‘Munster players not ruthless enough’ – Foley

Editor

Munster boss Anthony Foley wants his players to be more ruthless as they bid to end their five-match losing streak.

On Sunday, Munster suffered a 24-7 loss to Leinster at Thomond Park and Foley believes poor finishing is the cause of his side's poor results.

The concern I have is that we’re not scoring,” he told The42.ie

“We had plenty of opportunity, plenty of possession, but the last four games we’re very soft in the opposition 22 in terms of giving up the ball. It’s needless.

"We don’t get the scoreboard, we don’t get it ticking over, we don’t apply pressure through the scoreboard and unfortunately that gives the opposition opportunities to win games.

“We have the ball, we have it through a number of phases, and unfortunately we don’t seem to be ruthless enough in that area of the pitch to maintain it and get the points on the board.

“Seven points isn’t good enough in a game like this to win it. You’re not going to win it 7-6 here tonight.”

Munster's last victory was against Treviso in the opening round of the Champions Cup on November 14. After that result, they lost to Connacht, the Dragons and Leinster in the PRO12 and suffered back-to-back defeats to Leicester in the Champions Cup.

“There are similarities [across the defeats] but they’re not all the same things,” Foley added.

"There’s one or two experienced players dropping balls under no pressure. When you’ve lost four games on the bounce, confidence becomes an issue and it’s about getting through that and getting a win.

“It doesn’t matter how you get the win. It’s about building on that and hopefully we go back to where we were pre-Treviso.”