AFTER A GAME in which Munster led for 65 minutes, the province had to settle for a losing bonus point in their URC opener, with Glasgow Warriors finishing on top to claim a hard-earned 26-20 win at Thomond Park.
There were positives in Munster’s display – including some sharp strike plays and a strong scrum showing in the first half – before Clayton McMillan’s side ran out of steam while Glasgow hit their stride on the home stretch.
“In the end, I think it became a game of territory and possession and generating pressure off that,” said McMillan.
“In the second half, definitely, they had the lion’s share of that and probably took away a little bit of our legs.
“But I was pretty proud. I think we made 100-odd tackles more than them. We kept bouncing up and going forward and fought right to the end. It wasn’t good enough, but some green shoots there.”
The home side led 17-7 at half-time, striking for tries through Ben O’Connor and Michael Milne, before holding firm during a period of Glasgow pressure just before the break.
“I think that last two or three minutes in the first half shows the character of the group.
“To hold out a team that scored more tries for fun last year. It was probably more disappointing in the first five minutes of the second half, where they scored a try off an error that I thought should have went our way. And then momentum swung and we became an arm-wrestle.”
The error referenced was a knock-on decision which went against the province, Glasgow awarded a scrum penalty when replays showed the ball was spilled forward by Gregor Brown.
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“I think it was a clear knock on that should have went our way,” McMillan said.
Munster's Sean O'Brien with Gregor Hiddleston of Glasgow Warriors. Tom O'Hanlon / INPHO
Tom O'Hanlon / INPHO / INPHO
“And a couple of plays later they’re scoring a corner in the far side. That’s going to happen and at the end of the day we make no excuses.
“They just had the lion’s share of possession at the right part of the field and did enough to keep the points on the board.”
While clearly frustrated to not pick up a win on opening night, McMillan added that he was pleased with some of the “green shoots” in the performance.
“Yeah, definitely. Early on in the game when we had our possession in the right parts of the field, we were able to stress them with our strikes and phase play.
“That’s a reflection of new guys coming in and being really clear about how we want to play. You guys would have got a little bit of an insight to that.
“Possession dried up a little bit, which we’ve already talked about, so we weren’t able to do a hell of a lot more in the second half. But that was nice to see.”
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McMillan sees 'green shoots' as Munster run out of steam against Warriors
AFTER A GAME in which Munster led for 65 minutes, the province had to settle for a losing bonus point in their URC opener, with Glasgow Warriors finishing on top to claim a hard-earned 26-20 win at Thomond Park.
There were positives in Munster’s display – including some sharp strike plays and a strong scrum showing in the first half – before Clayton McMillan’s side ran out of steam while Glasgow hit their stride on the home stretch.
“In the end, I think it became a game of territory and possession and generating pressure off that,” said McMillan.
“In the second half, definitely, they had the lion’s share of that and probably took away a little bit of our legs.
The home side led 17-7 at half-time, striking for tries through Ben O’Connor and Michael Milne, before holding firm during a period of Glasgow pressure just before the break.
“I think that last two or three minutes in the first half shows the character of the group.
“To hold out a team that scored more tries for fun last year. It was probably more disappointing in the first five minutes of the second half, where they scored a try off an error that I thought should have went our way. And then momentum swung and we became an arm-wrestle.”
The error referenced was a knock-on decision which went against the province, Glasgow awarded a scrum penalty when replays showed the ball was spilled forward by Gregor Brown.
“I think it was a clear knock on that should have went our way,” McMillan said.
“And a couple of plays later they’re scoring a corner in the far side. That’s going to happen and at the end of the day we make no excuses.
“They just had the lion’s share of possession at the right part of the field and did enough to keep the points on the board.”
While clearly frustrated to not pick up a win on opening night, McMillan added that he was pleased with some of the “green shoots” in the performance.
“Yeah, definitely. Early on in the game when we had our possession in the right parts of the field, we were able to stress them with our strikes and phase play.
“That’s a reflection of new guys coming in and being really clear about how we want to play. You guys would have got a little bit of an insight to that.
“Possession dried up a little bit, which we’ve already talked about, so we weren’t able to do a hell of a lot more in the second half. But that was nice to see.”
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