Alasdair Dickinson and Chris Paterson both touched down in the first half, while Scotland winger Simon Webster danced over in the second, as Lynn Howell’s side moved up to third in the Magners League.

Worryingly for Munster fans, their Millennium Stadium heroes looked well below par just over a week before their Pool Four visit to Leicester Tigers.

Munster’s new captain Paul O’Connell, who was rested as a precaution, and fly half Ronan O’Gara, who injured his shoulder after nine minutes, will both have to shake off knocks for that tie.

Edinburgh weathered Munster’s early storm – fit-again centre Barry Murphy made two good incisions – in impressive fashion, although O’Gara’s replacement Eoghan Hickey did bisect the posts with a 40-metre penalty.

Using the wind to pin Munster back, the visitors almost replied with a try as hooker Dougie Hall was just held up. The Edinburgh pack kept their heads and suffocating pressure yielded a 21st-minute try for Dickinson, who plunged over from close range. Paterson added the extras.

The lively running of Tomas O’Leary and Ian Dowling came to nothing as Munster’s handling let them down and their frustrated forwards were being well contained.

Paterson’s opportunistic score, seven minutes before the break, saw him send a delightful chip over Shaun Payne’s head, gather the bouncing ball and romp in under the posts and confirm Edinburgh’s edge.

The Edinburgh skipper converted his own try, handing his side a 14-3 interval lead, and turned Webster’s 46th-minute effort into a seven-pointer as the Scots piled on the pressure.

There was no sign of a white flag from Munster as just four minutes later flanker Denis Leamy crashed in near the posts for Hickey to convert and leave it at 21-10.

Try as they might, the hosts, who remain second-from-bottom in the league, could not find another way to the whitewash and the Scots dug deep to beat Munster for the first time since April 2004 and stretch their current unbeaten run to five games.