Shipping six tries and more than 50 points as Munster had done in Glasgow nine days earlier hardly did much for their prospects.
The fact that the thrashing ended any realistic hope of Munster finishing in the play-off zone for the RaboDirect PRO12 title merely emphasised the demoralising sense of their journey home from the Clyde.
And yet, of all the teams in all the world, Munster surely stand alone as the one that can never be written off, especially in Europe.
When it comes to defending their honour in tight corners far from the comfort of their fortress in Limerick, nobody does it better.
They say that one man doesn't make a team but Paul O'Connell goes close and he can never have been closer than over the course of 80 minutes at Harlequins, a classic case, if ever there was one, of Stooping to conquer.
O'Connell's iron will, Ronan O'Gara's perennial capacity for landing the pressure goals, the rejuvenation process as symbolised by, among others, Peter O'Mahony, Tommy O'Donnell and Simon Zebo, all conspire to make Munster difficult even for the very best.
The bigger the occasion, the more difficult they are liable to be.
While Clermont fit the bill of supremacy in many respects, they will be acutely aware that the Irish province now standing between them and their first final in Europe's premier event is equipped with another quality which almost defies definition - the Munster Mystique.
It gives them an armour plated protection. The higher they go towards the European summit, the more fire-proof it tends to be.
Clermont, the ultimate home bankers, may have reeled off almost 60 straight wins at their bear pit of a place named after one of the founding fathers of the Michelin tyre empire but they have some previous when it comes to supposedly home semi-finals against the Irish.
Leinster knocked them out this time last year in Bordeaux, the most desperate of desperately close run things decided in the end by the TMO's adjudication that Wesley Fofana did not score what would have been the winning try.
By living to tell the tale, Leinster proved that Clermont were not invincible in France after all, even if the 'home' semi took place some distance away at the Stade Chaban-Delmas.
The same will apply to Munster for their semi-final on Sunday April 27, albeit at a different location. Montpellier's Stade de la Mosson is a 32,000-seater and the Red Army will ensure that it is packed to the rafters. Semi-finals in France for Munster are old hat.
This will be their fifth out of a total of ten, a phenomenal record of consistent achievement matched only by Toulouse.
The odds will be against Munster, not that they would have it any other way. The opposite was the case when they played their most recent semi on the continent, three years ago against Biarritz at the Real Sociedad football stadium across the border in San Sebastian.
In tripping up over the least fancied of the semi-finalists, Munster were not so much undone by a heavy sense of expectation as one man's refusal to be counted out.
Imanol Harinordoquy started the match with a bit of scaffolding around his face to protect the nose he had broken against Racing a fortnight earlier.
He went down at least six times for treatment to rib and knee injuries. He got up every time, held together by an ever increasing amount of bandaging which created an almost mummifying effect. Some people will always bust a gut. Harinordoquy throws in a cracked rib or two for good measure.
He certainly did that day and by the time they helped him off, Munster knew the game was up. This will be their first semi since then, having failed to emerge from the pool stage two years ago and done so last season only to be seen off by Ulster in the quarter-finals at Thomond Park.
It will not bother Munster one iota that Clermont cannot go on qualifying for the last eight and failing to stay the distance to the final. In that respect they have more than paid their dues.
Before last year's semi, they had fallen at the quarter-final stage three times running. This season they have swept all before them, winning seven out of seven.
Munster, by contrast, have got there the hard way. Ever the experts in survival, they lost their opening match against Racing Metro in Paris last October and lost again two months later, to Saracens but, true to form, secured a losing bonus point on each occasion without which they would have finished up in the Amlin Cup, as Leinster have done.
In a neat juxtaposition, or not so neat depending on your allegiance, Leinster have a home Amlin semi against Biarritz at the RDS.
If it wasn't what they had in mind at the start of a season which brought the prospect of an unprecedented Heineken hat-trick, the tie puts them in serious contention for another European title.
As luck would have it, the two RaboDirect teams left on the European stage collide this weekend on PRO12 business at Thomond Park.
Leinster, with Brian O'Driscoll available again and Jonny Sexton also close to a return, need a win if they are to prevent Glasgow and Ulster from claiming home ties in the top four play-offs next month.
Both are in action on Friday evening against Welsh opposition. Glasgow, swept to the top on a flood of 40 tries from their last nine matches, are in Llanelli to face a Scarlets team motivated by their frantic race against the neighbouring Ospreys for the fourth play-off spot.
Ulster welcome the Dragons to Ravenhill, no doubt anxious to shake off any hangover from last weekend.
For the second season in a row, Ulster found Twickenham a step too far. Losing there to a Leinster team at the peak of their power in last year's final was no disgrace but falling short to Saracens in the quarters was not what anyone could have envisaged before Christmas.
Ulster had won 13 in a row until Northampton went to Belfast and won seven days after being thrashed by the same team at Franklin's Gardens.
While they readjust their sights to concentrate on the one prize still up for grabs, the PRO12, Europe offers endless possibilities with only one certainty, that a new pair will meet in the final in Dublin on May 18.
Of the remaining contenders, only Munster know how it feels to win the trophy. The other three, Clermont plus Saracens and Toulon who meet at Twickenham, have yet to make it to the final.
Toulon, with Jonny Wilkinson more prodigious than ever, and Clermont have the ammunition to make Dublin's final an all-French affair, like the last one ten years ago.
But, as Vern Cotter says: "In rugby, you just never know what can happen."
He can say that again, especially when Munster are about to come out of the other dressing-room. When it comes to an Irish team reaching an Irish final, only a fool will write them off.
All-French finals - 3:
Toulouse-Biarritz (2010), Toulouse-Stade Francais (2005), Toulouse-Perpignan (2003).
Anglo-Irish finals - 4:
Leinster-Northampton (2011), Leinster-Leicester (2009), Leicester-Munster (2002), Northampton-Munster (2000).
Anglo-French finals - 4:
Wasps-Toulouse (2004), Leicester-Stade Francais (2001), Bath-Brive (1998), Brive-Leicester (1997).
Irish-French finals - 3:
Munster-Toulouse (2008), Munster-Biarritz (2006), Ulster-Colomiers (1999).
Munster's semi-final record:
2010: Lost to Biarritz in San Sebastian.
2009: Lost to Leinster at Croke Park.
2008: Beat Saracens at Coventry.
2006: Beat Leinster at Lansdowne Road.
2004: Lost to Wasps at Lansdowne Road.
2003: Lost to Toulouse at Toulouse.
2002: Beat Castres at Beziers.
2001: Lost to Stade Francais in Paris.
2000: Beat Toulouse in Bordeaux.
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