Players to blame, says O’Gara

RONAN O’GARA has insisted the Munster players are the ones to blame for the province’s Thomond Park defeat to Harlequins last Saturday.

Munster’s Amlin Challenge Cup exit and the failure to reach the Heineken Cup knockout stages for the first time in 13 seasons have been greeted with a considerable amount of soul-searching in Tony McGahan’s camp and beyond.

Some have rounded on the Munster head coach as the scapegoat for Saturday’s 12-20 surrender at fortress Thomond but speaking yesterday after a Lucozade Sport hydration workshop at the University of Limerick, the veteran fly-half came to the defence of not just McGahan but outgoing forwards coach Laurie Fisher and backs coach Jason Holland.