TINY EVENTS CAN make a huge difference, reflected Johann van Graan, the Munster coach, as he plucked the positives out of a frustratingly close defeat in Glasgow.

“Two good teams going at it in poor conditions, we are happy with the bonus point,” he added.

In the end, missed conversion by 22-year-old Jack Crowley a few minutes after coming off the bench only cost his side a single point, turning a potential draw into a 13-11 defeat.

They are, however, still in a good position to hunt silverware with home games against Edinburgh and the Dragons next on the schedule. They are fifth in the United Rugby Championship table but have a game in hand plus a points difference advantage over three of the teams above them.

“The conditions were tough for both teams and there were mistakes on both sides,” he added. “They scored from a charge down kick and that made all the difference.

“For us it was a chance to give some more game time to some young players and we will reap the benefits of that. The likes of Alex Kendellen, Paddy Patterson, Jack Crowley and Jack Hodnett got game time and will learn from experiences like that. I think we have used 58 players this season, which is a lot.”

He refused to blame Crowley for the miss, preferring to point out that there had been other opportunities to take the game and there was a degree of pure bad luck in the try they conceded. Though Scott Cummings did well with the charge down, he was fortunate that the ball landed straight in front of him and that he was able to reach the line despite being tackled well short.

The rest of the game was dominated by the weather. “It was cold, windy and wet, which made it hard to move the ball,” van Graan pointed out.

“They were tough conditions. There is still plenty of rugby to play this season, and we are still very much still in it.”