Foley not reaching for panic button yet

Munster 13 Ospreys 17:A SECOND defeat in a row, having won the previous 14, is no cause for panic, according to Munster forwards coach Anthony Foley.

Hopes of gaining some measure of revenge against a Welsh side on Saturday did not materialise at Thomond Park and the day ended as it started with an Irish side unable to deal with the clinical play of their opponents.

Foley said the key now for Munster would be to regroup during the break, get their internationals back on board, and go from there.

Munster enjoyed a perfect start when Danny Barnes charged down a clearance from Hanno Dirksen to score after just two minutes.

But Ospreys, who enjoyed eight penalties to Munster’s four in the opening half, hit back and after Dan Biggar and Ian Keatley swapped penalties, the Ospreys outhalf landed another before the break to leave it 10-6.

It was a fiery and niggly affair and it was no surprise when referee James Jones reached for the pocket after Stephen Archer was again penalised in a scrum four minutes after the restart and Biggar added to Munster’s woe by slotting the penalty from 40 metres.

The Munster response was excellent, with skipper Peter O’Mahony leading the way. They went on the front foot despite being a man down and it took some desperate Ospreys defending to keep their line intact.

It came at a price though for the Welsh with skipper Justin Tipuric getting a yellow card for an infringement spotted by a touch judge. However, Keatley hit the woodwork for the second time with the resultant penalty.

Archer was replaced by BJ Botha and Munster used the extra man to lay siege to the visitors’ line but just when it seemed they would pull away, disaster struck. Ospreys fullback Barry Davies intercepted Mick O’Driscoll’s pass just metres from the line with Munster having an overlap and he sprinted the length of the field. Keatley and Doug Howlett got back to impede him but he fed Richard Fussell who, in turn, put scrumhalf Rhys Webb over for a try after 56 minutes.

Biggar missed the conversion and Munster got another advantage six minutes later when Ospreys dissent saw a penalty on halfway moved forward and Keatley split the posts from 40 metres to leave them 14-13 behind with 18 minutes left.

Ospreys wrapped up the issue when Biggar landed his fourth kick in the final play of the game from 35 metres.

MUNSTER: J Murphy; D Howlett, D Barnes, L Mafi, D Hurley; I Keatley, D Williams; W du Preez, D Fogarty, S Archer; B Holland, M O'Driscoll; D O'Callaghan, N Ronan, P O'Mahony. Replacements: BJ Botha for Archer (53), I Nagle for Holland, M Horan for du Preez (both 61), P Stringer for Williams (67), S Zebo for Murphy (71), S Deasy for Hurley (75)

OSPREYS: B Davies; H Dirksen, T Isaacs, A Bishop, R Fussell; D Biggar, R Webb; D Jones, R Hibbard, C Griffiths; I Gough, ; J Bearman, J Tipuric, J Thomas. Replacements: A Jarvis for Griffiths (53), S Parker for Bishop, T Smith for Gough (both 58), J King for Evans (72)

Referee:J Jones (WRU).