All darkness, very little dawn

Munster 6 Cardiff 17

Go to tryless, winless, hapless Edinburgh and rack up a bonus-point win, then give Racing Metro a good going over in Thomond Park.

That requirement still remains if Rob Penney’s side is to emerge from its pool in the next two weeks but, as has so often been the case during the New Zealander’s first months of re-educating this Munster squad to his gameplan, the execution is proving more complicated than was first apparent.

That is not necessarily a surprise to the province’s coaching staff. Indeed, it was back in September, after an opening-day win, also in Edinburgh, that Munster’s new head coach spoke of a roller-coaster ride and warned of inevitable bumps in the road.

There would be trouble ahead, the Canterbury man foresaw, but the pity was you never knew when it might come.

“That’s the problem,” Penney said that late summer’s morning, “when you get them you tend to get knocked around because you are not strapped in.”

What Penney saw of his protegés at Musgrave Park on Saturday, as they were stifled and frustrated by a not overly special Cardiff Blues side, suggested the metaphorical fairground attraction had not come equipped with seatbelts.

First-half injuries in key positions to scrum-half Conor Murray and hooker Mike Sherry did not set a happy tone in Cork and defensive lapses in the second half handed the Welsh region two tries on a plate. But the problems evident in a second consecutive defeat of the season at Musgrave Park that sees Munster out of the top-four play-off spots in the RaboDirect Pro12 table went much deeper than that.

Seven days earlier Munster had been guilty of not putting a weakened Ulster side to the sword by failing to secure a fourth try and a winning bonus point in Limerick. On Saturday, the home side never looked like threatening the Cardiff line. Heading into a week that demands four tries as the minimum, that represents a massive step backwards in terms of finding the momentum, let alone ruthlessness to get the job done at Murrayfield next Sunday.

Cardiff’s physically bigger players caused a worryingly flat Munster side problems at the breakdown and put up a blue brick wall in defence that the home team consistently failed to breach.

Sure, the ball went wide but predictably so and the Blues were happy to marshall the Munster’s attack out there and wait for the error, be it a foot into touch or a dropped pass that did anything but achieve the aim of stretching the opponents’ defence.

Munster’s best progress was made by the direct running of centre James Downey but his side’s thinking was too often as foggy as the steadily descending mist.

There were positives for Penney, not least a very solid scrum and a discipline that saw just five penalties conceded, but the jigsaw was yet again left incomplete by a misfiring lineout, some slack defending and an alarming lack of penetration.

Nor did Cardiff bring much to the table in that regard but when then were handed opportunities they executed, their first try right after half-time coming from what Penney described as a “really unacceptable” defensive error. Blues fly-half and man of the match Rhys Patchell switched play inside to Jamie Roberts and the Lions centre fed Owen Williams to catch Munster napping.

That Cardiff committed the cardinal sin of conceding a penalty directly from the restart, punished by O’Gara in the 45th minute to put Munster back in touch at 10-6, would not matter a jot as the home side failed to spark into life.

For the following 35 minutes there was simply more huff and puff - encouraging situations undone by Munster’s slow ball, slippery hands and, save for O’Gara’s consistently excellent touch finders, wayward tactical boots.

For all the territory gained and possession held, Cardiff never appeared in danger of letting their lead slip. Quite the opposite, as Patchell opened another door in the 68th minute and said “after you” to Roberts, who charged 55 metres upfield, drew last defender Doug Howlett but then threw a forward pass in contact to deny Owen Williams a second try.

If that was a lucky escape, there were no second chances for Munster and less than two minutes later, Robin Copeland pounced on loose ruck ball and stormed upfield to put the game out of reach.

This was no smash and grab, though. Munster had declared Musgrave open house and those supporters who have booked tickets to Edinburgh next weekend must be hoping this performance is the darkness before the dawn. Reminded of his comments about bumps in the road, Penney replied: “It is probably a pothole not a bump. That’s a term I have learned over here. The boys are hurting so they will respond in the appropriate way. That’s all you can ask of them. We talked earlier on in the year about the rollercoaster ride and we are obviously still on it.”

Potholes, bumps, rollercoasters, call them what you will but Penney and his players need to find some smooth tarmac. And fast.

MUNSTER: F Jones; D Howlett (capt), K Earls (C Laulala, 58), J Downey, D Hurley (I Keatley, 60); R O’Gara, C Murray (D Williams, 15); D Kilcoyne (W du Preez, 74), M Sherry (S Henry, 24), S Archer (BJ Botha, 62); D Foley (B Holland, 58), D Ryan; T O’Donnell (CJ Stander, 62), S Dougall, J Coughlan.

CARDIFF BLUES: J Tovey (L Halfpenny, 53); O Williams, R Smith, J Roberts, H Robinson; R Patchell, L Jones; S Hobbs (P Tamba, 69), R Williams (K Dacey, 69), B Bourrust (S Andrews, ht); B Davies, L Reed (J Down, 57); J Navidi (capt), S Warburton, R Copeland (L Hamilton, 71).

Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales).