Rassie Erasmus does his best to paper over the cracks

Leinster 23 Munster 17: To listen to Rassie Erasmus on Saturday evening in the aftermath of a fourth Aviva Stadium defeat in 12 months, you might have thought it was Leinster rather than Munster with plenty to put right heading into next week’s Champions Cup pool stages.

For the second time in three games the men in red had not just been outgunned and outplayed by Guinness PRO14 title rivals but had also contributed more than their share to the defeat.

Naturally, the Munster boss’s counterpart, Leinster head coach Leo Cullen, found significant elements of his team’s performance to work on ahead of this Saturday’s visit to the RDS by French moneybags Montpellier. Yet, following Saturday’s interprovincial derby loss it should be director of rugby Erasmus who has more cause for sleepless nights in advance of next Sunday’s trip to Castres.