McMillan laments Munster's inability to garner bonus point

Jack O'Donoghue of Munster leaves the pitch after his side's victory. Pic: Thomas Flinkow/Sportsfile

Munster head coach Clayton McMillan admitted he was relieved to get over the line, but admitted his team “probably left a lot of points out on the park” in an error-strewn performance in Thomond Park.

The 2023 league champions dominated possession and territory but failed to make the pressure count on the scoreboard, and ultimately left without a try bonus point, which could well prove costly come season's end.

For the head coach, it was a case of mixing the good with the bad.

“We're obviously happy to come away with the win”, said the Kiwi.

“It was a tight old affair but we expected that. Zebre might be sitting at the bottom of the table but they're a niggly side and they've shown that they can push teams right to the end and that's what we expected and that's what we experienced today.” 

“Having said that, we felt like we probably left a lot of points out on the park, created a number of opportunities, probably one pass away or one phase more was required in the moment but we lost those moments and the game potentially was a bit tighter than what it needed to be.” 

The 14-point victory is enough to see Munster sit inside the top four spots, and McMillan did take some positives from the performance, including the hard work of the squad as they mixed downtime with much-needed training during this mini break.

“I was delighted with the effort of the lads”, the Munster head coach told reporters after the game.

“I think we've trained really hard after a week off post Glasgow. To come back, put a good three-week shift in and get a result.

“What it showed us is that you can train all you like but there's nothing quite like the pressure of getting out there and playing rugby.

That ring rust was prevalent across the league this weekend, but it will be no excuse for a Munster side who know they will need a strong end to the season in order to return to the Champions Cup next season.

“I would like to think that if we were to play again, same conditions, everything the same, that we'd be a little slicker for having the hit out”, McMillan insisted.

“We're just grateful to pick up four points against a side, as I said, that has the potential to upset you if you aren't quite there.

“I thought it wasn't perfect today but there's lots of good stuff that we can build off.” 

Captain Jack O’Donoghue featured in Munster’s defeat to the Italians last season, but was keen to stress it was a frustrating win, and not one they will overcelebrate.

“I thought, like what Clayton said, we left points out there, we probably should have come away with five points but that's the game.

“We didn't execute well enough to get over for that five-pointer.

“We thought we started really well but then we just probably didn't adapt to those conditions.”