Graham Rowntree praised his side's ability to dig deep in order to get back to winning ways in the BKT United Rugby Championship.

The defending champions recovered from last week's tough loss to Ulster in Belfast as they edged out the Stormers 10-3 over a tense 80 minutes at Thomond Park.

Munster were held scoreless in the second half as they played into a strong wind in Limerick, and while their scrum came under huge pressure, the hosts were able to rely on an impressive defense, with Gavin Coombes in particular managing to hold Stormers number 8 Evan Roos over the line on two separate occasions.

"We scrapped it out, didn't we?" Rowntree said after the narrow win.

"We scrapped it out in conditions that were actually worse than people would have seen on TV."

The game came at a cost to the province with Peter O'Mahony withdrawn at half-time with a shoulder injury, while his replacement Jack O'Donoghue also picked up an ankle injury which will need to be assessed.

The province led 10-0 at the break after a try for Edwin Edogbo, while Jack Crowley added a conversion and a penalty. They could have put some daylight between the sides just after the 50-minute mark when Edogbo came close to scoring a second try, but after the second row was stopped short of the line, Munster were penalised for not releasing.

"It would have taken us to 17-3 but no, we’re back on our own goal-line, fighting for our lives," Rowntree (above) added.

"They kept going for the scrum, I’m proud of Josh Wycherley, he dug in there. We knew they’d have some scrum power – their last two defeats they’ve been on top in the scrum, particularly in Glasgow against a very good scrum. So we knew they’d have power there, so we stuck in there.

"We scrapped it out there, I wasn’t gushing afterwards but we’ll have a look at what we can do better on Monday morning, see what bodies we can pick for next week."

As well as O'Mahony, Tadhg Beirne and Conor Murray both returned with impressive performances. Beirne's physicality was matched with his experience in the lineout where he picked off a steal in the first half, while Murray's control of the game in the final quarter was invaluable in seeing out the win.

"It's their calming influence. Both of them are calm players. They are exactly what they are. That was the version of themselves, that’s why they play so well for Ireland. They were good.

"We’ve got young men still learning, getting better, what an experience for Shay McCarthy, fielding those high balls. I’m proud of them, they’ll be better for it.

"There were areas we had to do better and we've had a good look at ourselves this week. And the same areas are going to keep occurring. We had the fastest ruck last year and it helped our game and people are coming after our ruck."