Munster secured a passage to the Heineken Champions Cup quarter-finals with a brutally hard-fought win over a defiant Exeter outfit in Thomond Park on Saturday evening.
In a suffocating and highly physical encounter which was riddled with handling errors, Munster needed a late penalty from Joey Carbery to eke out a 9-7 victory.
Munster started brightly but Don Armand's 12th-minute try after a perfectly executed lineout maul saw Exeter go into the lead and Simmonds slipped over the conversion.
Carbery reduced the gap to a single point ten minutes later but amazingly that was the second last score of the game on 22 minutes.
The scoreboard remained the same for the next 50 minutes of play with Munster having to survive the odd scare, being rescued at one stage by a terrific Billy Holland steal from a Exeter lineout close to the home side's try-line.
The third quarter was effectively a stalemate with neither side able to make a breakthrough. Munster were guilty of some loose kicking, giving Jack Nowell opportunities to counter past halfway, and Exeter, who continued to have the better of the breakdown battle, carried the more consistent threat with ball in hand.
The visitors, who needed to win while denying Munster a losing bonus point, consistently turned down three-point opportunities in favour of pinging the ball into the corner.
Munster created practically zero try-scoring opportunities with Exeter's aggressive defensive line and furious work at the breakdown stalling any momentum.
An Andrew Conway kick-chase finally opened up the Exeter defence in the 60th minute, only for Conor Murray to take the wrong option from a turnover as he was crowded out in the right corner.
Winger Conway pressed again from a chip-kick soon after, but ever-influential Australian White showed his class with a terrific touchfinder that moved the visitors back into try-scoring range.
For their part, the home side's defence also delivered at the key moments, with Tadhg Beirne executing a series of turnovers during a fraught second half.
It was after one of these that Munster kicked for touch before being illegally spoiled at the lineout. With under eight minutes remaining, Carbery was charged with slotting the crucial kick.
He made no mistake, finally restoring Munster's lead and providing them with a reassuring safety net entering the closing minutes.
The visitors now needed two scores and their morale and urgency appeared to drop and Munster were able to close out a game.
Johann Van Graan will presumably be happy the match is over and done with. His side now faces into what is almost certain to be an away quarter-final, most likely against Edinburgh.
