Munster V Clermont (23 -13) 13th December 2008
Thomand park… The great escape

Another close call Munster came out the better of, what was the feeling like in the dressing room after the game?

We were really happy to get out of jail. Clermont are a great side but it was a little disconcerting for us that we didn’t do better against a side of 14. We loss control of the game for 15 mins in the second half and they just kept to their plan. We stayed calm and it was a great finish but we will want better performance from here on.

Is there additional needling in games where you play the same team back to back?

Yes everything from the previous match is fresher in your mind. You don’t have time to forget! There are no surprises in the game that’s going to be played, games are usually much more attritional.

How did the early sending off affect the game plan?

When a team is down to 14 obviously the game is much harder for them. Can happen that the team really rally and everyone works extra hard, as was the case in this match but we should have exploited the situation, we are disappointed that we made such hard work of the game.

Munster were in control of the game at half time what was the game plan for the 2nd half?

We just talked about staying focused, we were controlling the tempo and the game was going well. Unfortunately we came out and played second fiddle for 15 – 20 mins in the second half, Clermont had more control of the ball, the tempo and the match.

What was said while waiting for the conversion after Clermont took the lead?

It’s not about one person saying anything. We were aware that we needed to build phases we had been trying to do that during the game, but obviously we had been coming up short. We knew if we could build the phases we could win, everyone just got stuck in and Marcus provided a great finish.

Does it take a long time to recover from such a physical game?

Recovery is always harder after a Heiniken cup match, you are playing at such intensity. I was pretty sore after the game, I probably went back a little soon after my injury. After 10 days on crutches and in a leg brace I found it very tough physically. I will be concentrating on my Physio this week to make sure I get everything right for the next match.

Were you happy with your own performance?

Yes; I got through a fair bit of work. The second half we all got a bit quiet and we all need to step up but I am happy with the win and delighted to have come through the game healthy.

The last couple of Heinken Cup matches have been incredibly exciting to watch but Munster were very close to going out, what is the feeling about these last minute reprieves?

All most all Heiniken cup games are like this. You have to win each game to stay in contention. If we lost to Sale we would have been out. These games are all win or die. To get the win this time was great but we do need to look at our performance. It is not where it should be or where we want it to be, we don’t want to wait till the last 5 mins to secure the win. If we just focused on the win we might be papering over the cracks in our performance.  We will be spending a lot of time analysing our performance to ensure we get it right.

Jerry Flannery in conversation with USN