ANOTHER disappointing defeat has put Munster into serious risk of not making the last eight and dropping out of the qualifiers in this season’s URC.
Now, the aim is surely to get a winning bonus point at Cardiff on Friday (7.35pm).
Only two fixtures are to follow: Ulster in Limerick and Benetton in Cork.
Lady Luck has certainly not been smiling on the Munster side and the misalliance of irregularities against the Bulls was a real muddle.
First, there was the withdrawal of both Craig Casey (sick) and Peter O’Mahony (hamstring) after taking part in the warm-up, and then followed injuries to Oli Jager and Stephen Archer, followed by a claim that the Bulls’ try should have been disallowed.
There were then uncontested scrums and the removal of Alex Kendellen in error who was recalled soon after.
In between there was a mighty battle between two very physical teams, both of which had only victory on their minds, and it was the Bulls’ first time to register a win against the home side.
“There were too many elements in our performance that weren’t where we expect them to be, and we have to take that on the chin,” home coach Ian Costello admitted.
The fixture at The Arms Park will be another tough one for Munster who are now suffering from a long list of injuries.
Both sides are hungry for points but with Cardiff facing two away games in South Africa to finish their league campaign, against the Bulls and the Stormers, they will be treating this tie as very important indeed.
Munster must get a victory here to avoid three defeats in a row, but if they can field a strong side, they should be too strong for Matt Sherratt’s side.
