Foley switches focus to Sarries game

Anthony Foley last night targeted victory at Saracens after his Munster side escaped Stade Marcel-Michelin with a vital European losing bonus point.

A late converted intercept try from Duncan Casey and a penalty from Ian Keatley with the last kick of the game saw Munster rally to a losing margin of just seven points in their 26-19 Champions Cup pool defeat to Clermont Auvergne.

Munster also denied the French side a winning bonus point by restricting Franck Azema’s side to three tries but Foley believes nothing less than victory in both of their final pool games in January, at last season’s runners-up Saracens in round five and home to Sale a week later will be enough to secure a place in the quarter-finals.

The Munster head coach agreed, “one hundred per cent” that two wins from two will be essential to his side’s progress into the last eight.

And he cited the 2003 “Miracle Match” victory over Gloucester in the wake of a 23-8 defeat at Perpignan as a precedent for great escapes from European pools.

“There are guys in that changing room that believe we can do it. I believe we can do it,” Foley said.

“I’ve been here a while and I’ve seen us come from worse situations. I remember getting on a plane from Perpignan in 2003 and it was a horrible place to be because we felt we were out of the competition.

“But we turned it around. We’ve been through this before. I think it’s about remaining composed and getting to a place where we can go to Saracens and try and beat them over there.

“You’ve seen the side enough. They’re not going to take a backward step. They’ll stay and fight for anything they can get out of the game.

“Look, it’s not ideal. We wanted four (points), we ended up with one. We’re still in the competition but we need to be 100% from here on in. We need to win our last two games to have any chance of qualifying.”