Only way is up for Munster rugby after humiliating loss in South Africa
Munster captain JJ Hanrahan talks to his players in the huddle after the United Rugby Championship match between Hollywoodbets Sharks and Munster at Hollywoodbets Kings Park Stadium in Durban, South Africa. Photo by Shaun Roy/Sportsfile
GUBU is the wonderful acronym coined by Conor Cruise O’Brien back in 1982 to describe the Irish political landscape of the time and it is a word that perfectly sums up Munster’s display last weekend against the Sharks in Durban.
It stands for ‘grotesque, unbelievable, bizarre and unprecedented’ and it adequately describes how Munster fans would have felt in the aftermath of the 45-0 trashing last Saturday.
A lot of lawns needed to be cut and dishes washed by Munster fans before the final whistle. It was a hard one to see out to the end.
Munster were beaten all ends up. The team visibly lacked leadership, they were rudderless at half back, the lineout was poor, the scrum folded continuously, they were lacking in the physical exchanges and they did not seem to possess the rugby smarts to stay in the fight.
It was the kind of game where every Munster not togged out saw themselves moving up the pecking order.
The return of Jack Crowley and Craig Casey for the Bulls game in Pretoria on Saturday immediately makes Munster a far better side, but that only drives home the fact that Munster’s depth chart has plummeted in recent times.
In previous years Munster could bring on Conor Murray at scrum half and when they won the URC title three years ago Ben Healy and Joey Carbery were supporting Crowley at outhalf. They have nowhere near that level of quality now.
This is not to blame Michael Ala’alatoa for Munster’s multiple issues, as he has tried manfully to prop up the Munster scrum almost by himself at times since arriving last November, but his time at the club tells a story in itself.
The Samoan prop has played 11 competitive games for Munster, winning four and losing seven. In this run, Munster have been dumped out of the Champions Cup and have won only two games in 2026, both at home to the Dragons and Zebre, with them failing to get the bonus point in either of those wins, which feels like two points thrown away.
Ala’alatoa arrived as an emergency signing from Clermont given Munster’s travails at tight head, but the real issue was that it was obvious to most that Munster would have to get a joker signing in at tight head at some point during the season.
And what is most worrying is that Munster may be about to repeat this error. It is highly rumoured that Jack Aungier is being signed from Connacht for next year. Aungier is a good solid player, but he cannot carry Munster on his back on his own. There must be two experienced tight-head signings if Munster still see themselves as a competitive outfit. If Aungier is the only new addition in this position, then next season can be effectively written off. Watch this space.
Munster began the URC campaign with five wins on the bounce, yet here we are in late March with the real prospect that Munster might not even make the play-offs, which brings European qualification.
Munster went into last weekend six points clear of the pack in the URC table, but last Saturday’s no-show allowed a number of teams to get within range. The Lions are now only one point back, thanks to their 54-17 demolition of Edinburgh.
This week’s opponents the Bulls are only four points in arrears and will be fancying their chances of actually passing Munster this weekend. Connacht’s win over Ulster also got them within four of Munster, so the table could have an extremely ugly look about it by Saturday evening if all the results go against Clayton McMillan’s side.
It must be noted that Munster looked a completely different animal a week later when losing narrowly to Toulon by 27-25, so a response can be expected, but there is no future for a side that only turns it on every now and then.
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