Toulouse showed their quality to come from behind to defeat Munster 18-13 in the opening round of the Heineken Champions Cup this afternoon.

It was a slow start for the visitors but a try after the restart for the second half ensured they controlled the second half, as full back Thomas Ramos was lethal from the tee.

Joey Carbery the only scorer for Munster all afternoon, as they are handed a second home defeat in 20 European games, unable to answer their opponents in that second half which costs them in a foggy Thomond Park.

Munster made the perfect start early on after being pinned in their own half, John Ryan was instrumental in forcing Toulouse to concede a scrum penalty after collapsing, before the big frame of Jean Kleyn forced another error that awarded Joey Carbery a kick at the posts in the fourth minute, unfortunately his strike came back off the upright but the territory was all Munster in those opening minutes.

The Toulouse ill discipline was starting to show and on the third occasion where they would concede a penalty to Munster they would be punished, Carbery opted for the corner, Niall Scanell again with a strong lineout, the maul creeped forward held just short of the line and a smart switch in lay by Craig Casey allowed his out half partner Carbery to power his way over the whitewash after nine minutes, the kicker made no mistake with his conversion for a 7-0 lead.

Munster were still in command by the midway mark in the first half but after an attack failed with a forward pass, Toulouse won the scrum and found their way to the Munster line after kicking to the corner from a scrum penalty which followed, their maul worked well as they had an advantage for another penalty, they shifted play wide to stretch out the Munster line and Matthis Lebel finishing in the corner doing well to evade the tackle, Thomas Ramos acute conversion putting them level after 23 minutes.

Some little issues were creeping in for Munster, turnovers and giving away another penalty saw Ramos split the posts after 29 minutes, his kicking from the tee pin point in the half, the kicking of Joey Carbery however would be key for Munster to tie the game at 10-10 by half time, another show of ill discipline from Toulouse awarded the kicker a shot at the posts which he slotted after 39 minutes.

It was a nightmare start to the second half for Munster as Toulouse got their second try inside two minutes of the second half, their maul sets the scene and a phenomenal early start for Lucas Tauzin as he was only on the field a minute before making it 15-10 to the visitors, Ramos missed conversion was a let off for Munster.

Munster tried to respond quickly and set up camp close to the Toulouse line but their defence was too powerful and again forced a scrum which they would use to clear the danger, back came the visitors but a missed Romain Ntamack drop goal and Ramos penalty saw them unable to extend their lead by the hour mark.

Out of nowhere Toulouse kicked clear into the Munster half and immediately pulled on the pressure, which forced another penalty as Munster were penalised for not releasing, straight in front of the posts Ramos would make no mistakes.

Munster needed to dig deep in the final few minutes to salvage something from the game, Carbery again providing the only scores of the tie for Munster landing another penalty, they were handed another life line a short while later as Antonine Dupont was sent to the sin bin.

It would not matter in ten long run as the French side slowed the tempo in those final minutes to see the clock tick down for an impressive victory on Shannonside.