O'Gara reflects on a game that was left behind

Pool Five:By rights, no visiting side should be too downcast about coming within a point of the reigning European champions away from home, all the more so after playing so well.

But Munster set their sights higher than that, and having come so close only made their despair in losing all the greater.

Declan Kidney reflected on the two bouts of play that yielded 10 points in two first-half minutes and eight in five second-half minutes coming up to the hour, and concluded: "In terms of scoring they were the vital points. In other aspects I suppose you could say every breakdown was a vital point."

The disappointment was etched on Ronan O'Gara's face: "Yeah, I think that was a game we left behind. At this level of competition small things matter. When we were 10 points ahead, if we'd kicked on and gone 13 or 16 points ahead I felt it was game over," he said, perhaps in part reflecting on his long-range drop-goal attempt when Munster were leading 23-13 early in the second half.

"The quality of the pitch made it a really attacking game and gave plenty of opportunities to both sides. But it's definitely a game we felt we left behind and that's not being disrespectful to Wasps. We played well but we were itching to try and get into drop-goal or penalty range. With the way the pitch was you'd be confident of kicking it."

Aside from the bonus point, the rediscovery of Munster's hard edge, the return to form of so many with World Cup hangovers, one of many pluses was the attacking zest of Lifeimi Mafi, who had a storming first half, and Rua Tipoki in a newly formed New Zealand midfield, and with Doug Howlett to come.

O'Gara clearly revelled in that. "It's an exciting Munster back line to play in. Probably our pack has always been our strength but I enjoyed playing there today. The boys played well so I felt it was an opportunity lost. I'm not saying we're going home with our heads down, but it could have been a big, big win for us today and I don't think too many people would have been complaining if we'd won."

Having doffed his cap to O'Gara's moment of skill for the second Munster try - although lamenting that "someone broke the (defensive) system" in the Tipoki try - Wasps' famed defensive coach, Shaun Edwards, conceded, "We knew they (the two Kiwis) were both going to be immense threats. They're both powerful carriers and they've got magical feet and with Ronan O'Gara inside them you're obviously going to be tested."

Alan Quinlan, understandably chosen as man of the match by Stuart Barnes, shared O'Gara's view: "We competed at every breakdown and we competed at every contact situation. I don't want to criticise the ref but we were baffled by some of the decisions at the breakdown. We felt the tackler was competing for the ball and we didn't get those penalties. We were disappointed with some of those. Obviously we gave away a few silly penalties which helped Wasps' cause. We certainly improved our level of performance and intensity, so we're really disappointed to lose."

Reflecting on the many tight wins they've had, such as the last-ditch victory on opening weekend in Leicester a year ago, Quinlan mused, "We were probably fortunate to get away with a win there but there's a long way to go in the competition and we'll learn from today."

From a Wasps perspective, it was almost a different match. Ian McGeechan, their director of rugby, felt Wasps should have been clear by half-time. "We spilled a few balls in the first half but to come back from 10 points down twice showed a lot of character," he said, before beginning a lengthy debate about interpretations at the breakdown - "being off our feet is not part of our agenda" - as the halo shone above that master of the dark arts Lawrence Dallaglio.

Hugely and genuinely respectful of Munster, the Wasps warhorse clearly enjoyed himself immensely: "I think it was an excellent game of rugby. But it's a tough pool, very tight."

"It's cup rugby from day one, it's knock-out rugby. That's what it is in our group," ventured McGeechan.

Ain't that the truth.