IT may be the season to be jolly, but things are not going well for Munster these days.
The weekend Champions Cup second-round home clash with Castres proved to be a highly physical affair that has left the club digging deep into their reserve talent.
On Friday (7.35pm), Ian Costello brings his side to Belfast in search of a victory that could bring them further up the URC league table.
It is a very important game considering that Munster are 11th in the table on 16 points and Ulster just in front with 17 points.
It has been hectic in the recovery room with so many injuries to combat with and while Craig Casey and Abrahams Thaakir are already ruled out, there are fears that props Dian Bleuler and Dave Kilcoyne are also doubts for the trip north.
Not for the first time this season, Munster promised much but failed away from home on Friday. The stats showed that they had just two line-breaks, conceded 17 penalties but scored 100 per cent at scrum time. They had 152 carries to Castres’ 93.
Munster have not been having much joy from Lady Luck in some matches, which was highlighted with the last kick of the ball at Stade Pierre-Fabre.
Jack Crowley’s penalty kick in search of an attacking lineout-maul was slightly overcooked but it came with a cost. Had it been more accurate, the tried and often trusted lineout maul could have resulted with a precious away victory.
It will be interesting to see if Paddy Patterson can take up the role of scrum half over the coming weeks but Casey is a big loss both to the province and the international squad.
With URC and Investec Champions Cup fixtures coming over the next few weeks, Munster will certainly be hoping for minimum injuries.
With a huge fixture list ahead, it’s a huge challenge but Munster have turned their fortunes around to their benefit around this time of the season in the past.
To the brave, nothing is impossible.
