It Was A Special Win For Us – Penney
Munster head coach Rob Penney admitted winning at the Liberty Stadium was ‘a wee bit of a special one’ for his players yesterday as they overcame the Ospreys on a 25-11 scoreline.
“We are really pleased to get a win. But there’s still a long way to go – we are not counting our chickens yet,” said Rob Penney after his Munster charges led from start to finish in Swansea.
“We still have to play Leinster, Glasgow and Ulster, who are all up there fighting, so anything can happen.
“The Liberty Stadium is a difficult place to come. We wore torn apart here last year (losing 30-15), but we are no longer the team who were here 12 months ago. A number of our boys have not won here before so it’s a wee bit of a special one.”
Indeed, it was Munster’s first victory at the Liberty Stadium in four visits – they last won there in April 2011 – and moved them back to the top of the RaboDirect PRO12, two points clear of provincial rivals Leinster.
The Munster squad are having a down day today to recuperate from the Ospreys game, with training resuming tomorrow as preparations begin for the trip to the Scarlets next Saturday.
Cathal Sheridan will have a scan today after the scrum half had to be replaced at half-time in Swansea with a forearm injury. There will be a further update on the injury later in the week.
Sheridan’s half-back partner Ian Keatley needed stitches above his eye after receiving a knock in the 64th minute. Aside from the usual bumps and bruises, there are no further worries among the 22 players who got game-time yesterday.
Meanwhile, Munster captain Peter O’Mahony sustained a hamstring strain playing for Ireland against England at Twickenham on Saturday. He will be monitored by the IRFU medical team over the course of the coming week.
Two of the province’s other frontline players, Paul O’Connell and Conor Murray, both featured as Ireland were beaten 13-10 in a tight encounter.