"We 100% have to put our hands up and say we didn’t perform." - Chris Farrell

The men of Munster are hurting after their 35-25 loss to a depleted Leinster outfit last weekend. 

In the wake of the defeat, Munster centre Chris Farrell said that much soul-searching has taken place within the camp with some honest conversations being observed. 

Munster delivered an unexpectedly limp performance against their arch rivals who, in light of their upcoming clash with La Rochelle in the Champions Cup decider, were without many of their top players who were being rested. Despite fielding a second-string side, Leo Cullen’s charges still managed to come away with a convincing victory – a result Farrell and his teammates found unacceptable. 

“We had a pretty honest assessment about how things went as a group and in our mini-groups we had it out with each other about what we thought we could have done better,” Farrell explained on a URC media call.  

“We weren’t on it from the start. We were beaten physically in certain areas and we were really disappointed with our breakdown. 

“Honestly, we probably got bullied a little bit there in the first 10 minutes and that set the tone for the rest of the game. There are a few other areas that we’re really disappointed with. We didn’t exit very well. We panicked a little bit. We felt we were really well prepared for it and that’s the disappointing thing. 

“We felt like going into the game we had good knowledge of what to expect from that Leinster team. We knew where they were dangerous and we thought we were well prepared, but we didn’t act like that when the game came to it. It was something we were really disappointed with and from the conversations we’ve had today [Tuesday], we’ve taken a lot out of that. 

“Hopefully we’ll have taken some learnings. It still feels a little bit raw to have lost like that, but we feel like we’ve learnt from it already and we can turn a corner now going into the end of this week. Put another couple of good training days behind us and be in a better position from where we are now.” 

Munster now face another derby at the weekend, this time with Ulster. Reflecting on last week and looking ahead to the imminent clash, Farrell said: 

“I wouldn’t say it knocks our confidence. We 100% have to put our hands up and say we didn’t perform. Against a team like Leinster, if you aren’t at 100% you’re never going to win the game. I wouldn’t say it dents our confidence because we know how difficult we can be to play against, when we’re up around 100%. 

“When we’re more clinical, when we’re decisive with what we’re doing. Playing our game plan without deviating when the pressure comes on. It’s trying to understand why that happened at the weekend is the big thing for us. I don’t think it’ll have an implication on how we go against Ulster. Hopefully between now and then we can put a few things right.” 

Munster have already had the better of Ulster this season, but Farrell maintains that recent results will not be on their minds. 

“There’s not a huge amount we can take away from winning up there this year,” he said. “I think it’s going to be a completely different task. It’s not a game that we can compare to what we did the last time we were up there. It’s a really hostile place to play and they’re now a team that have one front to compete on, like us. 

“They’ll want to right that wrong and I’d expect a reaction from them. They didn’t like being beaten by Munster in Belfast. They were disappointed with that last time. It’s going to be a huge evening up there next Friday night and one that we’re not going to shy away from.”