While Munster moved within touching distance of securing the Magners League title with a 29-10 bonus-point win over the Scarlets, Lion Jerry Flannery said the side had an awful lot to work on ahead of the Heineken Cup semi-final showdown with Leinster (5.30pm).
Munster’s victory against the Scarlets was over-shadowed by the fractured ankle sustained by Tomas O’Leary which will result in the scrum-half missing the remainder of the province’s season and the Lions tour of South Africa this summer.
Jerry Flannery said: “We got the result we wanted against the Scarlets, but our performance left a lot to be desired.
“But the over-riding feeling from the game is that personally I am very disappointed for Tomas.
“I could only imagine how disappointed I would be if I was in his shoes. I know he will come back just as strong.
“There is a feeling that we have an awful lot to build on from that performance against the Scarlets.
“We got the bonus point, but it won’t be near good enough to beat Leinster next week.
“I don’t think there was any consistency in terms of the way we played. We got a few good one-off tries, but we never really got into our patterns or any forward domination.
“There was a lot of loose play.
“Our breakdown work was not very good. That is disappointing because it is something that had been going very well for us.
“This time last year we played Llanelli away after a couple of wins when we probably fell in love with ourselves. We came out of the game and it was probably as low as I felt last year. So it was disappointing.”
Munster coach Tony McGahan said it was hugely disappointing to lose a player of Tomas O’Leary’s stature.
“In Tomas and Peter Stringer we are fortunate to have two of the best scrum-halves in the country in our squad and the experience of Mike Prendergast to call on when required,” Tony McGahan said.
Munster will win the Magners League if they pick up a single point from their two remaining fixtures or if the second-placed Ospreys fail to secure bonus-point wins in each of their three remaining fixtures, including a final weekend meeting with Munster at Thomond Park.
David Wallace was named Munster Rugby Player of the Year at the 2009 Munster Rugby Awards held in Thomond Park on Saturday night.
Wallace fought off stiff competition from fellow nominees Paul O’Connell, John Hayes and Niall Ronan to land the award.
Eleven awards in total were presented on the night recognising and honouring those involved in the different aspects of rugby across the province.
Another Lion, Keith Earls was named the Young Player of the Year at the Irish Examiner-sponsored awards.
The Academy Player of the Year accolade went to Tommy O’Donnell, of UL Bohemian, while Michael English received the Hall of Fame Award.
Among the other award winners on the night was John Lacey, the former Shannon and Munster star, who was selected as the province’s Referee of the Year.
Shannon are within touching distance of a ninth All-Ireland League Division One title after securing a battling 16-12 semi-final win over city rivals Garryowen at Coonagh on Saturday.
A first half try from flying winger Stephen Kelly and 11 points from the boot of out-half Tadhg Bennett saw Shannon advance to a final showdown with Clontarf at Thomond Park on Saturday, May 9 (4pm).
There was disappointment for Old Crescent, however, as the Rosbrien side lost out to UCC in their Division Two semi-final clash at the Mardyke.
Colm Kinsella
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