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Munster were off the pace in Zebre, conceding 42 points.

Munster's leaky defence proves costly on damaging day in Parma

After Saturday’s defeat to Zebre, the province have conceded 11 tries in their opening two URC fixtures.

BEFORE FOCUSING ON what went wrong for Munster yesterday, it’s important to give credit to Zebre for what was a fully deserved victory at the Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi. 

The Italians were rooted to the bottom of the URC table last season, winning just one of their 18 fixtures, but just two weeks into the new campaign they’ve produced an historic result which highlights the good work being done at the club.

Zebre had lost all of their previous 20 games against Munster but changed the script in emphatic fashion yesterday, putting six tries and over 40 points on Graham Rowntree’s men. 

The home side out-fought and out-played their visitors, delivering on head coach Massimo Brunello’s call for his players to be more ruthless following their opening weekend loss to Cardiff.

They were physical at the breakdown – winning eight turnovers to Munster’s one – committed in defence and sharp in attack. It was a highly encouraging afternoon for Brunello, who joined Zebre over the summer following four years with the Italy U20s, where he oversaw historic wins against England, France and South Africa. Now he has another to add to his CV.

zebre-players-and-management-celebrate-after-the-game Zebre celebrate a famous win. Luca Sighinolfi / INPHO Luca Sighinolfi / INPHO / INPHO

For Munster, it was a deeply disappointing day and one of their poorest performances during Graham Rowntree’s time in charge.

Having recovered from a slow start to lead by 13 points at half-time, Munster were blown away in the second period, the Italians running in 24 points without reply.

Speaking on RTÉ after the game, former Munster and Ireland second row Donncha O’Callaghan labelled the display “totally unacceptable”, adding the players should be “embarrassed” about their efforts.

The post-match review will be a painful watch.

Individual errors played a part in Munster’s collapse but more concerning was how lethargic the province looked throughout.

Munster’s defence was far too soft, with players slipping off tackles and being bullied in contact, while the Munster pack were dominated at the breakdown.

With Munster chasing the game, the speed of Zebre’s play cut their defence open with ease – the excellent Jacopo Trulla beating six defenders and making four clean breaks on his way to scoring two tries, while lively scrum-half Alessandro Fusco – who also bagged a brace – topped the stats with 75 metres made.  

After last weekend’s rollercoaster win against Connacht, Munster have now conceded 11 tries and 75 points in just two games. Those are alarming numbers for a team who leaked just 38 tries in their 18 regular season games last season – a figure only bettered by Glasgow (35).

jeremy-loughman-dejected-after-the-game Munster's Jeremy Loughman.

Munster have reason to believe they can iron those issues out in the coming weeks. Rowntree has key internationals to welcome back in Jack Crowley and Tadhg Beirne, while an early-season string of injuries has left the province light on options in the backline.

With Billy Burns ruled out for the Zebre trip, Tony Butler started just his fourth game at 10 for Munster. The absence of Alex Nankivell saw Shane Daly start a competitive game at centre for the first time since November 2018, with Rory Scannell and Liam Coombes among the centre options unavailable through injury.

With yesterday’s sluggish start not dissimilar to the Connacht game, Munster are perhaps undercooked following a shortened pre-season. The province opted for just two warm-up games ahead of the new campaign, with Rowntree citing the potential for injuries as a key factor in not adding a third run-out.

The Munster boss felt the reduced schedule would stand to his players as the season progressed, but such is the level of competition in the URC now that dropped points in the opening rounds can prove costly later in the year.

As for the here and now, Munster need to tighten up their defence ahead of an important run of games.

Next weekend’s home game against the Ospreys – who beat the Stormers on Saturday after an opening day defeat to the Dragons – offers an opportunity to get back to winning ways before the season really starts to heat up.

In just two weeks, Munster go to Croke Park to take on a Leinster side who having been running in tries without hitting top gear, and are also set to welcome big hitters like Caelan Doris, Tadhg Furlong and RG Snyman back into the fold.

How Munster respond to yesterday’s harrowing experience in Parma could set the tone for the rest of their season.

Updated at 12.15 with correct Ospreys results.

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    Mute Tony Reeves
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    Sep 29th 2024, 11:12 AM

    Our defense is absolutely shocking, we got away with it last week against Connacht because we outscored them but obviously no attention to it during the week as 11 tries in 2 games highlights

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    Mute Reespdr
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    Sep 29th 2024, 11:21 AM

    Ospreys beat the Stormers 37-24

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    Mute Mick Joe
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    Sep 29th 2024, 1:35 PM

    It’s a reality check for all Munster supporters. Everybody knows that there are massive massive issues there. Yes they won the URC a couple of years ago but got a player like POM to only have one domestic trophy is absolutely criminal. Especially if you consider the large budget that the IRFU have afforded them. Rowntree is not the answer lads….yes he might fluke a couple of results here and there….but if you want proper success then you need a new manager and a new mentality

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    Mute Brenda Collins
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    Sep 29th 2024, 8:47 PM

    @Mick Joe: a wake up call? In what way? TheURC win was no fluke – they did it the hard way (maybe the hardest way), with a poor start to the season and requires to pull off away wins against good sides in the latter part of the season. They’re playing the most promising attacking rugby we’ve seen from any Munster team in a decade. But sure, rowntree isn’t it. lol.

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    Mute kieran horgan
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    Sep 29th 2024, 10:02 AM

    Squad depth is a real issue. If you’re constantly injured you’re no use to the team.

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    Mute TL55
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    Sep 29th 2024, 10:22 AM

    @kieran horgan: Agreed the likes of Hurley, L Coombes, Kilcoyne and Salanoa have been constantly on the treatment table for some time. If Munster are paying them it’s limiting the ability to pay others who might stay fit. We’ve 6 points from 2 games which isn’t a disaster but the poor decision making by experienced players yesterday is worrying.

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    Mute Thesaltyurchin
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    Sep 29th 2024, 11:22 AM

    @kieran horgan: Few eyebrows raised in Dennis Leamys direction would be warranted.

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    Mute Michael Corkery
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    Sep 29th 2024, 11:36 AM

    @kieran horgan: we started the season with an already long injury list carried over from last season. We’re already after losing at least 5 more (mainly backs) to injury in recent weeks (for how long?). Is it down only to bad luck? It’s telling that Rowntree decided not to play a 3rd pre-season game giving the risk of injury as a primary reason for that. I think there must be alarm bells going off in the S&C dept.

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    Mute Thesaltyurchin
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    Sep 29th 2024, 11:25 AM

    We’ve flapped into the season in 4th gear, the lesson about intensity should have been learned in that first 20 minutes against Connacht last week ffs, not sure how certain players will last beyond this season. Lineout was pathetic, 5 metres out and no one has a clue whats going on??… in my time if you dropped a ball you carried it everywhere with you for a week.

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    Mute Tim Murphy
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    Sep 30th 2024, 11:41 AM

    We also conceded 5 tries in the last warm up game, against Gloucester-all in the first half- and then Gloucester took off 14 members of their first team.
    That’s 16 tries conceded in 21/2 games- just awful.

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