Donal Lenihan: Munster wounds another sign that rugby is cannibalising itself

In the circumstances, the return of former captain Peter O'Mahony and a rested Tadhg Beirne is badly needed for Munster to turn a corner.

INJURY ISSUES: Gavin Coombes and Peter O’Mahony in training. Pic Credit: Morgan Treacy, Inpho.

AT THE half way point in the pool stage of the Investec Champions Cup, EPCR need to send an email to some of the participants apologising that, despite their best efforts to avoid the knockout stage, they are still in a great position to qualify for the Round of 16 next April.

That’s the trouble with this new format. Teams can afford to send their back-up troops to difficult away assignments, return home empty-handed but still remain in contention. To date, we’ve seen a number of clubs from France, South Africa and England go down this route.