Furious Foley left to pick up pieces

Ah, the first game of the season. A moment to relish, to dream, to hit the ground running. So well done Edinburgh for ticking all of those boxes in their Guinness Pro12 opener at Thomond Park on Friday night.

As for Munster, head coach Anthony Foley will have woken from what little sleep he managed over the weekend and asked the rugby Gods for a mulligan because last Friday’s performance in losing 14-13 would have been unacceptable even in pre-season.

Foley gathered his players yesterday for their scheduled review of a match which marked the first time in the professional era that the province had lost three in a row at Thomond Park.