Munster young guns shoot down Edinburgh

IT says a lot about the strength of a squad that can eke out home and away Heineken Cup victories, then make 13 changes and come away with a bonus-point RaboDirect Pro12 win against one of Europe’s form teams.

That those changes to the Munster team which started this Thomond Park encounter were for the most part forced on Tony McGahan by either injury or the IRFU’s player management programme will be all the more heartening for fans of the province worried about the end of this golden era of success. If Saturday night’s four-try to three win over Edinburgh is a portent, the mid to long-term future of Munster rugby is in assured hands, and homegrown hands at that.

Of the 23 players used this weekend, 21 of them were homegrown, only the Leinster-developed fly-half Ian Keatley and Australian Will Chambers having learned their rugby outside the province.