Gloucester Will Have A ‘Real Crack’ At Munster

Munster take on Gloucester at Kingsholm this Saturday with the English side keen to make amends after a heavy home defeat at the weekend.

Nigel Davies’ side were beaten 29-8 by Premiership leaders Saracens on their home patch with a late Matt Cox try providing scant consolation as they were thoroughly outplayed by a scintillating Saracens side.

Davies was unhappy with his side’s performance but insists they will be much better on Saturday.

“I thought we would have a lot more about us but now we go into Europe and will have a real crack at Munster next week,” he said.

“Motivation won’t be a problem for us. It’s another big test but we went out there and gave them a game and hopefully we can do the same at Kingsholm.

“It’s a huge occasion, a huge opportunity and there’s a bit of history in this fixture. We’re looking forward to it and it will be a week where we will bring onboard those lessons,” he added.

Prior to Saturday’s defeat, the Cherry and Whites had won two on the bounce against London Irish and Worcester Warriors and looked to be building up a head of steam heading into Saturday’s crucial Heineken Cup tie.

However, Rob Penney’s side must beware the wounded animal as Gloucester’s European season has become even more vital with their domestic campaign failing to ignite.

After the weekend’s results, the English side remain in ninth position, 11 points off the top four in the Premiership.

They have fared better in Europe with two wins and two defeats but a win on Saturday is a must if they are to qualify for the quarter-finals.

When the sides met at Thomond Park in October Munster prevailed 26-10 in a hard-fought win against an understrength Gloucester side.

The loss was the Cherry and Whites’ first defeat in Pool 6 after a thrilling 27-22 win against Perpignan at Kingsholm in the opening fixture.

Their last two Heineken Cup fixtures brought further mixed fortunes as first they beat Edinburgh at Murrayfield before succumbing to a 16-10 reversal to the Scots at Kingsholm.

The game kicks off at 6:00pm this Saturday and will be televised on Sky Sports.

Following the trip to KIngsholm, Munster will host Edinburgh at Thomond Park on Sunday week in their final pool game of this season's Heineken Cup and tickets are available here (ko 12:45pm).

Munster A are in action at St. Mary's this Friday with Peter Malone's side hosting Nottingham in a must-win British and Irish Cup clash at 7:30pm. Adult tickets are available here and for more information click here.