Sharks boss beaming after knocking out Munster

"Credit must go to the team for the way they turned it around after the disappointment of the Scarlets game," he said of Saturday's 50-35 victory.

"It was a great performance from an attacking point of view, but we do set high standards of ourselves on defence, so conceding that number of tries in that last 20 minutes was disappointing and that's something we will need to fix if we want to go further in this competition."

The game was evenly poised at half-time, but the KwaZulu-Natal outfit really came out and blew their Irish opponents away in a dominant third quarter.

"Everyone was really positive after the first half, we had some good chats at the half-time break about the things we wanted to do a bit better and the guys really responded," he explained.

"The energy in the first 20 minutes of the game was really good and we got dominance in all the contact areas; we asked them for the same in the second half.

"We also wanted to be more clinical in our individual roles, missing one or two tackles or aerial balls we could have taken, and the guys really reacted well to what was said at half-time and came out with really good energy levels."

Powell acknowledged that Munster came back well at times, particularly in the first half.

"They kept us pinned in our own half after we scored that second try and we couldn't get out, and with that pressure we then conceded a second try," he added.

"It was a period when we lost a bit of energy too. Munster are a good team, they will punish you, especially if you're not clinical enough in your own half, that was something we knew going into the game."

Defensive errors are sometimes a consequence of the kind of pressure defence the Sharks exerted on Munster – to good effect.

Two intercept tries came about because Munster were under pressure and trying to move the ball away too quickly from the contact areas, but the risk sometimes took its toll when there was space out wide.

"That's something we have to get right," Powell admitted.

"To put pressure on the ball but also to be better on our defensive width and how we defend out wide. I don't think we were good enough, we do have high standards and set the bar high.

"Obviously we will celebrate this win, but we do need to look at our defence and be better if we want to get through the next one."

Stade Toulousain's 33-9 victory over the Vodacom Bulls means the Cell C Sharks travel to Toulouse for Saturday's quarter-final clash.

"It won't be easy and we all know that when you get to the knock-out stages, you have to be a lot more accurate, there is little room for mistakes and if you do make any, the opposition will punish you for that.

"With this being our first year in the competition, we've tried to create some hype and excitement around being in the European Championship.

"The vibe, energy and culture around this tournament is exciting but we know the further we progress, the tougher it's going to get and how much more clinical and disciplined we will need to be."