Wasps Game “One That Got Away” Admits Quinlan
Munster got their Heineken Cup campaign off to a losing start at the Ricoh Arena on Saturday, but the province’s supporters will be quick to point out that the men in red also lost their first pool match when they lifted the trophy for the first time in 2005/06. See below for post-match reaction from the 24-23 defeat to Wasps.
ALAN QUINLAN –
“We needed a bit of luck to get that extra score (and stretch our lead past ten points), but credit to Wasps, they have a lot of self belief and a lot of inspirational players, they kept coming at us. We competed at every breakdown and every contact situation.
“I don’t want to criticise the referee (Malcolm Changleng), but we were baffled at some of the decision at the breakdown. Obviously, we gave away some penalties that helped the Wasps cause, but that comes from pressure from them as well. We lifted our level of performance and intensity today and I’m sure Wasps would agree it was a very intense game.
“We’re really disappointed because in the past we’ve won those types of tight games when we’ve had the bounce of the ball and a bit of luck, and we’ve come away with the result. In our first game last year against Leicester we were probably fortunate to get away with a win, but there’s a long way to go and we will learn from today.”
DECLAN KIDNEY –
“(On the incident involving Brian Carney and Fraser Waters) There’s enough television coverage and it’s clear for people to see what happened. For me to go on and rant and rave about it isn’t going to serve any purpose. Everybody saw what happened. We’ve lost the game by a point. It’s there, just watch it on the television.
“There was a spell in the first half when in the space of three minutes we conceded ten points and that’s obviously a big turnaround. It happened again in the second half when they again got eight points very quickly, and those short lapses gave them the scores to win. In terms of scoring they were the vital points.”
RONAN O’GARA –
“I think it’s a game we left behind, and that’s not being disrespectful to Wasps. At this level of competition, small things matter. We were ten points ahead on two occasions, and if we had kicked on to 16 or 17, I felt it would have been game over.
“We were itching to get into the drop goal or penalty area towards the end. According to Malcolm (Changleng), there were 12 minutes to go when we got a penalty on halfway.
“If it was seven minutes or less, I might have had a go, but with 12 the chances are you will get two cracks at it. We could have gone for it – we got the lineout but it just didn’t work out on this occasion.
“The way the lads played, we have to be disappointed. It was an exciting Munster back-line to play in. Our pack has always been our strong point, but I enjoyed playing out there today. I’m not suggesting that we’re going home with our heads down, but it could have been a big, big win for us today and if we had won I don’t think too many people would have been complaining.
“We executed poorly once or twice and spilled the ball a few times, and that’s nothing to do with coaching. That’s to do with individuals. At times it was really good out there – our coach gave us a great game-plan and we stuck to that, and it’s just a pity that when we were ten points ahead, we didn’t drive on.”