Saturday 23 May 2015 21:02, UK
Munster forward Paul O’Connell has revealed that the 21-18 victory over Ospreys was most likely his final game for the club at Thomond Park.
The Ireland skipper has been linked with a move to European champions Toulon and although he said any decision will have to wait until after the PRO12 final with Glasgow next weekend, it seems clear that his future lies away from Limerick.
“It probably is the last time you will see me at Thomond Park in a Munster jersey,” said O’Connell.
“As I have said before, the summer will be the time for making those decisions, but it is probably the last time I will play here for Munster.”
The second row feared that his last game in front of the Munster fans would be one to forget when Ospreys went over in the final seconds of the game for what would have bene the winning score after he had missed a tackle.
However, the referee consulted the TMO and the try was ruled out for a knock-on, much to O’Connell’s relief.
“I thought I had missed the tackle that had cost us the game,” he admitted. “I was fairly sure it was a knock-on so I was running back praying that he would go back to the TMO and check. I was delighted when I saw it was a knock-on.
“It is a strange feeling at the moment - we did a lot of things really well but then shot ourselves in the foot completely.
“We scored some great tries and played some really good rugby but then made five or six - or maybe a little more than that - glaring errors which really put us on the back foot.”
Munster must now refocus for next weekend’s final against table-topping Glasgow and O’Connell is confident they can iron out any issues from the Ospreys game.
“We had to work really hard for our tries but then handed over 12 really easy points - that was disappointing,” he added.
“I don't think the errors are down to any system - we will just need a few chats and just a little more organisation, communication and decision making.
“The job is not done; we have had a poor record in semi-finals over the last few years so to get over that hurdle is great. To get a win against the Opsreys who are such a good side is great.
“We will recover and prepare for a big game against Glasgow in a week's time.”
