Jacques Nienaber: Munster must evolve as a team

Last month’s Champions Cup semi-final defeat to Saracens may well spur Munster on to Guinness PRO12 success but it is clear that the ramifications are running much deeper for the province’s coaches.

Director of rugby Rassie Erasmus has not shied away from accepting the coaches’ blame for the comprehensive defeat dished out at Aviva Stadium by a team that would go on to successfully defend its European crown with a victory over Clermont Auvergne last Saturday in Murrayfield.

“The thing about coaching is you learn the most out of matches like that,” Erasmus said this week as he looked forward to Saturday’s PRO12 semi-final at home to Ospreys. “Not the obvious things everybody sees but the things you see and analyse and then still you couldn’t do something about them on a Saturday.