Long way back if Munster lose to Ulster
Eddie O’Sullivan says Munster’s interprovincial derby against Ulster could be a watershed moment in their season.
Munster fell to their fourth defeat in six games as a patched-up side went down and struggled against Leinster at the Aviva Stadium, where they took a surprise lead after 45 minutes, only to then concede 20 unanswered points as the home side went for a sixth in a row. victory.
Graham Rowntree’s men take on Ulster at Thomond Park on Saturday, live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, in their final game in the opening block of BKT United Rugby Championship fixtures and O’Sullivan believes it could make or break their season.
Speaking on Against The Head, the former Ireland head coach said: “At the moment we don’t know where Munster actually are. We know they’re bedeviled by a terrible injury list, they’ve had poor performances and they’ve got a new coaching team in. There are a lot of variables there that do nothing to stabilize the ship.
“Can they get to a point where we see a progression in their game, which means they’re going in the right direction? I would argue, and it’s hard to say, we haven’t quite seen it yet.
“We’ve seen them step up and put their bodies on the line, which is expected, but they couldn’t break Leinster down last Saturday. Their scores came from two penalties from Leinster ill-discipline and a ball being turned over on the pitch. the ground and hacked up the pitch.
🏉 TRY PATTERN
Cousins join forces, Gavin to Liam, as 14-man Munster take the lead at the Aviva Stadium
📺 👉 https://t.co/b2OI4O7lx9
📱 👉 https://t.co/b0WmWg9xTJ
📻 👉 pic.twitter.com/JsfALYacjy— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) 22 October 2022
“We know Ulster have one of the best back lines in the league, they are very confident and have a decent pack that will match Munster.
“If Munster can thrash Ulster next weekend it will be a big statement. I don’t think anyone expected them to thrash Leinster and it could have been even uglier than it was at the end, but this could be a watershed.
“If they can beat Ulster with a big performance and get all the jobs done, they will have given a statement of intent. For the squad’s confidence as well and given their injury situation, it could be a season-turner.
— If it were to go the other way, it’s a long way back.
“I’ve just told the lads I’m proud of them … we’re going in the right direction” – Munster head coach Grahan Rowntree says he sees continued improvement in his Munster squad pic.twitter.com/ITkOmm4j7e
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) 22 October 2022
Munster sit 11th in the URC table with 11 points from their opening six games and Donal Lenihan fears they could miss out on qualification for next season’s Heineken Champions Cup, which would deal another financial blow to the province.
The former Munster and Ireland lock said: “The concern I would have for Munster is that they were always going to go up to last Saturday’s game on the back of the previous visit to the Aviva [last May] against a second-third team from Leinster [suffering a 35-25 loss which cost them a home quarter-final].
“You can’t be up like that every week. So you have to rely on your natural game and creative spark.
“If they don’t get it right against Ulster, they’ll immediately be back in trouble again. That’s the challenge for them.”
Watch Munster vs Ulster and Ospreys vs Connacht in the BKT United Rugby Championship on Saturday 29 October from 4.45pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player
