Munster put Ulster's B team to the sword but this was a strange game and injuries to key players have spoiled the win

What a very strange and somewhat worrying game of rugby between Munster and Ulster on Saturday in Thomond Park.

Thankfully, Munster won and did so with a try scoring bonus point, but questions must now be asked if the modern day professionals body is capable of withstanding the kind of punishment that a single season is demanding.

We’ll discuss the casualty list later in this report, but I must admit I was bitterly disappointed to see Ulster field a very weakened side for this normally evenly contested Irish derby.

Munster Vs Ulster is normally a game that is viewed by many as one of the highlights of the Irish rugby calendar, however, Ulster coach Richie Murphy seemed to have a very different view on this occasion.

I can fully understand that Ulster unlike Munster still have some skin in Europe with their home Challenge Cup semi-final against the high flying Exeter set to take place next Saturday in Belfast, but surely the Ulster coaching team could have fielded a slightly stronger side for their trip to Limerick and given the fixture the kind of respect it deserves.

With Munster’s gate receipts already at an all-time low, I can only imagine that those who paid their hard earned cash to come and watch what is normally a helter-skelter affair will have been disillusioned to see Ulster’s B side take to the hallowed surface of Thomond Park.

On the flip side of this you can bet your bottom dollar that all those on the Munster coaching ticket would have been absolutely delighted when viewing the Ulster team sheet and I would even go as far as to suggest that some of the names they were looking at would have been alien to them.

Maybe Ulster think they have a better chance of clawing their way back into the top flight of European Cup rugby by winning the Challenge Cup rather than remaining in the play offs of the URC, but in terms of determining a winner for this game, it was to be a foregone conclusion as soon as Murphy signed off on his match day squad.

In the end, and as fully expected, Munster ran out easy winners 41-14, but their scores didn’t exactly materialise via the normal suspects and the collateral damage that was acquired may well be fatal to Munster’s aspirations of finishing the season on some kind of a high.

First of all we have two Munster flankers scoring all seven of Munster’s tries between them. John Hodnett 4, and Alex Kendellen 3, and to think that Kendellen was only introduced to the game at half-time as a replacement for centre Tom Farrell makes this scoring sequence even more bizarre.

Secondly, and probably slightly more concerning, is the amount of injuries that both sides picked up during the tie.

My fear especially for Munster who lost Jack Crowley in the warm up with a dead leg, Tom Farrell (shoulder), Jean Kleyn (bicep), Calvin Nash (hamstring), Tadhg Beirne (leg), Oli Jager (concussion) is that some of these injuries are going to be season ending for these players.

The biggest concern for me is Oli Jager who only returned from a three-month absence last week in the victory against Benetton. 

Jager, who had to take a prolonged break from the game to deal with a series of head injuries was once again removed from the field with concussion.

I would be stunned if Jager is allowed anywhere near a rugby pitch again this season and my fear is that this latest blow might even signal the end of his career. 

I truly hope I am wrong on this occasion.

Ulster also suffered, but not to the same extent as Munster. 

Their tally only totted up to three players needing to be replaced albeit, what it does do is add to the extensive list that they acquired in last weeks game against Leinster and makes their chances of competing with Exeter an even harder task.

Even though this Ulster team that took to the field could easily have been mistaken for an U-20 side, they were determined not to let their opportunity pass without firing a few warning shots across the seasoned and weathered bow of Munster.

For much of the first half it honestly looked as if it was the men in red that had never played together before as they struggled to deal with the rapid and expansive type of game plan that the visiting youngsters decided to deploy.

Ulster whom were featuring three senior debutants and a first-time starter in former Munster sub-academy tighthead Bryan O’Connor took the game to Munster and were first to register on the score-board when winger Aitzol Arenzana-King dotted down in the corner. 

This was converted by another former Munster man Jake Flannery, and deservingly so they held a seven point lead.

They probably could have scored another one or two more tries in the opening exchanges, but as soon as they lost their academy flanker Tom Brigg to a yellow card Munster assumed control and never really looked back.

Away to Connacht on May 9th and home to the Lions a week later, is now what lies between them and a URC play-off and a Champions Cup birth, albeit with a very nervous eye on what is going to be a very congested treatment room.