Two weeks is a long time in sport. Things were looking up for Munster after they recorded a derby win over Leinster in the Rabo Pro 12 but this weekend they toiled in Edinburgh and ended up losing, denting their Heineken Cup chances.
Irish Times rugby correspondent Gerry Thornley and former Munster and Ireland star Keith Wood took up their usual spots in Off The Ball's Wednesday Night Rugby pack and analysed Munster's poor performance against their Scottish opponents.
Thornley cited attitude and emotion as the most important factors.
"There's less blame towards the gameplan this time around. It seemed to me more a question of mental attitude and application. I've been to Murrayfield. Bar Six Nations games, it's a soulless place but at half one on Saturday it was cavernous, funereal and library-like. It's not the most inspiring place," said Thornley.
"I think there was an element of Munster investing so much emotion in 'we're not going to let Leinster beat us' and we're so committed physically to that match, that they weren't plugging holes defensively [against Edinburgh]. It was extraordinary to see a lineout with Paul O'Connell malfunction as it did. I just think they weren't quite at it mentally. It might have something to do with the fact that they are a young side. But when they got the two tries to come back, I thought they would come back and win by a bonus point. A vintage Munster side would have got the bonus point."
Munster's Paul O'Connell loses out in the line out to Sean Cox of Edinburgh ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan
Thornley, who also said head coach Rob Penney will not be able to criticise the players publicly again for a few months, felt the lack of direct running during phases of the match - a la the Munster of old - cost them at times, with all the play taking place in front of Edinburgh rather than any engagement of the opposition line.
Wood felt the gameplan was the biggest issue for Rob Penney, particularly citing substitutions that disrupted Munster's flow.
"I definitely think the substitutions interrupted the flow of the game. Munster weren't playing particularly well but got themselves back. Ian Keatley had struggled a little bit at the start but had managed to take a level of control. The sudden influx of so many players and moving Keatley back to 15 destabilized the team a little bit. But Munster weren't playing well in the whole game so I don't know if that was the be all and end all. I thought they were off the pace."
Thornley and Wood also reserved praise for the "wounded animal" that was Leinster against Ospreys and Thornley believes Ulster's concession of a bonus point to Leicester Tigers could be crucial at the end of the pool stage.
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