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After last weekend's heroics in the Heineken Cup, the Saturday just gone was a sobering one for the Irish provinces.

Munster managed to pick up a win away at Perpignan in the most dramatic fashion via a JJ Hanrahan try at the death.

But ex-Ireland head coach Eddie O'Sullivan and soon-to-be Grenoble chief Bernard Jackman were disappointed by the province's performance when they reviewed this weekend's games on Off The Ball tonight.

Jackman felt Munster "did not play well", while O'Sullivan feels that head coach Rob Penney will be frustrated by the "patchy" form and inability to string together consistently strong 80-minute performances.

But the lads did disagree slightly on the potential of try-scoring hero JJ Hanrahan's potential.

While Jackman rates the 21-year-old as a "versatile and talented" player and "exciting prospect" who he also compared to Ian Madigan because of his "ability to beat people", Eddie O'Sullivan was more cautious:

"At the moment, I don't see him developing because he needs to start playing rugby. I think he needs to start playing at 10. Just because he beat a guy out on the wing on the weekend - and it was fantastic how he stood up to the full back and got around him - I don't think he is an outside centre, winger or full-back. I think he's a fly-half. But the problem is for him to progress his game, he needs to play at fly-half. Hanrahan isn't starting for Munster and as long as he's not starting, it'll be hard for him to develop."

Leinster's Jamie Heaslip dejected after his late error in the match ©INPHO/Billy Stickland

Meanwhile, Leinster were sucker punched by Northampton at the Aviva just a week after winning the away match in Franklins’ Gardens.

Comparing the performance unfavourably to the away match, Jackman felt that Leinster "lacked intensity", were "poor at the collisions", allowing Northampton to "make hay", although he believes that the province will progress from the pool.

O'Sullivan feels "strangling the life out of Leinster" is the way for opposition sides to stop them especially without Sean O'Brien on the field.

Jackman also touched on his new role as head coach of Grenoble which was confirmed last week.

Main image: Stephen Archer, JJ Hanrahan and Donncha Ryan ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan