Foley demands more from Munster

Munster head coach Anthony Foley admitted his side must improve and fast after they slipped to defeat against Irish rivals Connacht in the Pro12.

Foley's side missed the chance to move to the top of the table on Thursday night at the Sportsground, as Connacht picked up only their second win against Munster in their last 42 appearances.

Backed by a gale-force wind in the firsthalf, Munster should have led by more than nine points at the break as Kieran Marmion's well-executed score pegged them back.

And after the interval, with the wind in their favour, Pat Lam's Connacht side turned the screw to emerge 24-16 victors.

Munster have now lost four of their last five in all competitions, and with crucial European clashes on the horizon, Foley knows his side will need to bounce back.

"The seven points they scored in the firsthalf made a big difference in the game. If we go in 16 points up at halftime, they are questioning whether they can get back into it," he said.

"A nine point lead in those conditions won't suffice. That was a killer. Even though we were nine points ahead at halftime, we needed to come out in the secondhalf and do something. In fairness to Connacht they were pretty stingy in the secondhalf and we didn't get anything out of the game.

"Connacht were excellent. They took their opportunities and hit the lines. They cut us apart a couple of times. They will probably leave disappointed they didn't get a bonus point out of the game. At one stage it was on the cards that it would be the likely outcome. I think our fellas dug in.

"We went up the field with five minutes to go to try and get a score, try and get us momentum for the last couple of minutes to try and win the game. But that didn't happen either."

Munster must now regroup and switch their focus to a Saturday, January 10 meeting with Zebre in the Pro12 at the Stadio XXV Aprile.