Trying to force the issue against the physical Irish outfit, the Ospreys would be punished for poor decision-making. Fly-half Owen Williams would twice gift winger Sean O’Brien the opportunity to break and score to build a 19-point lead, after a flowing move had seen fellow speedster Shane Daly score in the opposite corner right from the get-go.
The Ospreys would huff, and puff dominating territory and would break through the stubborn Munster defense just before the break. Keelan Giles finishing a smart move in the left corner.
Searching for another fairytale comeback they would have the perfect start to the second period with Sam Parry finishing a trademark driving maul, however the momentum would be broken with Munster clinically scoring their fourth of the evening. Giant lock RG Snyman powering over from close range as the half hit the midpoint.
The Ospreys would not throw the towel in and struck back once more through Wales wing Alex Cuthbert and could have had an unlikely set of bonus points if the Welsh international’s hamstring hadn’t pinged at the worst moment with the tryline at his mercy.
It would be, however, a game of missed opportunities for the Ospreys boss whose side fell further behind in the race for a top eight play-off placing.
“The overriding feeling is frustration to start like we did,” said Booth after the game.
“We knew though we had to play a little bit differently today because physically they pose a big problem.
“When you play against physically bigger people sometimes you have to be smart, and we paid a little bit of a price for that.
“At one point they had 100% entry conversion because they have scored two interceptions and two on breaks that we have made poor reads on. From that point-of-view, it is going to make the game really challenging.
“We also spilled the ball on their line three or four times. If we weren’t creating opportunities, I would be disappointed. It’s no secret, if you want to be an attack-based team the hardest bit is the last five metres.
“After the first 15 minutes looking like it did, to get into a position to get something out of the game [was good]. I can’t sit here and say we deserved to win, but we gave ourselves an opportunity.
“I feel for the lads to get nothing [points wise]. If you get blown away, you get blown away. To get there and not get anything [is tough]. I thought we deserved more.
“In a league as tight and congested as it is you need to take points from the games.
“Looking after the ball in key moments is massively important because when you are playing against the best teams, you have to take those moments. You don’t get as many, and you need to be clinical – they were, and we weren’t.
“That is frustrating, but this is part of the journey of this team.
“I have a sense of pride for the effort. We have a consistency for tenacity and effort which is great, it gets us to the do.
“If we want to move to the team that can compete consistently at the right end of the table, we have to understand that take from a skillset and discipline point of view.
“I thought we were very good tonight in terms of that. I don’t mean the penalty count – it’s the little bits of detail in discipline in decision-making.
“The more we expose young players to making the right decision the better. If we have made a step closer to that tonight, then we can be the team we want to be.”
[Lead image: Ospreys Rugby]
