Winning league wouldn’t ease pain for coach

Tony McGahan didn’t mask his bitter disappointment at Munster’s Heineken Cup quarter-final exit yesterday and declared that wereMunster to retain their RaboDirect Pro12 title it wouldn’t compensate for what happened against Ulster.

“It was 22-16 against a side who didn’t have one phase in our bottom 25-30 metres in the whole game, not one. That’s certainly difficult,”McGahan said. “The deeper you go into any competition, the more you invest emotionally, time-wise and energy. It is always difficult [to lose]. If we had got to the next step it would have been even more difficult, and if we got to a final it would have been even more difficult again.

“And it is not just the players. The playing group are deeply hurt,the management, the branch, thesupporters, the families, the wives, the kids. They all put up with a lot to get to that point and sacrifice the lot.