Munster head coach Clayton McMillan identified his side\u2019s shortage of \u2018starch\u2019 in the physicality stakes as a key reason for their loss to Connacht at the Dexcom Stadium in Galway on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Connacht dominated from the outset and clinched a 26-7 bonus-point victory with Ben Murphy, Shayne Bolton, Shamus Hurley-Langton and Sean Jansen crossing for tries for the hosts while Craig Casey scored Munster\u2019s only five-pointer.<\/p>\n
Still not certain of a play-off spot<\/p>\n
Munster<\/a> were hoping to secure their play-off berth with a win, but their loss means they drop down to sixth position in the United Rugby Championship<\/a> standings with 51 points amassed from 17 matches played.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Connacht<\/a>, who occupy ninth position in the table, still have a chance of reaching the last eight as they have 49 points after also completing 17 matches.<\/p>\n McMillan<\/a> couldn\u2019t hide his disappointment but did not mince his words when asked for his thoughts on his side\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n \u201cGot beaten by a better team on the night,\u201d he said after the match. \u201cAlways knew it was going to be tough coming here, a tough team to play at home on a decent roll over the last couple of months.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can see their confidence in their game and they were high stakes, you know, win and we were in, and lose they were out.<\/p>\n \u201cWe challenged our guys to make sure their motivation wasn\u2019t any stronger than ours but it was, because you see that in the collisions.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought they had a little bit more starch in their collisions than we did and that allowed them to play on the front foot and it\u2019s the sort of game that serves the rest of their game well. So, we applaud them for that.\u201d<\/p>\n Connacht v Munster: Five takeaways as \u2018crazy decision\u2019 fires up debate but \u2018error-prone visitors\u2019 have no excuses for \u2018lame\u2019 loss<\/a><\/p>\n Disallowed try hurt Munster<\/p>\n Although the home side held the upper hand for long periods, McMillan feels a disallowed try from Alex Kendellen \u2013 for a borderline handling error \u2013 early in the second half, was a crucial moment in the grander scheme of things.<\/p>\n