Chris Paterson marked his competitive return for Edinburgh by kicking five penalty goals but it was not enough to prevent Munster from making a winning start to their Magners League campaign, with both Keith Earls and David Wallace crossing the Murrayfield whitewash.

Paterson, making his first start for the Gunners since April 2007, was in fine place-kicking form but the hosts, expected to fire after pre-season wins over Wasps and Bath, failed to live up to their billing.

With both teams taking their time to get to grips with both the ELVs and the conditions, European champions Munster came to the fore particularly during the opening half.

There were switches on both sides before kick-off as knee injury victim Simon Webster had to be replaced by Mark Robertson and with prop John Hayes ruled out with a sore throat, Federico Pucciariello deputised for him in the Munster front row.

Edinburgh started in business-like fashion, continuing where they left off last May when they concluded the season with three straight league wins.

Paterson, back from his spell with Gloucester, knocked over an early penalty to get his 150th game for Edinburgh off to a flying start.

But the hosts were rocked in the fourth minute when Keith Earls made use of an overlap to score on the left, after some excellent pick-and-go stuff from the Munster forwards.

Ronan O’Gara added the conversion to put Munster 7-3 in front, yet Edinburgh were back just a point in arrears by the end of the first quarter thanks to Paterson’s right boot.

The Edinburgh ace landed his second penalty of the night, in between two misses from O’Gara at the other end.

As the rain began to pelt down, Munster were able to get a firmer grasp on the game as they played off Edinburgh’s errors and struck clinically for their second try.

The Scots, who already have quite a considerable injury list, suffered another considerable blow when their blindside flanker Alan MacDonald was forced off with a hip injury.

With gaps appearing in the Edinburgh defence, David Wallace slipped through for a fine Munster try coming off the back of a well-constructed move which saw both Paul O’Connell and Doug Howlett making telling breaks into space.

O’Gara converted and swapped further penalties with Paterson but Edinburgh ended the half in good stead, albeit with a 17-9 deficit to overcome.

Andy Robinson’s men showed more attacking intent and their mood was lifted when number 8 Allister Hogg powered clear on a ground-guzzling burst.

He was grounded near the Munster 22 and with Marcus Horan whistled up for spoiling possession at the ruck, Munster were cut to 14 men.

Munster’s defence at the ensuing scrum was stout and they held out to take an eight-point buffer into the second period.

Edinburgh were certainly becoming more competitive and they almost snuck over for a try, eight minutes after the restart.

Phil Godman launched a high kick which dropped down over the visitors’ try line.

Nick De Luca soared to claim the ball ahead of Howlett, the pair fell to the ground together but despite decent shouts for a try, referee James Jones ruled the effort out after the input of television match official Iain Ramage.

A scrappy spell then ensued as the hour mark approached. Paterson and O’Gara both kicked one out of two penalty attempts each to nudge the scoreline to 20-12.

This was a stop-start encounter and there was another hold-up as O’Connell had a try ruled out by Jones and Ramage.

Edinburgh still had plenty of fight in them, even if a losing bonus point was to be their only reward.

David Callam made a surging break which caught the imagination of the crowd. He made it into the Munster 22 but the support was slow in arriving and the Scots missed out on a very good scoring opportunity.

Munster coach Tony McGahan, in his first competitive game in charge, emptied the bench as he brought experienced players like Mick O’Driscoll, Frankie Sheahan and Peter Stringer into the fray, as well as newcomer Justin Melck.

Paterson did make it a five-point game with his final penalty of the night, chalking up that bonus point.

Nonetheless, wily Munster were just too streetwise for the home side with Robinson admitting as much after the final whistle.