Celtic League / Neath-Swansea 33 Munster 26: Munster discovered the full impact of the World Cup on their Celtic League ambitions with a second successive defeat to Welsh opposition.
The defending champions have been the worst hit by the demands of the national team and their lack of strength in depth was exposed again - this time by the Neath-Swansea Ospreys on Saturday.
Despite outscoring their opponents four tries to three and losing by just seven points - earning two bonus points - Munster were badly exposed in the first half. A late comeback through tries by Mike Mullins and a second for Jeremy Staunton made for an exciting climax. But the gap was too much and if Alan Gaffney does not begin making winners out of his young recruits, Munster will soon be too far behind the resurgent Welsh regions in the Celtic League.
"In many way we are starting from scratch again with so many of our players missing. I think we have been affected the most by the World Cup. We have 11 players away on international duty with Jason Holland and Rob Henderson out on long-term injuries. But we will just keep plugging away," said the Munster coach. "The same will happen through the Six Nations and it's just a shame this new extended Celtic League had to happen this season.
"There is a huge demand on the young players we have had to throw in but I'm really pleased with the way they have reacted. It's a big step up for many of them and they are having to learn in game situations, which is tough."
Among the new faces were outhalf Conrad O'Sullivan, who missed last season through injury, and 23-year-old Irish qualified Dave Pusey just 10 days after arriving from Australia. Both made an impact, particularly in the opening exchanges in which Munster grabbed their first try through Staunton. But against seasoned campaigners such as Scott Gibbs and Barry Williams, an on-song Gavin Henson and mercurial coach Lyn Jones, the youngsters struggled.
"We know Neath probably as well as anyone after our encounters with them and we knew combining with Swansea would just make them tougher," said Gaffney. "I was disappointed we made things easy for them in the first half though you have to give the Ospreys credit for taking their opportunities well. But I still thought there were plenty of positives we could take from the game."
Those plus points for Munster will have emerged from the final 20 minutes, which they spent camped in the Ospreys' half. Already 30-12 down to tries from James Storey, Dave Tiueti and Andrew Williams, Munster were sparked into life by Mullins' score after an hour.
After almost constant pressure, temporarily relieved for the Ospreys by Henson's seventh kick out of seven, Staunton linked cleverly with Mullins in midfield to step through a resilient home defence and set up an exciting finale.
NEATH-SWANSEA OSPREYS: G Henson; D Tiueti, J Storey, S Gibbs (capt), E Seveali'l; S Connor, A Williams; P James, B Williams, A Millward, A Newman, L Tait, G Thomas, N Bonner-Evans, J Bater. Replacements: L Bateman for Tait (45 mins); A Durston for Connor (64 mins); S Tandy Bater (64 mins)
MUNSTER: J Staunton; S Payne, M Mullins, J Jones-Hughes, M Lawlor; C O'Sullivan, E Reddan; S Kerr, J Flannery, M Cahill, E Halvey, D Pusey, D Leamy, J Williams, D Wallace. Replacements: T Hogan for Leamy (46 mins); J Danaher for Cahill (61 mins); D Crotty for O'Sullivan (71 mins); C McMahon for Halvey (80 mins); M McPhail for Payne (85 mins).
Referee: Rob Dickson (Scotland)
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