O'Connell pushes Munster forward

O'Connell was man-of-the-match for his dominant performance, and his delightg at being the first side to qualify for the Heineken Cup quarter-finals was clear.

He said: "We just really wanted it. We put a lot of ourselves into it this week. There's been a lot of talk about Thomond Park in the last few weeks, a lot of opposing players talking about playing here.

"The crowd are fabulous here but they don't do anything for you on the pitch - you have to do that yourself. We filled the jersey well today."

Irish flank David Wallace scored his sides third try of the night just 26 second into the second period, a score his captain admits was a great momentum shifter.

"Every team in the world goes in at half-time whether you are behind or ahead and the clich is to make the first score - be it a three pointer, five pointer or a seven pointer. That first score is vital.

"I'm sure Sale were saying the same thing in their dressing room. Donncha (O'Callaghan) caught Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe with a good turnover and Wally (David Wallace) did what he's been doing all year then. That five points was massive."

Philippe Saint-Andre's men briefly flirted with the idea of a comeback when Charlie Hodgson scored a try midway through the second half but O'Connell insists his side never panicked and knew exactly what they needed to do to wrap up the win.

"I don't think we did [panic] - I think we threw away a good lead and we knew we needed to play down there.

"Attacking them was the best form of defence for us, playing down there putting them under pressure, making them defend and taking it out of their legs. Defending is the hardest thing on your fitness and that's what we did from that try."