‘We’ll enjoy this but we know we need to be better’ – Jack Crowley and Munster quickly moving on to semi-final challenge
Munster's Jack Crowley kicks in behind the Ospreys defence during the United Rugby Championship quarter-final at Thomond Park in Limerick. Photo: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
Job done, move on. That was the mood in the Munster camp after they'd done a professional job on the Ospreys to book their place in the URC semi-finals.
They'll host the winners of Glasgow Warriors against Stormers at Thomond Park next Saturday evening and man of the match Jack Crowley accepted that they'll need to be better to progress.
Crowley kicked 13 points in a 23-7 win in difficult conditions in Limerick, as Munster struggled to break the Welsh region down but managed territory and took their points when they were on offer, holding their opponents scoreless for 75 minutes.
"Delighted that we could get our first play-off [win] for this group in front of a home stadium, a win and the important thing is we are through to next week," Crowley said.
"There are a few areas we’ll look at improving, in our attack and a small bit in our discipline but delighted we could get the win here and move onto the next stage.
"We knew the Ospreys are a team that play for each other a lot and they never give up. We’ve seen that throughout the URC with their results, away from home as well. It’s a credit to them and then also a few errors we need to tidy up and be better at for next week.
"We’ll enjoy this but we know we need to be better."
Head coach Graham Rowntree echoed his No 10's sentiments.
"Job done, we improved our discipline at half-time, third quarter, camped on their line, a bit frustrating," he said.
"We played cup rugby, took points when we could, kicked well in second half, greasy conditions but it was just our composure, really good in that second half.
"They were good. Again, that third quarter, we couldn’t break them down which gave them a bit of energy but we kept the heads, tactically, kicked well and a couple of key moments when we took points, took the sting out of the game.
"We’ve got to win, it’s not always glamourous, again, this is knockout rugby. There are elements to a game we’ll always review. You’ll get it on a Monday morning."
