'Who'd have thought  an overseas team like Munster, playing at altitude and in the heat, would have finished as well?'

Bulls coach Jake White was impressed with the visitors' fightback

Munster's Damian de Allende with fans after the game

Munster coach Johann van Graan was immensely proud of his side's fightback against the Bulls, but couldn’t hide his disappointment at their inability to finish the job after slipping to a 29-24 defeat.

After trailing 26-3 at half-time in Pretoria, a young and largely inexperienced Munster side had looked on course for a humiliating defeat in the United Rugby Championship. Yet, a remarkable comeback saw Munster dominate second-half proceedings, ultimately outscoring the Bulls by 18 points.

“I’m never satisfied when we lose a game, but a lot of teams will tell you that when you come to a place like Loftus, it’s always going to be really tough,” Van Graan commented after the clash.

“What I am really proud of is how our guys really stayed in the fight for 80 minutes and stuck to our guns. We’ll learn a lot from this defeat, and it’s always going to be difficult for any overseas team to come and beat the Bulls at home, but we never lacked the belief that we could achieve a positive result.” 

Ultimately, the game was won and lost in the first half, with Munster giving away as many as 10 penalties during that opening period, which allowed the Bulls to build momentum and scoreboard pressure.

“We didn’t adapt well enough to the referee in that opening half,” Van Graan conceded. “It’s a long way back when you’re down 26-3 at half-time, but we just stuck to our processes, and it’s testament to the massive belief in this squad that we were able to get right back into the match.

“I’m actually just disappointed we didn’t keep the ball and go on to clinch the victory. We backed our fitness, and in the end we just ran out of time.” 

Ironically, it was indeed the Bulls who would have been grateful to hear the final whistle despite plenty of the pre-match build-up having revolved around their ambitions to wear down Munster and use the altitude factor in their favour.

Madosh Tambwe of the Vodacom Bulls tackled by Alex Kendellen of Munster

Bulls coach Jake White admitted that credit had to be given where it was due.

“Who would have thought that an overseas team like Munster, playing at altitude and in the heat, would have finished as well as they did? At 29-3, no one could have predicted the end score would be as close as it was, but it just shows that you can take nothing for granted, and also just how tough this competition is.

“Full credit to Munster, they adapted well in the second half and managed to slow our ball down. They’re a quality side, and very well coached, and they showed that in the end.” 

Munster will next face the Lions in Johannesburg before returning home for key fixtures against Benetton and Leinster.

Van Graan said there were some real positives to be taken away from the quality of the finish against the Bulls, while Springbok centre Damian de Allende is likely to return to the starting lineup after his impressive impact off the bench.

“It’s not going to get any easier for us,” Van Graan commented. “Facing the Lions at Ellis Park with an early kick-off at 2pm is going to be a real challenge.

“But that is why I think this competition is going to be so good in the long run,” he added. “The South African teams toured without their Springboks last year, and they had to get used to the conditions and challenges.

“Now we have to come down here, and experience things like the altitude and heat, and to experience the physicality of the South African teams on their home turf.”