The most alarming element of Munster's elimination from the Investec Champions Cup is that it’s happened in the tournament's bloated era. As accustomed as the province have become to playing Champions Cup rugby beyond the Six Nations, this will be the fifth time since 2010/11 that their major European campaign came unstuck in January. This one feels different to the others. When they last got knocked out at the pool stage in 2019/20, it was as much down to bad luck as anything, lumped in a pool of death with Racing 92, Saracens and Ospreys, they produced a reasonable 16 points, and were a scuffed JJ Hanrahan drop-goal away from beating Racing, which would likely have got them through. In...
