Munster were heroic in defeat as they were narrowly edged out by New Zealand at Thomond Park.
Munster, missing most of their first team regulars, came within five minutes of recording a famous victory and only a late Joe Rokocko try denied them.
Leading 16-13 with five minutes on the clock, a dubious call from the referee against Mick O'Driscoll for coming into the ruck from the side gave the All Blacks a penalty that was kicked deep into Munster territory.
From the line-out Rokocoko broke away from Doug Howlett's tackle and with the Peter Stringer as the last line of defence, the All Black wing crashed over to break Munster hearts.
Munster, roared on by a capacity crowd at Thomond Park hoping to witness a repeat of the famous 1978 win over the All Blacks, got off to a great start.
Paul Warwick opened the scoring in the eighth minute with a 47-metre penalty after New Zealand were penalised for going over the top at a ruck.
But Denis Leamy, whose night was prematurely ended by injury, infringed from the restart, allowing Donald to draw the tourists level.
Donald looked dangerous with ball in hand but Munster's tackling was solid and Peter Stringer drew admiration for thwarting a right-wing surge from Rokocoko.
Helped by their vocal backing, Munster grew in stature and enjoyed an excellent spell midway through the half.
Two aerial attacks, with Niall Ronan and Rua Tipoki regaining possession, had the All Blacks on the back foot. Donald coughed up a penalty and Warwick sneaked a left-sided kick over for 6-3.
The Australian number 10 followed up with a stunning drop goal after another lively spurt of attacking play from Munster.
However, the home side were brought back to earth with the concession of a 23rd-minute try.
Isaia Toeava was involved twice after a costly Munster turnover and Donald was able to dart in behind the posts.
He converted for a 10-9 lead and Henry's men suddenly looked to be getting a grip on the game, albeit with Donald missing a kickable penalty.
The Munster pack heaped pressure on the New Zealand scrum six minutes before the interval, allowing Ronan to hack the ball on and Donald had to dive to foil the home side.
Their resistance did not last long however, and from the resulting five-metre scrum James Coughlan broke and fed Stringer who managed to offload and send Barry Murphy over on the right for a superb try.
Warwick converted and Munster weathered a storm to take a six-point buffer into the second half, which predictably began amid a torrent of New Zealand pressure.
The All Blacks came out strongly and Munster required a vital tackle by Murphy on Jamie Mackintosh to avoid what looked a certain try.
After a Tipoki infringement Donald cut the gap to 16-13 and the All Blacks should really have steadied themselves with penalties after 50 and 56 minutes, but Donald missed both.
Munster tried desperately to cling on but eventually the match-winning score arrived through Rokocoko.
Munster: D Howlett; B Murphy, R Tipoki, L Mafi, I Dowling; P Warwick, P Stringer; F Pucciariello, F Sheahan, T Ryan; M O'Driscoll (captain), D Ryan; J Coughlan, N Ronan, D Leamy.
Replacements: D Fogarty, T Buckley, M Melbourne, B Holland, J O'Sullivan, M Prendergast, J Manning.
New Zealand: C Jane; H Gear, A Tuitavake, I Toeava, J Rokocoko; S Donald, P Weepu (captain); J Mackintosh, C Flynn, B Franks, R Filipo, J Eaton, A Thomson, S Waldrom, L Messam.
Replacements: H Elliott, J Afoa, B Thorn, K Read, A Mathewson, R Kahui, M Muliaina.
