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.
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).
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 are winless from games against the Dragons and Stormers – offers a good 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.
