Munster Rugby paid the perfect tribute to their late head coach Anthony Foley when they delivered a bonus-point European Champions Cup victory over Glasgow on an afternoon of great poignancy at Thomond Park today.

A day after Foley had been buried in his home village of Killaloe, following his sudden, heart-related death at Munster's Paris hotel the previous Sunday, his players produced a performance of which he would have been immensely proud to get their pool one campaign off to a belated start in style under the most testing of conditions.

A hugely emotional day at Thomond Park had begun early as books of condolences were opened around the stadium environs and once inside the ground where Foley had given his all for Shannon and Munster since his youth quickly filled.

The Munster squad ran out for their warm-up to a huge ovation before the Munster Rugby Supporters Club paid its own respects, singing poignant renditions of the 'Fields of Athenry' and then the Shannon anthem 'There Is An Isle' as a Foley highlight reel from his days of AIL glory played on the big screen in the corner of the stadium.

Emotional but beautiful scenes in Thomand Park #Munsterfamily #MunvGla #RIPAxel pic.twitter.com/bEM921VKTq

— Máire Treasa (@mairetreasa) October 22, 2016

And all the while the players continued their pre-game preparations, to all appearances oblivious to the proceedings around them but certainly feeling every word as the sell-out crowd joined in.

Then captain Peter O'Mahony gathered his team around him gave then a few final instructions and began the tradition long jog around the touchline back to the dressing room.

By the time the teams re-emerged, soprano Sinead O'Brien had led the MRSC choir through a rousing version of Stand Up and Fight and the crowd had further paid homage to their fallen hero after viewing a video tribute.

A minute's silence followed but if there was any residual emotion in the Munster squad it was channelled in a wholly positive fashion as the home side got off to a blistering start, Tyler Bleyendaal carving through the Glasgow defence to the delight of the crowd, the fly-half held up short but then driven over by his team-mates for the opening score inside three minutes. The New Zealander converted his own try and Munster were up and running.

A Finn Russell penalty on 10 minutes from in front of the posts reminded Munster there was a serious team on their home turf and that discipline would have to remain tight but when the men in red had the ball they were looking irrepressible, centre Jaco Taute finishing a sweeping move with a try in the left corner three minutes later, Bleyendaal continuing his excellent kicking form with the near-touchline conversion to send his side 14-3 up after 13 minutes.

The game could have swung a very different way in the 18th minute when Keith Earls tip tackled Fraser Brown, the Glasgow hooker apearing to land awkwardly but on his shoulder rather neck, although referee Jerome Garces and his TMO, fellow Frenchman Arnaud Blondel, took a different view, deeming Earls's action warranted a red card and Munster were facing more than a hour of the game short-handed. Russell missed the penalty though and if Munster were fired up beforehand, they were doubly so after that.

A Glasgow scrum inside their own 22 saw the forwards produce a huge drive against the head to earn a penalty which Bleyendaal slotted excellently on 26 minutes and then full-back Simon Zebo appeared on the left wing Earls had vacated to score in the corner, evading a Stuart Hogg tackle to keep his feet out of touch to earn his side's third try on 29 minutes, Bleyendaal again accurate with the touchline conversion.

I'm not sure that @Munsterrugby are playing with 14 men. There's definitely a No 8 on the field with them, willing them on. #MUNvGLA

— Kevin Coughlan (@KevinFCoughlan) October 22, 2016

That sent Munster 24-3 up at the interval and they resumed as they finished the first half, chasing the four-try bonus point and making a mockery of the fact they were down to 14 men. They were denied when Conor Murray's dive for the bottom of the posts was ruled out by Garces but the scrum that followed the referee's decision reaped dividends once more, Munster winning three penalties in a row from the set-piece to give Garces no option but to stride under the posts and award a penalty try, hooker Brown left crumpled on the floor, a visible causalty of Munster's scrummaging dominance.

The bonus point secured in the 46th minute, Bleyendaal's conversion sent Munster 31-3 up as Brown was helped from the field, his team-mates looking powerless to deny the home side.

Glasgow head coach Gregor Townsend sent on much-needed reinforcements and the fresh Scottish legs delivered for their boss as Munster's began to fade, an inevtiable consequence of the numerical disadvantage in tandem with the draining emotions of the previous six days.

Replacement hooker Pat MacArthur drove over for a try on 65 minutes and sub back Mark Bennett grabbed another five minutes later, Hogg converting both scores to add some rewspectability to the scoreline and give the visitors hope of at least a losing bonus point at 31-17 down with 10 minutes remaining.

Yet Munster, on this day of all days, were not going to lie down and let that happen, and the 14 men rallied themselves once more to lay siege to the Glasgow line, Rory Scannell finishing off the period of pressure with a 75th minute try, Ian Keatley following Bleyendaal's lead with a touchline conversion of his own having replaced the starting fly-half on the hour

It really was a day when everythng went right in the worst possible circumstances.

Absolutely unbelievable.No better tribute than what the @Munsterrugby team just did today #laochra #shouldertoshoulder #MUNvGLA #RIPaxel pic.twitter.com/MUQzsJ5mSQ

— Máire Treasa (@mairetreasa) October 22, 2016

MUNSTER: S Zebo (R O'Mahony, 77); D Sweetnam, J Taute, R Scannell, K Earls; T Bleyendaal (I Keatley, 60), C Murray (D Williams, 72); D Kilcoyne (B Scott, 78), N Scannell (D Casey, 61, replaced by N Scannell 67), J Ryan (S Archer, 68); D Ryan (R Copeland, 72), B Holland; P O'Mahony – captain (J O'Donoghue, 60), T O'Donnell, CJ Stander.

GLASGOW WARRIORS: S Hogg; S Lamont, A Dunbar (P Murchie, 60), S Johnson, R Hughes; F Russell (M Bennett, 60), H Pyrgos – co-captain (A Price, 43); G Reid (A Allan, 26), F Brown (P MacArthur, 47), Z Fagerson (S Puafisi, 43); T Swinson, J Gray - co-captain; R Harley, R Wilson (L Wynne, 75), J Strauss (S Favaro, 32).

Referee: Jerome Garces (France)