullen showed well in attack but Connacht's defence was resilient and any gaps were quickly sealed off.

McHugh turned down a 45-metre shot at the posts coming up to the interval, and then, following a Colm Rigney break and an offside from John Kelly, the Connacht number 10 unusually missed a penalty from closer in.

He paid the price, in deepest injury-time, when an excellent throw from Frankie Sheahan found his captain Paul O'Connell at the back of a lineout. Munster mauled forward, sent Halstead through on crash ball and Connacht prevented a quick release, gifting O'Gara his second penalty success.

Connacht spent the first 15 minutes of the second period in the hosts' half, but despite pops at the line from Andrew Farley and Rigney, Munster held out.

O'Gara missed a relative sitter from 25 metres out, on the hour mark, and his two kicks looked like deciding a forgettable affair until Cullen struck late.

In the lead-up to the score, O'Connell and Alan Quinlan eked out the hard yards in a maul, then a lovely delayed pass from O'Gara sent Halstead haring through a gap, he found Lifeimi Mafi and Cullen was in support to canter over.