Lineout improvement a must

GIVEN that Gloucester were without their first-choice hooker and had a European rookie in his place, Munster must have entertained high hopes of reaping a lineout bonanza at Kingsholm.

The opposite was, in fact, the case. The area proved a rich harvest for the home side, an absolute disaster for the visitors.

Everybody will have their own idea of who and what was to blame. Was it Frankie Sheahan’s throwing? Was it poor pack leadership by Jim Williams? Was it the failure of Paul O’Connell and Donnacha O’Callaghan to cope with a changing situation? Or was it simply that on the day they were outsmarted by a Gloucester machine that had done its homework and knew exactly what was required?