New era but old problems remain

Munster 10 London Irish 34

Doug Howlett, the legendary former All Black, will lead Munster into the upcoming season following his official appointment as captain yesterday in succession to Paul O’Connell, but judging from this lacklustre display, he will have to help coach Rob Penney devise a better plan to get the show back on the road when the RaboDirect Pro12 campaign kicks off next weekend, with the Irish side playing away to Edinburgh.

Once again, Penney bemoaned the fact Munster had suffered from so many unforced errors — his count was 25 against a pretty full London Irish outfit. “Too many,” he said, “way too many.”