O'Connell was appearing in his first RaboDirect PRO12 game of the season and marked his return with a try after just ten minutes to set the Irish side on their way to a first win since early February.
But the second row insisted although he was pleased with his personal performance, Munster didn't quite have the tenacity to secure an elusive bonus point that would have taken them closer to the Ospreys, who currently occupy that fourth play-off spot.
"You just can't beat a competitive game," said O'Connell. "I have worked hard in training but a match is different. It was great to get 80 minutes under my belt. I just need to sharpen up a bit. It was good to get a try as well, it's been a few seasons.
"The lads have been working incredibly hard and probably have not got the reward they deserve over the last few games. We got that reward at the start in this one, the first 10 to 15 minutes was real high tempo but we didn't do it for the 80 minutes.
"That was frustrating, that we didn't build on that very good start. But it is great to be back, there is a great buzz and all I want to do is play."
63x46.png){kind=logo}