Defeat against Cheetahs ends Munster’s unbeaten start to Pro14

MUNSTER suffered their first Pro14 loss of the season after a 40-16 result against an in-form Cheetahs side at Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein last time out.

Tyler Bleyendaal kept Munster in the game by kicking three penalties to reduce the Cheetahs lead to just three points at halftime.

Munster were inches away from levelling the game in the 43rd minute, but Bleyendaal’s penalty came back off the post, and the Cheetahs were over for their third try just minutes later.

Speaking to the media afterwards, Munster Head Coach Johann Van Graan believed it was that incident which provided a big swing against his side:

“I think we managed the altitude pretty well in the first half, we came in 12-9 and started the second half pretty well.”

“We had that kick at goal, and then it hit the post, and they scored from there. It’s a big swing in the game it went from possibly being 12 all to being 19-9 and against the Cheetahs that’s where they are very good.”

Munster centre Dan Goggin scored his first try of the season, but it was simply a consolation try compared their opponents six. The Cheetahs proved to be the dangerous animal that they can be by continuing to show off their scoring prowess and power.

“We had a look at what the Currie Cup teams did here, Western Province were up 33 points to 12 and then lost the game 38-33, Glasgow took 48-14 and Ulster took 60 points here, so we knew what we were up against.”

Munster are currently on a down week where they will have the opportunity to reflect and analyse their South African trip.

At this early stage of the Rugby calendar, Johann van Graan’s side find themselves in third position in Conference B of the table, thanks to bonus point wins over the Dragons and the Southern Kings.

However, it’s the Cheetahs defeat that has provided a drop in standards according to Van Graan.

“We did some really good stuff tonight, but in terms of our standards, that’s not good enough. We’ll never talk positively about a loss. It’s not up to our standards, and now we will go and review it and get back on the field in two week’s time.”

Next up for Munster will be Ospreys at Irish Independent Park on Friday, October 25th at 7:35 pm.