BEFORE FOCUSING ON what went wrong for Munster yesterday, it’s important to give credit to Zebre for what was The Italians were rooted to the bottom of the URC table last season, winning just one of their 18 fixtures, but just two weeks into the new campaign they’ve produced an historic result which highlights the good work being done at the club. Zebre had lost all of their previous 20 games against Munster but changed the script in emphatic fashion yesterday, putting six tries and over 40 points on Graham Rowntree’s men. The home side out-fought and out-played their visitors, delivering on head coach Massimo Brunello’s call for his players to be more ruthless following their opening weekend loss to Cardiff.
They were physical at the breakdown – winning eight turnovers to Munster’s one – committed in defence and sharp in attack. It was a highly encouraging afternoon for Brunello, who joined Zebre over the summer following four years with the Italy U20s, where he oversaw historic wins against England, France and South Africa. Now he has another to add to his CV.
For Munster, it was a deeply disappointing day and one of their poorest performances during Graham Rowntree’s time in charge. Having recovered from a slow start to lead by 13 points at half-time, Munster were blown away in the second period, the Italians running in 24 points without reply. Speaking on RTÉ after the game, former Munster and Ireland second row Donncha O’Callaghan labelled the display.
