Following a 31-21 loss to Exeter Chiefs in the EPCR Challenge Cup round of 16 at windy Sandy Park on Saturday, a defeat that was far more damaging than the 10-point margin suggests, here are the Munster player ratings.
Munster player ratings
15 Ben O’Connor: Munster’s five-game losing streak away from home became six at Exeter, and there was little or nothing the full-back could do about it despite being one of his team’s busiest ball carriers. What summed up his afternoon was the needless intercepted pass that cost a 34th-minute try, and then getting tackled into touch just short of the line 23 minutes later. 5
14 Diarmuid Kilgallen: His smash into unplayable Immanuel Feyi-Waboso couldn’t prevent the opening score happening inside him, and it was then the pass that eluded him on 21 minutes which cost the 21st minute second try. A holding on penalty on 56 minutes, with the score at 31-7, was another frustration. 5
13 Tom Farrell: Another who was busy on the ball but without the reward that would have been hoped for, as Munster’s attack was collectively off. 5
12 Alex Nankivell: His attitude on his 50th appearance couldn’t be faulted; check out his try-saving intervention just minutes in. But his usually reliable technique didn’t carry on from there. Was involved in the mess for the Henry Slade try, and then had the ball ripped from him on the floor for the Feyi-Waboso try that left Munster exiting at break 31-0 down. 5
11 Thaakir Abrahams: The potential end-of-season departure didn’t feature here at all. Whereas Feyi-Waboso, the Exeter No.11, left would-be tacklers clutching air and did enough in his 46 minutes to earn the player of the match award, Munster’s South African offered nothing in attack. Even in the 78th minute, there was a turnover given up. 4
10 Jack Crowley: Tried to follow up on last weekend’s excellent show of leadership in Pretoria with a half-decent start. That evaporated as quickly as his team collectively went down the plug hole in the derisory second part of the first half, but he recalibrated after the interval to individually save face with tries on 50 and 76 minutes. 7
9 Craig Casey: He’s the sort of guy you want in a team going forward, but not in one going backwards. By the time he became an influence in the second half, producing moments such as an excellent 50:22, the result was long beyond Munster as Stephen Varney was the pick of the nines. 5
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The forwards
8 Gavin Coombes: Apart from one excellent break on 17 minutes, where he sped through a hole and found Crowley in support, and a 38th-minute penalty turnover win 10 minutes before his substitution, there was little else to write home about. Let’s just say it’s been quite the comedown since that infamous salute to the crowd when beating Leinster in the URC last October. 5
7 Alex Kendellen: Tried to carry, but his impact was irrelevant. Let’s just say that in Italian international Ross Vintcent that Exeter had by far the way better No.7. 5
6 Jack O’Donoghue: Looked leggy, played leggy but was allowed to play on despite the multiple changes taking place early in the second half. Munster’s moniker is ‘Stand Up and Fight’ but too many, such as O’Donoghue, are standing up and fighting in matches long after the substantial damage has been sustained on the scoreboard. This was another example. 5
5 Tadhg Beirne (c): Similar to Crowley, he tried to provide oomph in the early stages. There was a superb poach to alleviate an early siege and then a canny deflection to deny Exeter a third try on 24 minutes. There was a try scored on 69 minutes with Chiefs having just copped a yellow card, but Beirne received one himself just five minutes later for a deliberate knock-on to cap his team’s frustrating defeat. 6
4 Edwin Edogbo: Having had his Ireland debut in February, the hopes are high for him to now kick on, but he was ineffectual here when the pressure was at its most intense in the first half. Rebounded in the second half with his team fighting to stave off a complete hiding, so it wasn’t all a disappointment. 5
3 John Ryan: It was a scrum penalty that ignited the pressure for the first Exeter try and although he did get some tackles in, it was generally downhill from there for the veteran, who exited on 48 minutes. 5
2 Lee Barron: His time at Munster since joining from Leinster has lacked flow and accuracy, and there was further evidence here. Check out his poor coverage on the try-scoring Vintcent, and also the soft infringement that gave Exeter three penalty points midway through the first half. 4
1 Jeremy Loughman: Similar to Ryan, he did try to help the defence. However, it was his early scrum collapse that had his team defending on the five metre out of touch and while they got away with that situation, it was a sign of bad things to follow. 5
Replacements: Five sub forwards – Niall Scannell, Michael Milne, Michael Ala’alatoa, Ruadhan Quinn and John Hodnett – were sent on just before Munster finally got on the scoreboard 10 minutes into the second half. There was a scrum penalty win on 54 minutes, and energy levels duly ratcheted up to help the team avoid an even worse defeat. The other three subs arrived on 70 minutes with the score at 31-14, but nothing came of this late tactic. 6