Kiwi Doug Howlett, who endeared himself further to Munster supporters when playing through the pain barrier in scrambling back to prevent a certain Treviso try in the opening half of Saturday’s game while clearly struggling with a hamstring injury, is set to miss out on the trip to Murrayfield. Tony Buckley will have a scan today to determine the extent of the damage to a calf muscle injury while fellow prop Marcus Horan is set to have further tests today after complaining of feeling dizzy during the course of Saturday’s 41-10 victory over Benetton Treviso.
The uncertainty over Buckley and Horan’s availability for the key clash with Edinburgh is a major blow with veteran prop John Hayes already sidelined through suspension.
Munster struggled in the scrums early on against an all-international Treviso front row, but the home side’s line-out did provide a source of good quality ball.
Munster assumed top spot in pool one of the Heineken Cup with a seven-try, bonus point, win over the Italians.
Munster skipper Paul O’Connell, who celebrated his 50th appearance in the Heineken Cup on Saturday, said the complexion of the group would become clearer following the back-to-back fixtures with French champions Perpignan in December. In the meantime, Munster would face key Magners League games.
O’Connell, who celebrates his 30th birthday tomorrow said: “The group is very evenly placed now with all teams having won one and lost one game. The back-to-back matches against Perpignan in December will be a massive for us.
“We have two games now in the Magners League, against Edinburgh and Ulster, two sides ahead of us in the table.
“It is very important for us to start playing with a bit more consistency now. Last week against Northampton we showed signs of it and this week there were further signs of it again. We need to keep improving and keep a high work rate in our performance. We need to keep it direct and simple. When we do the simple things well we actually look like we are playing fancy rugby.”
Munster full-back Paul Warwick, who scored his side’s opening try and claimed the Man of the Match accolade, said the provincial side remained a ‘work in progress.’
“We are certainly improving,” Paul Warwick said.
“It is a slow process obviously. In terms of that game we knew that if we were doing the right things at the 60-minute mark we could wear them down.
“People were talking about a shock result at half time and things like that. We did not have any panic. We knew they would pose a good threat to us across the field and they really stuck it to us.
“They took the opportunities and capitalised on a lot of our mistakes.
“When they got 10 points up, there was no panic.
“We felt that if we concentrated on our own game and were a bit more direct that we had been we could wear them down.
“The performance was a step in the right direction.
“There are facets of the game which were good and areas which need a lot of improvement. We are confident we are heading in the right direction, but are still a work in progress.”
COLM KINSELLA
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