Euro statistics don’t lie as Munster’s number up

The statistical breakdown:

This is not how it was supposed to go. But then, in a pool containing the beaten finalists from the last two seasons, expectations from reasonable observers will have been tempered from the off.

The figures from Saturday make for painful reading. Fourteen penalties conceded by Munster to just six by Saracens. Sixteen turnovers conceded to 11 by Saracens, despite Foley’s men having three fewer minutes in active possession of the ball. Seven of those were dropped balls, of which Paul O’Connell’s three matched the entire Saracens team.