It won’t get any easier, says Anthony Foley

There will be no let-up for Munster in the coming weeks as Anthony Foley strives to turn around a four-game losing run against the toughest of opposition over Christmas and into the new year.

The Munster head coach presided over a fourth successive defeat at Leicester Tigers last night as his side once again failed to produce the finishing clinical play their possession deserved.

And Foley had no choice but to look into a list of forthcoming fixtures featuring Pro12 derbies with Leinster on December 27 and Ulster at Ravenhill on January 2 before a Champions Cup home and away double header with French champions Stade Francais.

“We all want to be winning,” Foley said following the 17-6 loss at Welford Road. “It’s not going to get any easier. We’ve Leinster next week, Ulster the week after. Then we’ve Stade back-to-back and Treviso away, so a tough couple of weeks for the boys and the coaching staff.

“It will turn and if the boys keep playing the way they’re playing and just finish it off I think they’ll be a hard team to beat.”

Nor will there be too much comfort in the fact that arch rivals Leinster will be visiting Thomond Park next Sunday for a Pro12 showdown having endured four successive defeats in their Champions Cup pool campaign to leave them eliminated from Europe before Christmas.

“We need to go in and play the game, and the one thing you understand about the past is you accept it,” Foley said.

“Unfortunately you can’t do anything about it so you have to look forward and look down the road and try and paint a picture for our players of what they have to do.”